Some useful tips I received from my friend Donald Latuminha in Indonesia
Being productive without being busy has many benefits:
- You will have plenty of time for your loved ones.
- You will have time to keep upgrading yourself (e.g., by reading books).
- You will have time for your hobbies.
- You will have time to enjoy life.
It’s a great way to live, isn’t it?
So, how can we do that? How can we be productive without being busy? Here are some tips:
1. Invest time in clarity.
To focus on the top 20% of activities, first you must identify what those activities are. Doing that requiresclarity. You need to have clarity regarding your life purpose and priorities. Only then can you decide whether an activity is right for you or not.
So invest time in clarity. Make time every day to realign yourself with your purpose and priorities.
2. Be willing to let go of opportunities.
One reason why many people become busy is that they aren’t willing to let go of opportunities. They say “yes” to everything that looks good. As a result, they fill their lives with too many things.
But, as Rick Warren once said, you should say “no” to good opportunities so that you can say “yes” to the great ones. If you don’t let go of the good opportunities, you won’t be able to make the most of the great ones.
3. Focus on just a few things.
You should do just a few things that are right for you. The great thing about focusing your effort is that it will build momentum. You will experience acceleration that gives you more results for less effort.
But again: the key to choosing these few things is clarity (#1 above).
4. Beware of distractions.
There will be distractions along the way. If you aren’t careful, they can cause you to lose focus. You could end up spreading yourself too thin.
So beware of distractions. Yes, the right opportunities could show up from time to time, but there is a good chance that the wrong opportunities are actually what show up. Say no to them.
5. Set limits.
One way to force yourself to prioritize is to set limits. Clayton Christensen, for instance, decided to always go home by 6 pm. He could have filled his days with more work-related activities, but he chose to spend the time with his family instead.
An advantage of this approach is that he had to choose wisely how he used his time at work because he had a limited amount of it.
Similarly, you should set limits in your life. By setting limits, you will force yourself to prioritize.
http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/2015/06/02/how-to-be-productive-without-being-busy/
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