Productivity Speed Bumps

It sometimes seems that what we believe we can get done in a given day or week is never as much as we accomplish. Often we look back at a full day or week exhausted and can’t see the results we anticipated. Blame it on what I’ll call “productivity speed bumps,” the interruptions and sidetracking which we did not put on our schedule, but which account for a large portion of our lost day and consequently, our lack of productivity.

Many of us run into these same productivity speed bumps on a regular basis. We are running so hard and strong that we don’t take time to stop, examine and establish a plan to eliminate or minimize them in the future.

Take for example your morning routine of getting out of the house. What is it that causes you to slow down and then find that you have to make up for time on the road to work? Was it the fact that you noticed the plants out back were wilting when you let the dogs out so you took time to water them? Did you find yourself hyper focusing on a segment of the morning show without realizing the time had ticked away? Did you decide to throw in just one load of wash since you were out of socks? One load meant more than one, since the washer and dryer were already full. Stop today and notice what it is that interrupts your progress.

Observe your speed bumps at work. Does the two-minute trip to the coffee pot for a cup of coffee become 20 minutes when you strike up a conversation with a co-worker? Does your open door policy encourage visitors and thus interruptions?

The next time you run into a speed bump, stop and recognize it, then make a determination as to what you can do to alleviate or minimize it in the future.

Let’s take the wilting plants for example. If you set up a routine schedule for watering, the plants will not need to fall over to get your attention and additionally will not sidetrack you in your morning routine. As a matter of fact, I recommend that you use a generic weekly schedule and establish set days for items like laundry, plant care and meal planning. Post your week’s calendar in an area where you will see it every morning as a visual reminder.

In the situation involving the television set, make a decision to get your news another way, possibly through talk radio on the way to work or reading the paper after work. You get the idea.

Some speed bumps can be delegated to another person. Small businesses are popping up everywhere that answer many needs for our busy disruptive lives. You can have your groceries delivered weekly and eliminate the one- stop-before-home routine. You can hire a cleaning lady twice a month if you are sidetracked by cleaning Heck; there are even folks who will shop and run errands for you! If you struggle with delegation think of the good you are doing the folks you are hiring. You are helping to keep a business in business.

Speaking of delegating--my husband asks, “What if my interruption is my spouse?” It is true; I am one of my husband’s bumpiest interruptions. And normally what I need done, I need done now. Bumpity, bump, bump, bump. A couple can work together to develop a plan. Here is where the 'ole tried and true honey-do list can come in handy. Maybe your spouse can’t do it right now, but put it on the list, allowing him to have control of where he will place that in his schedule.

Granted, there are speed bumps in our lives that we cannot control. An ill child that needs your care, the refrigerator that springs a leak on your way out the door, an engine that won’t start, and a computer that crashes. These are life’s little catastrophes. Trying to control these only leads to failure and frustration. What I hope that you begin to recognize in your daily activities are the interruptions that you’ve seen before, but never stopped to acknowledge or planned to eliminate. Be creative! The key is to find a pro-active approach to eliminating or at least minimizing these speed bumps that slow you down.