Risk & Business Magazine Nesbit Agencies Risk & Business Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 24

PRODUCTIVITY
BY: mike michalowicz
KEYNOTE SPEAKER & AUTHOR
A Simple Technique
To Skyrocket Productivity
H
ow long is your to-do list?
Is it a page or two or could
you use it to wallpaper
your office? If you’re like
most entrepreneurs, you
have a long to-do list (or several) that, no
matter how many hours you work, never
seems doable. This is because most people
maintain a task list ordered by date, and
crank away on the most pressing items.
This method makes sense, but it’s wrong.
The best way to achieve productivity is not
to prioritize by deadlines, but to prioritize
by what matters most. else? Not so much.
And, there are only two tasks that matter
most to entrepreneurs: those that when
completed, will either make money in the
near future or will make customers happy. 2. Create two columns: one labeled,
“TYPE” and one labeled, “TASK.” In the
“TASK” column, write down everything
you need to get done.
People feel compelled to finish tasks
just because they are on the to-do list,
especially if a deadline looms. But what
good is crossing off an item on your to-do
list if it doesn’t make you money or thrill
your customers? 3. In the “TYPE” column, write a dollar
sign next to each task that, when
completed, you are confident would bring
in money in the next 30 days. Then, put a
smiley face next to any items that, when
finished, will make your customers happy.
Now, you have a short list of the really
important tasks, a list you can manage,
a list that, when completed, will have
an immediate, positive impact on your
business.
A consistent flow of cash is the lifeblood
of your business, so if you can make
money in the next 30 days by knocking
off one of the items on your list, it is a
priority. Ecstatic customers also bring in
money – they are more likely to do keep
doing business with you, and they are
more likely to rave about you to potential
customers, which is the most effective
marketing method (and you sure can’t buy
it) – so they are priority too. Everything
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Here’s how to turn your to-do list into a
productive, money-making machine:
1. Maintain a paper task list. As much as
you love your fancy productivity software,
keeping your to-list on a computer can
cause you to go off on a tangent or get
caught up in color-coding or grouping
tasks. More importantly, every program
I’ve ever used focuses on due dates and
percentages complete, which is totally
wrong. So get out the good old yellow legal
pad and start at the top.
4. Start ticking off items with dollar signs
and smiley faces. When you dive into a
new task, highlight it. This way, if you
get distracted by the phone, or email,
or your 537 Facebook friends, you can
instantly get back on track by going to the
highlighted task. When you complete a
task, cross it off your list and go on to the
next dollar sign or smiley face.
5. As you move through your day, new
to-do items will come up. Write them
down as soon as they come to mind so
you can get back to your task at hand
without worrying about remembering
fleeting thoughts, or getting sidetracked
contemplating how to complete that task.
Then, at the end of your day, review your
new to-do list items and, if applicable, add
a dollar sign or smiley face.
This simple approach is the most effective
productivity strategy I have ever followed.
Sure enough, it consistently improves my
business because I am bringing in money
and making my customers so pleased they
want to shout it from the rooftops. If cash
is flowing and the customers are happy,
who cares if I never get around to the
other tasks?
This year, resolve never to sacrifice what is
important for the sake of what is urgent. +
Mike Michalowicz is the entrepreneur
behind
three
multimillion
dollar
companies and is the author of Profit First.
He is globally recognized as the guy who
“challenges outdated business beliefs” and
teaches us what to do about it. To learn
more about Mike and get access to a
treasure trove of entrepreneurial tips, visit
MikeMichalowicz.com.