Seven Minutes to Productivity

We all have something at work which we know needs tackling, it niggles away at us, but for various reasons, we keep putting off getting it done.

It might be because we don’t want to/can’t face it/the thought of doing it fills us with dread, but yet the amount of times we keep thinking about it only serves to prove that it does need addressing!

How fantastic would it feel if this job was done and out of the way? How much lighter and fired up would you feel? Then follow these steps …

1. Identify something you've been putting off, but has been niggling you constantly in the back of your mind. A phone call; preparing some information; doing some research; arranging a meeting - whatever is the biggest niggle for you personally.

2. Turn your phone, BlackBerry and laptop to silent, so you're not distracted by phone calls, text messages or emails pinging into your inbox.

3. Make a note of the time. Commit to spending the next 7 minutes on the task in hand, and focus solely on it. Scour the internet in your research; write down what you want to say on the phonecall; identify a time for the meeting and prepare the agenda, etc.

4. At the end of 7 minutes, you have a choice. Do you continue with this task, or do you go back to what you were doing before? Statistics show that 9 times out of 10 you'll continue, simply because you’ve made a start. In a nutshell, you get motivated by doing things, not thinking about them. Action gets you excited and action reveals opportunity.

5. Repeat this twice more over the course of this week alone and you’ll be amazed how energized you feel as a result of it.

Rocket science? No.

Does it work? Absolutely.

Go for it – set your clock for 7 minutes to Productivity!