First name / Friend,
When you hear the word “productivity," what thoughts or emotions come to mind?
My personal response to that question is somewhere along the lines of: [eye roll] and "blah."
Even though I know how to put my head down and get things done when I need to, productivity has never been my strong suit.
And more importantly, I do NOT like the way our culture idolizes it.
We literally glamorize the hustle, achievement, buying day planners, and collecting gold stars. The message we receive: if you get everything done and do it all perfectly, then you're a worthy human being.
I'll be honest - this really pisses me off. The last thing I want anyone to believe is that their worth is tied to how much they get done during the day.
And there is a complete difference between striving for excellence verses hustling for your self worth - the former of which I can get behind.
So if you're reading this, I want you to know that you are absolutely wonderful just the way you are, to-do lists aside.
. . .
Okay - now that I've gotten my mini vent out of the way, I wanted to share about a mindset shift that's been giving me a lot of energy these days.
Instead of thinking about productivity on a surface level, I've been going much deeper and reflecting on what value-driven achievement means to me.
It ultimately boils down to prioritization and impact, and what I'm calling “the needle movers.”
These are the specific, smaller list of actions that will move the needle for my business and add joy to my life.
You may have heard of the Pareto principle. This states that for many outcomes, about 80 percent of them are driven by 20 percent of causes. In business, you could say that 80 percent of your sales come from 20 percent of your clients.
I've always been on board with this general philosophy. But how could we use the Pareto principle to fuel our most important goals in life?
If you look at your overall productivity and success, the Pareto principle would say that 80 percent of your results come from 20 percent of your actions.
So if your results are not where you want them to be right now, you may have an opportunity to re-prioritize your 20 percent.
The result? You can gain momentum, experience bigger wins, and feel less overwhelmed by what's on your plate.
Now, of course, there are nuances. For instance, right now I am investing more time in social media for my business. Will a few Instagram posts result in a huge surge of sales for The Thirlby Company? Absolutely not.
There are some things that we have to stick to consistently to see a ROI down the road - and not everything cannot be measured right away.
But for now, I want you to ask yourself the following: what moves can I make right now that will lead to the biggest gains in my work and life?
Your challenge this month (if you choose to accept it) is to identify up to two actions within each of the following four categories to prioritize:
