5 minute productivity tips for the peak performer

In today's 5 minute productivity tip, I discuss ​what it really means to boost your productivity. It's not the approach that most people pursue.

You can listen to the audio by clicking on the play button below. Alternatively, you can read the transcript beneath the audio:

​Hi, it's Carthage here again, with another quick productivity tip for you.

When people try to boost their productivity, they're constantly searching for ways to get more done because their idea of productivity is entirely based on quantity. The problem with that is if you're getting more of the stuff that's not important done; are you really being productive? I would argue that you're not; you're not being productive unless the stuff you're getting done is the most important stuff you could be doing. Because, ultimately, productivity is based on results and you are not going to get the results you want by doing a whole lot of things that don't really contribute anything.

So, what you need to do is; you need to focus on the most important stuff, get clear about what is important because when you've got that and, you understand that, you can then go through all the different things you're doing and you can identify stuff that you can:

​And there's always the option of automating. Many of the things we do these days are becoming easier and easier to automate. You can set it up that it gets done for you. For example, I send hundreds of posts out across various different social media channels every day. I don't type any of them; they're all automated; I have a system to do that.

There are many more things we can do, if you just take the time to think about it but you can't do that until you know what is most important; where you should be giving your energy. Because, ultimately, the most important work is the work that should get the best of your attention, the best of your time, the best of your energy and, the best of any other resources you have to put into it.

So you may be wondering, how do I work out what the most important thing is? Well, that's where you need to get clear about your purpose, your values, and your goals. If you're working within the company get clear about your company's purpose, values, and goals. All of these things tell you what's important from your side of any transaction, from your side of any work, any project and, and any task.

And of course, when you're dealing with customers, ask your customers what they really want. Find out what's most important to the customer and make sure you deliver on that. There are many businesses today that are offering products and services with a whole lot of bells and whistles that customers don't really want. They're wasting time, they're wasting energy and, their wasting resources creating those bells and whistles but; they're not adding any real value to customers so why do it?

If they got clear about what their customers really wanted, they wouldn't be doing those things. Customers can be internal. You can be working for somebody else within your own company. They want something done; you're doing a piece of work specifically for them. If that's the case, they are your customer. Find out what exactly they want, what they value. Take the time to negotiate it beforehand because, when you do that you realise what's going to get you to results you're looking for and; that's where you focus your energy and your resources.

You stop wasting time on things which are not going to improve the result for you. Because, at the end of the day, as I've said, productivity is really about results; what's getting done. Focus on the most important stuff by knowing what's most important and get rid of stuff that just doesn't contribute.

So, that's your productivity tip for today.

I will talk to you soon.

​If you are struggling to work out what is important to you, identifying, prioritising and defining your values is a great way to start. Check out Values Based Living for help.

In today's 5 minute productivity tip, I discuss the importance of allowing yourself time to solve problems, process what you have learned and; produce your best ideas.

You can listen to the audio by clicking on the play button below. Alternatively, you can read the transcript beneath the audio:

​Hi It’s Carthage Buckley, here again with another quick tip for you.

Today, I'd like to talk about giving yourself a minute to think things through properly, allowing yourself the time and opportunity to find the solutions to your problems.

You see recently I decided I need to do some split testing on my website. Don't worry if you don't know what split testing is; that's not really important here. But what I realised was that there was something I needed to be able to do and I didn't know how to do it. I couldn't work out the right order to do things in; to get the results I wanted. And I was thinking about it for a while and I realised I was getting nowhere so I just thought you know what; I'll put that on the back burner. I'll let my mind let my subconscious mind work on that and I'll just get on with other things.

So, low and behold, this Monday I was having a little bit of quiet time during my working day. I was taking it easy allowing my brain to wonder a little bit and all of a sudden, the answer pops into my head. And it came in the form of really, a perfectly formed solution to the problem I was facing. And it reminded me of two key lessons that I just want to pass on to you today.

And the first is if you can find a solution to a problem there and then allow yourself the time to work it through. Your subconscious mind; it’s very powerful, you have a huge amount of information stored in your brain from experiences throughout your life; knowledge you took in at various times; but you can't always put your finger on it straight away. So, let your brain do the heavy lifting for you; get on with something else.

Another very important point which is often overlooked is that you need to have quiet time in your day. We seem to be living in a world right now where everybody wants to be busy the whole time. They think being busy is like a badge of honour, it's saying I work hard. But there's no point working hard if you're not working on the right things. There's no point trying to work on something if you can't solve the problems you need to solve. You need to solve the problems first and then you will work more effectively; you'll work quicker, and you'll get better work done.

So, don’t delude yourself into thinking you have to be busy the whole time. I mean it's gone to the point now where everybody you see walking down the street has ear plugs plugged in because they have to have their mind distracted. They seem to be afraid to spend a little bit of time in their own thoughts, but that's how we learn. Somebody can give you a huge amount of information and you can absorb that information but; you have to allow your mind some time to process that information and make sense of it and; how it makes sense of it is it relates new information to information you already have.

But to make those bonds takes a bit of time and if you constantly have your brain on full go; you're constantly trying to do something; you're using all your mental resources and; you would usually be using them on things that aren't all that important and; because you're using them up that way there's no mental resources reserved for figuring out those problems, for learning, and totally processing that new information you've gained.

​So, do take a little bit of quiet time. For example, have you ever wondered why people get their best thoughts when they're doing quiet time things like having a shower, going for a walk, even when you're driving and you're on automatic or you're not having to think a lot. There is only a small part of your brain is totally focused on that job and there's a large part of your brain able to work on other things. It's at moments like that that you do your best thinking, that you are most creative, that you solve your problems and, you come up with great ideas. So, don't ever be afraid to allow yourself some quiet time. I really encourage you to get some quiet time each and every day; allow your brain to wander. Make time for doing nothing and you will actually end up doing a whole lot more and doing it better.

So that's my tip for today I hope you find it helpful and I'll talk to you soon.

​Fitting quiet time into your day requires organisation. For more tips on organisation, check out The Organised Mind.

​If you would like another great productivity tip, you will find one right below:

​In today's 5 minute productivity tip, I discuss the manner in which you use your resources e.g. time, money and energy. In many ways, productivity is just using our resources in  the most effective manner.

You can listen to the audio by clicking on the play button below. Alternatively, you can read the transcript beneath the audio.