Recently my friend Tanya, owner of NiaZamar, and I were lamenting about working with a company that give us busy work. To her, busy work is a waste of time. A waste of the employer's time and our time. Honestly, we could be spending that time doing a million other things. We want you to leverage our passion. We want you to give tasks that are purposeful and mission-driven. We are both Capricorns and when you waste a Capricorn's time you are their enemy. Don't waste our time.
But in total honesty, this is how Capricorns feel when you waste our time
What does a busy version of Fonna look like?
Talk about how busy I am
Having a long to-do list that doesn't align with my strategic goals
Spending time clearing my emails (yes, even the newsletters)
Multitasking inefficiently
Taking a meeting that could've been an email
Getting stuck and drowning in details (there's a big difference in being detail-oriented)
Saying yes to TONS of projects and stretching myself thin
Attempting to do everything myself
Related post: When Multitasking is Effective
Now, what a productive version of me looks like:
Allow my hard work to show without saying anything
Have a targeted action list (usually 6-items long and focusing on Quadrant II activities)
Being mindful of my capacity and taking breaks
Leveraging the 80/20 rule
Only say yes to projects that align with my strategic vision
Doing the hardest thing first with deep focus and pomodoring the eff out of the task
Paying attention to the bigger picture
Taking time to reflect and evaluate my progress; often basing it on the triple constraint
Ask for help, pay for services, and/or let others take the lead
So, now that you know the difference between a person that does busy work vs productive work, I have a question. Assume you have a business (if you don't already have one) and you are hiring a new employee. Would you be interested in spending your hard earned money by hiring the person that is busy? Or the person that is productive? What decision will help your bottom line? What decision will help your company progress?
Now, turning the mirror to yourself.
Which one are you?
Which one have you been?
Which one do you want to be?
Busy? Or Productive?
What kind of time-management person are you?