Drew is Furious

by Drew Holmes

Lately I’ve found that I’m furious, but not in the way you think. I am not angry; I am furiously productive. How did this happen?

With the necessity of social distancing, I have drastically reduced my on-site hours at the store. But a curious thing has happened along the way: I am actually getting more done. The reason for this is simple: with less time available I need to make sure that the available time is used to it’s fullest.

This starts the night before with a list of all tasks that must be done the next day. The trick to making this work is to stick to the list. Do not allow anything to be added to the list unless it is absolutely essential. The reason this works is that making the list allows me to see the whole workday without allowing additional things to creep in. That way I plan best what order to do things in and to budget the time necessary.

This extends to meetings as well. Make a point to schedule face to face or remote meetings (rather than letting them happen organically) and to have a clear agenda and time limit. Once time is up, end the meeting. And do not allow the focus to drift off topic (unless it is a brainstorming session, in which case drift away!).

The other advantage to this approach is that it sets clear lines of what is and is not allowable for your time. When I am outside of “work time” that is it. My time is my own to do with as I please (usually to spend time with Jamie and the boys, but TV happens as well more than I would care to admit).

I imagine to someone who sees me doing this that it looks frantic and intense, hence Furious Productivity. We all have the same 24 hours each day. By setting goals and time limits and ruthlessly sticking to them you can make the most of every one of them.