3 Things Productive People Don’t Do
““Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.” — John C. Maxwell
It is tempting to believe that highly productive people have been gifted with some secret superpower that the rest of us were denied.
In truth, there is often just one meaningful difference between the people who consistently get things done— and those who don’t.
Choices.
When we make quality choices, we will be energized, on point, productive.
When we choose foolishly, we will be drained, off track, and less than our best.
1. Productive People Don’t Focus On What’s Wrong
“Perfect is the enemy of good.”
Stu McLaren is an accomplished entrepreneur who has a built a thriving business by helping others to launch. About a decade ago, I listened to him explain his own journey to business success. The biggest takeaway for me then — and now — was the concept of good enough.
During his talk, Stu shared on a number of topics, including the difficult choice that he had to make a few years prior regarding a product launch.
On the one hand, Stu was excited about the possibilities that were before him. He had worked diligently to create an offering that he believed would be an excellent match for his customer base — and he had put together all of the components needed to go to market.
On the other hand, Stu knew that his offering wasn’t perfect. It was good, to be sure, but it needed some tweaking. For that result, he was hesitant to move forward.
In order to reach a final decision, Stu reflected on how tech companies handled their product launches.
As any tech user well knows, the vast majority of new software programs are released with imperfections. We call them bugs.
Generally, developers know that the bugs are there — but they don’t let that stop them from going to market.
Instead, they make a decision, up-front, about the level of quality that will serve as the baseline for the release. And once that baseline is reached — they launch.
What’s more, rather than being afraid of having the bugs discovered, smart developers welcome and leverage user feedback to further refine their products.
Bottom line: The heavy hitters in the fast-paced world of Big Tech do not focus on what’s wrong with their work — or on trying to be perfect.
They focus on what’s right, on the value they’re adding, and on making the next iteration better.
Stu chose to do the same.
Instead of waiting to launch a perfect product — he launched a product that was good, valuable, and able to be improved upon.
Stu chose right.
Today, he is the head of a wildly successful membership site dynasty, continually collaborating with many of the leading influencers in the online world, and funding critical humanitarian projects in some of the poorest regions of the world.
Productive people don’t focus on what’s wrong.
They focus on what’s right — and they keep it moving.
2. Productive People Don’t Second-Guess Their Decisions
“Second guessing a decision is a waste of time.” — Jack O’Neill
I have been following Ben Hardy’s writing career for a number of years. Clearly, he is one of the most productive influencers in the personal development space.
I believe that one of the reasons Ben has been able to accomplish so much over the past seven years — he’s been read by over 100 million readers, earned a PhD, become a New York Times best-seller, and earned a cool million— is because he doesn’t waste time second-guessing his decisions.
Instead, Ben spends ample time clarifying his values, weighing his options, and committing to those choices that promise to bring him closer to the attainment of his goals — whatever those goals might be.
This quote from Ben helps to illustrate the point:
“Dysergy is the opposite of synergy. It happens when the pursuit of one goal impedes you from achieving your other goals. Having conflicting goals generally comes from seeking social and cultural (e.g., financial success, popularity) goals at the expense of your true and intrinsic goals.
You can’t get that time back.
Again, the closer you get to living in alignment with your vision and highest values, the more precise you must be with your time. You can’t justify pursuing even great things at the expense of the absolute essential. Time is a very costly resource. To waste even a little bit of it, when you are vision-driven, is painful.”
Ben avoids the pain of wasting time by choosing to embrace his own priorities.
He refuses distraction.
He doesn’t second-guess.
And, once he chooses — he gets things done.
The most important things.
3. Productive People Don’t Confuse Activity With Accomplishment
“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” — Stephen Covey
I know a phenomenal woman who holds two patents and is actively working on a third. She works for herself, has a boatload of clients, and is regularly going deeper within her area of expertise. She is constantly sharpening her skills, unearthing new insights, and delivering the highest levels of client service to those who need her the most.
Not long ago, my friend told me a story which helped me to understand, in part, why she is so productive.
About six years ago, my friend— I’ll call her Jade — invited a close family member to partner with her in pursuit of a patent — and in launching the product that the patent was designed to protect.
From that time, until about 3 months ago, the partnership had progressed well. Jade and her partner divided up their work in ways which were mutually agreeable, and worked faithfully to hit important milestones on time and within budget.
But late last year, Jade noticed a change. Her partner didn’t seem as engaged as she had been in times past, and, as a result, stopped delivering.
During one of their last business meetings, Jade decided to dig a little deeper in order to try to figure out just what was going on. She asked her partner directly what she had done during the prior week in order to move their project forward.
“Well,” her partner replied, “I put in 4 hours.”
A couple of days later, Jade ended that 6-year partnership.
Why?
Because Jade was clear on the difference between activity and accomplishment — and unwilling to sacrifice one for the other.
Put another way, Jade doesn’t value being busy — she values results.
As a result, she won’t accept less from herself, or those on her team.
Call To Action
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