How Many Rabbits Are You Chasing? – 5 Productivity Tips
Have you ever tried to catch a rabbit?
I used to spend the school holidays at my grandparents in Somerset and would often spot a little greyish-brown rabbit, twitching away in the grass.
So small. Easy to catch, surely?
I’d get so far, then it’s long ears would detect me, and its powerful hind legs would kick into action. Once, I managed a few deft moves, and my fingertips touched its soft fur. But I never caught one.
Imagine trying to catch two rabbits at once? Impossible!
What do you do when the two rabbits separate and go different directions?
If you’re following one in preference to the other, you’ll simply be ignoring the other.
If you’re still trying to catch both at the same time, the tendency is to try to follow both, and split the difference between their paths. Now you’re running straight when one went left, the other right.
Chasing both rabbits simply means you lose both.
And the same goes for business.
Various studies have confirmed that multitasking is a MYTH!
People that think they can split their attention between multiple tasks at once aren’t getting more done.
They’re getting LESS done because they’re not focussing on doing one thing, well.
Chances are, if this is you (and worst your entire team), then you’ll all be feeling overwhelmed, stressed, exhausted and your business isn’t performing at the levels it could.
If you’re in the habit of multitasking, or know someone in your team that is, here’s 5 simple ways to break the habit and to become more productive.
# 1 Be Realistic – Land One Plane At A Time
Stop trying to do too much at once; the key is to land one plane at a time. Heathrow, the world’s busiest airport, welcomes around 1,300 combined take-offs and landings every single day – all with just two runways!
#2 Focus on the Important
Stop getting distracted on ‘urgent’ activities that demand immediate attention; the phone ringing is urgent, but it may not be important. ‘Important’ activities get you from A to B based on your goals and vision; if you don’t do this then you will never reach your desired result; but the problem is that these are proactive. You need to simplify, eliminate or delegate those tasks that are ‘urgent’ but not ‘important’.
#3 Stop Interruptions
Interruptions are stopping your business from growing. The three reasons you’re being interrupted are:
“I don’t know how to”– easy to fix by producing a manual.
“I’m not allowed to”– simply give, or up the level of, authority.
“I need stroking” – you need to find ways to give your team praise and attention i.e., 1:1 feedback, team huddles.
#4 Learn Lessons
Imagine your business always learning from its mistakes. By noting lessons down in a log, and allocating who is accountable for solving each one, you can focus on striking them off and remove any barriers to growth.
#5 Get Constant Feedback
An effective tool that provides continuous feedback is based on three main questions:
What do we need to STOP doing?
What do we need to START doing?
What should we CONTINUE doing?
Hope this helps.
BW,
Martin
If you’re still not convinced, here’s a few ways we’ve helped business owners and leaders like you with their Productivity:
“I am flat out at the minute – doing amazing things and the list of things to do its HUGE. But the best piece of advice I was given in this instance is from Martin Norbury about air traffic control at LHR and how they cope with thousands of planes a day. They land one plane at a time. Works every time.” – Kate
“Martin’s tools and tips have helped increase productivity in my business by more than 50%. We’ve moved from ‘firefighting’ into a position where I have been able to grow my business thanks to a focused goal, new services, and of course, increases in efficiencies.” – Keith
“The clarity of the outcome and how to get there is so simple. The meetings always remove the clutter and bring everything down to a plan on one spreadsheet or piece of paper.” – Tom
Martin Norbury
Investor | Business Mentor at Advocate | Author of I don’t work Fridays
