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procrastination
December 2009 
Time Management Pitfall #5 - Aiming for 120% Efficiency
Posted on Aug 3rd, 2009
by 
Kerul
Kerul
A NOTE FROM THE PROCRASTIVITY NICHEPERT..
Last week I was on a Blitz Time networking call (more about this unique, ultra-convenient venue later) and was talking with a fellow networker who was struggling with the impression that high standards were hurting her. Hmmm.
When I asked her "What's wrong with high standards?" she realized the difference between high standards and high expectations. Setting the bar high on your standards is generally a really good thing. It can help you reach higher goals more speedily - unless you hold yourself too rigidly accountable. High expectations, though, are something we often get attached to, hitching our self-worth to their accomplishment. If we don't reach them, we're sunk. (See the tip below for more about this concept).
Blitz Time, by the way, is a new service that offers a new way of networking - on the phone from the convenience of wherever you happen to be (in your PJs or sweats!), with no mediocre meal you're paying too much for, and no travel and traffic, to meet a bunch of small business owners looking to network with others. Check it out here: http://www.blitztime.com/bt/1128767668.
On a personal note, the third shoe did drop (I'm talking about friends and family with serious health challenges - or worse - and thanks to those of you who wrote with your supportive thoughts last month). Another cousin was told she had a 2" x 3" malignant tumor in her lung. After a couple of weeks of terror and frustration, it turns out the mass was just an infection. Whew! Some good news.
The personal leadership goals I shared with you last month are coming along well (or at least well enough - again, see the tip below). I'm now adding a few new goals on the "family" side, with new training initiatives for our puppy and our horses. Upward and onward!
I'd love to hear from you if you have any thoughts about personal development strategies that have worked for you. You might even be featured in an upcoming newsletter!
Finally, if you haven't yet gotten your copy of either of my books, remember they're available at www.Procrastivity.com
Wishing you all optimal procrastivity, as always, and a fabulous August,
Kerul
Kerul Kassel, Author of Productive Procrastination - Make It Work For You, Not Against You and the award-winning Stop Procrastinating Now - Five Radical Procrastination Strategies To Set You Free, both available atwww.Procrastivity.com
7 TIME MANAGEMENT PITFALLS THAT ARE COSTING YOU MONEY, RESULTS, AND THE MOST PRECIOUS COMMODITY ANYWHERE - TIME
What NOT To Do To Get Dramatically Better Results
DO NOT aim for 120% Efficiency (or Productivity)
Face it, you're not going to be at your best every single day, and you'll burn yourself out quickly if you endeavor to push yourself past what is reasonable on a daily basis (and then be at 50% efficiency or worse).
There's a difference between pushing yourself to implement continual upgrading and tweaking to enhance effectiveness versus endless punishing long hours and working well beyond the limits of productivity.
Even though most of us are overburdened with business and personal responsibilities, and there are always improvements we can and would benefit from putting into practice, there is a point of diminishing returns, and it will be different every day, both for you and for any employees or team members, You know where that point is - you can feel it in your body and notice it in your mind, and you can sense it in others. It's the moment when you've gone from flow to dissonance, and you sense a need to get up from your desk. Studies have shown that the ability to be attentive and focused over time steadily declines when there are no breaks, even over as little as two hours.
The benefit of taking "refresh" time is that you'll be more focused and productive without needs as much time to be effective - in other words, better results in less time.
There will be days when you're just not feeling as good, physically and/or mentally, or when personal or professional circumstances or emotional upsets are slowing you down. Humans are animals, not machines, and while we can certainly ignore or put aside some distractions and degradations to performance, there is a limit we reach - and we do pay a price.
Simply work to the best of your capability, whatever that is on any given day... no more and no less. Keep aiming for continual enhancement, but stop making yourself wrong for not being superhuman.
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES
"Almost everything you do will seem insignificant, but it is important that you do it." ~ Mahatma Ghandi
"The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to product outstanding results." ~ Anthony Robbins
"Don't use a lot where a little will do." ~ Proverb
ABOUT KERUL
....
Kerul Kassel is an author and expert in procrastination and productivity - "PROCRASTIVITY". As the founder of New Leaf Systems - a consulting firm dedicated to creating higher performance outcomes - she has been quoted in the New York Times, TIME Magazine, Business Week, Investors Daily, Real Simple, and Self. Her clients have included NASA, Sony, Hilton, and Volvo.
Kerul's professional experience includes 4 certifications in the field of coaching, investment and real estate management, as well as over 25 years of leadership in for-profit and non-profit organizations. She is the author of the award-winning book "Stop Procrastinating Now" and "Productive Procrastination." For more information, Kerul can be reached at Kerul@newleafsystems.com.
Last week I was on a Blitz Time networking call (more about this unique, ultra-convenient venue later) and was talking with a fellow networker who was struggling with the impression that high standards were hurting her. Hmmm.
When I asked her "What's wrong with high standards?" she realized the difference between high standards and high expectations. Setting the bar high on your standards is generally a really good thing. It can help you reach higher goals more speedily - unless you hold yourself too rigidly accountable. High expectations, though, are something we often get attached to, hitching our self-worth to their accomplishment. If we don't reach them, we're sunk. (See the tip below for more about this concept).
Blitz Time, by the way, is a new service that offers a new way of networking - on the phone from the convenience of wherever you happen to be (in your PJs or sweats!), with no mediocre meal you're paying too much for, and no travel and traffic, to meet a bunch of small business owners looking to network with others. Check it out here: http://www.blitztime.com/bt/1128767668.
On a personal note, the third shoe did drop (I'm talking about friends and family with serious health challenges - or worse - and thanks to those of you who wrote with your supportive thoughts last month). Another cousin was told she had a 2" x 3" malignant tumor in her lung. After a couple of weeks of terror and frustration, it turns out the mass was just an infection. Whew! Some good news.
The personal leadership goals I shared with you last month are coming along well (or at least well enough - again, see the tip below). I'm now adding a few new goals on the "family" side, with new training initiatives for our puppy and our horses. Upward and onward!
I'd love to hear from you if you have any thoughts about personal development strategies that have worked for you. You might even be featured in an upcoming newsletter!
Finally, if you haven't yet gotten your copy of either of my books, remember they're available at www.Procrastivity.com
Wishing you all optimal procrastivity, as always, and a fabulous August,
Kerul
Kerul Kassel, Author of Productive Procrastination - Make It Work For You, Not Against You and the award-winning Stop Procrastinating Now - Five Radical Procrastination Strategies To Set You Free, both available atwww.Procrastivity.com
7 TIME MANAGEMENT PITFALLS THAT ARE COSTING YOU MONEY, RESULTS, AND THE MOST PRECIOUS COMMODITY ANYWHERE - TIME
What NOT To Do To Get Dramatically Better Results
DO NOT aim for 120% Efficiency (or Productivity)
Face it, you're not going to be at your best every single day, and you'll burn yourself out quickly if you endeavor to push yourself past what is reasonable on a daily basis (and then be at 50% efficiency or worse).
There's a difference between pushing yourself to implement continual upgrading and tweaking to enhance effectiveness versus endless punishing long hours and working well beyond the limits of productivity.
Even though most of us are overburdened with business and personal responsibilities, and there are always improvements we can and would benefit from putting into practice, there is a point of diminishing returns, and it will be different every day, both for you and for any employees or team members, You know where that point is - you can feel it in your body and notice it in your mind, and you can sense it in others. It's the moment when you've gone from flow to dissonance, and you sense a need to get up from your desk. Studies have shown that the ability to be attentive and focused over time steadily declines when there are no breaks, even over as little as two hours.
The benefit of taking "refresh" time is that you'll be more focused and productive without needs as much time to be effective - in other words, better results in less time.
There will be days when you're just not feeling as good, physically and/or mentally, or when personal or professional circumstances or emotional upsets are slowing you down. Humans are animals, not machines, and while we can certainly ignore or put aside some distractions and degradations to performance, there is a limit we reach - and we do pay a price.
Simply work to the best of your capability, whatever that is on any given day... no more and no less. Keep aiming for continual enhancement, but stop making yourself wrong for not being superhuman.
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES
"Almost everything you do will seem insignificant, but it is important that you do it." ~ Mahatma Ghandi
"The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to product outstanding results." ~ Anthony Robbins
"Don't use a lot where a little will do." ~ Proverb
ABOUT KERUL
....
Kerul Kassel is an author and expert in procrastination and productivity - "PROCRASTIVITY". As the founder of New Leaf Systems - a consulting firm dedicated to creating higher performance outcomes - she has been quoted in the New York Times, TIME Magazine, Business Week, Investors Daily, Real Simple, and Self. Her clients have included NASA, Sony, Hilton, and Volvo.
Kerul's professional experience includes 4 certifications in the field of coaching, investment and real estate management, as well as over 25 years of leadership in for-profit and non-profit organizations. She is the author of the award-winning book "Stop Procrastinating Now" and "Productive Procrastination." For more information, Kerul can be reached at Kerul@newleafsystems.com.
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