Have you wondered why some people perform better than the rest? Why do certain quarters love and enjoy their work? You don’t need to be great to be excellent at work.
Let me share my personal experience. Only three simple principles to follow.
Prioritisation
We have been busy with our daily jobs. Some of us have to juggle two to three side hustles to cover the family’s expenses. I was there before.
Before the pandemic, I had a full-time day job. I worked six days a week. By the weekend, I was busy with house chores and grocery marketing. As days went by, I lost my purpose in life. Until the pandemic hit us in 2020, my life turned around.
I came across this book – The 80/20 Principles, by Richard Koch. I didn’t realise this rule until I put my thoughts into it. 80/20 happens all the time in our daily lives. It is a natural phenomenon. Now, let’s put your imagination as I list.
80% of your time is spent in 20% of the rooms in your house. 20% of your staff outperform the rest in your organisation. 20% is paying more taxes than the other 80% of the workforce. If you look further, you will realise 20% of your advertisements generate more profit than the rest. More than half of your sales come from 30% of your returning customers.
Do you see my point now? It is not precisely 80 to 20. It could be 30 to 70 or 10 to 90, or even 40 to 60. There is no right or wrong. Life is never equal! Be realistic.
80/20 is everywhere. Start prioritising your work with this rule. It is practical and working.
You don’t need to be good at everything. Find the three to four core talents. Be the expert in that subject matter. Sales will find you. Refusing to change will hold you up. Use courage to beat resistance. Trust me. That’s how I bounce back after the pandemic.
When we focus on priorities, we make ourselves more successful. We control our lives. Our job isn’t commanding us. We can focus our efforts on tasks that will generate more income.
Productivity
How do you evaluate productivity? The number of jobs that get done, profit earned, customer satisfaction ratings, etc. You realise you are only clearing your to-do list. That’s not productivity.
Let’s say you make $100 a day by working 8 hours. What did you do yesterday to earn that $100? 15 minutes spent talking to a client. 5 minutes are spent to issue a flight ticket which generates $50 profit. 2 hours are spent to close a deal which produces a $5000 yield. 2 hours are spent preparing the tour confirmation. The list can go on.
When you list your work activity, you will realise the time wasted on unnecessary issues. How much time did you spend gossiping with colleagues? How much time did you spend checking emails? How much time could you save for important matters?
Understanding how you have worked is an excellent way to improve your productivity. Another technique I use is the agile mindset to establish priorities. Priorities focus on critical tasks and remove any distractions.
The first question to ask is, why do I do it? What do customers want? How can I do things better? How do I adapt to their needs?
Planning
In this planning stage, you have identified your ultimate goal. Here, you need to set your plans to work. These plans will bring your best attention to achieve the ultimate goal.
While planning, you can anticipate possible fallbacks and analyse your solutions through scenario thinking. Target a little milestone a day to gain a considerable return later.
I always walk into the office with my daily plan. What do I want to achieve today?
Instead of creating a list of to-do items, I have a list to focus on. The focus-on list will highlight the most critical, urgent, important and desirable things. The list triggers different strategic insights. It also improves my efficiency when handling multiple projects. Sometimes, I will systemise and simplify items on my list so that I can concentrate on working on other urgent issues.
You are setting your priorities right. This practice helps cut out bad habits and build good ones. You no longer need to work overtime. Your family will be happy when you punch off on time.
Start your day with six habits
No one is perfect. Ditch the perfectionism. Start your morning with the following six habits.
Start by every morning. Focus on three things that will make the most significant impact on you (scribble them down).
Take ten minutes to meditate. You sit in a calm and relaxed space. You set your mind for the day. I usually do it before I drive to work.
Affirm what you’ve committed to. Why is it significant to you? Get specific on the activities and when you are expecting to accomplish them.
Visualise the activity, not the outcome, to motivate yourself to move on.
Spend 7 minutes for morning exercise to boost your energy. I use the stairs instead of the elevator to the office.
Read ten pages of articles before starting your day.
Success is something you attract by the person you become.
Failure is not the end. Daring to fail will build your courage for challenges. When I fell terribly in 2019, I bounced back stronger after the pandemic. I keep myself in a positive mental state with small wins celebrations. Whenever I solve my client’s issue, I buy my family a meal.
It’s your life. Live it to the best of your ability.