August 2009 – WhosChrisHughes.com

What did I really accomplish yesterday that is worth mentioning? Was there anything that you did for your business that was something you are truly proud of? Now if either of these questions made you a little uncomfortable, I can understand this completely because when I first asked myself these questions I had a big “NO” pop right into my head….not something I was proud of. But, I decided that i’d find a formula that would help me to increase my productivity! It’s best to not re-invent the wheel with things that people have already mastered in my opinion This is a top secret technique that Bill Gates calls “work velocity”-which is the ability to create speed and momentum and multiply your productivity many times over. Guess what? You can start implementing this right away so that it can work for you- in seven simple steps … 1. Create and maintain a time log for one full work week. A time log is basically where you just keep track of how you spend your time. Keep it simple and in 15 minute increments. 2. Determine how many hours you were truly productive. Basically it’s just how many hours you really spent on work. 3. Compute your own productivity rate. This is simple, you take the number of productive hours you had and divide it into your total hours. The number that you end up with is your productivity rate- this is the percentage of time that you spend each week doing things that matter. 4. Set the bar for your target productivity rate Steve Pavlina, a self-development blogger recommends that you set your target at 80%. Just remember that 100% productivity is impossible for an extended time period so keep it around 80% 5. CUT your work hours to achieve your target productivity ratio yep, I said cut your hours doing work. Here’s a short little example…Jim sits in front of his computer for 40 hours a week and only 10 of those hours are productive:Number of hours at work=40Productive hours last week = 10Current productivity rate= 25%Jim’s goal productivity rate=80% (now to get the number of hours that Jim will work being productive he needs to divide the number of productive hours he had last week by the goal productivity rate of 80% )this comes out at 10/.80 = 12.5 hours So, if you were productive for 10 hours last week, and you want 80% of your hours at work to be productive, only work 12.5 hours this week. An important tip: For this to work, you must spread these hours out over the whole week. If you plan to work Mon-Fri then space it out to 2.5 hours per day. Why would you do this? Easy…this way you condition your mind and body to work at an 80% productivity rate and you’re just starting out. 6. Get used to your new work pace.Now here’s a little sneak peak at what will happen next week. The first 2 days might be difficult and you might not get much done. BUT after a few days, you’ll start to get pressured to do the things you need to get done. When that happens, you will have a HUGE leap in productivity. Most likely the biggest leap you’ve ever had. You’ll learn more about planning your day, won’t waste time surfing the Web, getting caught in gossip or wasting time on the phone. Spend at least one week this way, if you can get to 3 then you will have developed the habit of an 80% productivity rate and will continue this as your normal productivity rate, making you more money and giving you more pleasure from your business/job. 7. Gradually increase the number of hours you work each week, be careful though. You want to maintain your target productivity rate. As becoming a productivity machine becomes the default way of working, gradually add on hours back to your workweek. While doing this, make sure you are maintaining your target productivity rate. I would love to hear some feedback on how this works for you. If you are experiencing any good results from this, please let me know. Also, sign up for my newsletter to learn more valuable information like this delivered right to your email inbox.