The Simple Truth to Increased Productivity

​For you to perform at your very best, it’s important to have good habits in place.  You want to make sure you have the right tools and techniques to be successful. But it is just as important to have the right mindset in order for you to be at your productive best.

Scott Friesen shares two simple truths that can transform the way that you look at your schedule and your to-do list. He highlights why we shouldn’t care so much about getting everything done but focus more on getting the right things done. After all, the person who sends the most email today certainly won’t be the most productive.

Video transcript:

For you to perform at your very best you need to have a number of good habits in place. You need to have a way to manage all of your communication. Whether that be email, phone calls, text messages, or social media. You also need an effective way to manage your schedule. How do you block out time for your most important work or your most important people? How do you avoid distractions and other interruptions that we face on a day to day basis?

Well beyond just the tools and techniques of productivity, you have to have a certain mindset. So today I want to share with you two simple truths that you must accept in order for you to perform at your very, very best.

The first truth is this: you will never complete everything that you want to do. Sound surprising? Coming from a productivity professional, coming from someone who helps others to get more things done in a shorter amount of time?

Well, the emphasis should always be on your most important work or your most valuable projects. Not just simply getting more and more done off of your to-do list. You see, the person who makes the most phone calls today will not be the most productive individual. The person who writes the most emails today will not be the most productive individual. But the person who focuses their effort on the right work, on the most valuable work, either to them or to their organization, that person brings real value to everyone else around them.

Take a look at the most successful people you know in your industry or any industry for that matter. They've said no so many times to good ideas in order for them to pursue great ideas. So don't worry so much about getting everything crossed off of your to-do list. Focus your attention on what's most important and what's most valuable.

The second truth is this: right now, something is more important than everything else. Too often we look at our to-do list and we treat everything as equals. We convince ourselves that we're having a productive day as long as we are checking things off of your to-do list. However, at any given point in time, something is more important and deserves our attention more than anything else.

You see you simply can't have seven high priority items. Of those seven, one of them is much more important than everything else on that list. So look at your day, look at your projects through that lens.
You'll be much more productive and you'll be able to zero in what you’re most important work is.

​Keep these two simple truths in mind so you can have your most productive day. One, don't worry about getting it all done because you will never complete everything that you want to do and number two, right now, or at any given point in time, something is more important than everything else. It's very simple.