What Does A Productive Day Actually Look Like?

At a recent training program I asked several participants what a productive day at work would actually look like. Their answers included:

• I could focus on my work and not be interrupted by others
• I worked on the important and not just the urgent stuff
• I had time to have deeper discussions with members of my team
• I carved out time for my own growth or improvement

While a productive workday might look different for many of us, how we pull it off, I think, requires a similar set of skills. I call them my “6 Ps” of a positively productive day. They are:

Develop A Plan

The cornerstone of any productive day has to start with planning. You might plan the previous night or early that morning… it doesn’t matter. The key is that you take into consideration work, relationships and your own individual needs and interests. If 70 percent of your workday is already taken up by meetings, be hyper-intentional about how you will use the other 30 percent of your time.

Don’t limit yourself to making a list. Your brain will want you to identify and tackle the easiest tasks, but they probably won’t move you closer to your goals. Speaking of goals, why not revisit those before creating your plan?

Create A Mental Picture

One of my favorite quotes is, “The soul never thinks without a picture” by Aristotle. If you want to be motivated to carry out your plan, create mental pictures. Start with pictures of what a productive day looks like. Also reflect on the benefits of getting the right things done. Imagine the smile on the face of your boss or your children. Picture how relaxed you would be with a difficult task completed.

Prepare For The Interruptions

I have to smile when people start talking about all the interruptions in their day, and seem surprised that they don’t just stop on their own. I was recently coaching someone on time management and they kept talking about how they just couldn’t focus with all the distractions around them. Ironically, I could hear their email notification “ding” every three minutes. We are our own worst enemies many times when it comes to allowing interruptions to derail our productivity.

I was recently coaching someone on time management and they kept talking about how they just couldn’t focus with all the distractions around them. Ironically, I could hear their email notification “ding” every three minutes.

You know the types of interruptions or distractions you will face-you just may not know WHEN they will show up. Have a plan in place for best managing them so they aren’t so damaging to your productivity. If it’s a poor work habit like procrastination that is limiting you, recognize the triggers that can cause it, and create a plan for better managing it. If one of your biggest interruptions is people, check out my video, How To Handle The “Have You Got A Minute?” Request.

Postpone The “Other Stuff”

Put off those daily tasks you enjoy doing but don’t really contribute much to taking care of your high priorities. Put them later in the day or use them as a reward for accomplishing something difficult. Resist the urge to dive into your email first thing every morning. I try to follow the simple wisdom in Johnathan Milligan’s quote: “Do creative work first, reactive work second.”

Persist In Your Desire To Be Productive

Other people might not share your passion to be productive-don’t let them get you off track. Communicate to them the reasons you are focused on a particular task and how its completion will be of benefit to them in some way-or why it’s so important to you. As much as it is within your ability to control, keep chipping away at time spent in meetings or at least persist in being the voice that tries to keep them on track.

Schedule Time To Ponder

Even if it’s just 5-10 minutes, pull yourself away from the focus on maintaining the status quo. Challenge yourself to answer some deeper questions like:

• What’s coming up in the next 1-3 months I should be thinking about?
• What are some potential blind spots for me right now?
• What am I “putting up with” at work? How could I change it?
• Who needs more attention from me?

When the day is over, evaluate your results. Do you feel differently as you look back on what you accomplished this day? What were those moments when you maintained your discipline? How could you create a repeat of today’s success tomorrow or have even better outcomes?

Wouldn’t it be great if, in response to the question, “What does a productive day actually look like?,” you quickly responded with, “Like today!”

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Jones Loflin is a global keynote speaker and coach offering innovative strategies for individuals and organizations struggling with too much to do. He is the author of several books, including Always Growing and the award-winning Juggling Elephants. Jones is well-known for his solutions for individuals, groups and businesses on leadership development, work-life satisfaction, and change. To learn more about Jones, go to www.jonesloflin.com.