BECOME PRODUCTIVE, NOT JUST BUSY

Article by:  Garsfontein Accountant: Nardus Venter

How do I exchange my busy work life for a productive one?

At SME.TAX we know the productive vs busy debate has been haunting entrepreneurs for longer than we have recorded information on the subject. Why is it such a big deal? If you’re productive, surely that mean you’re busy?

While we know the measure of productivity is both a subjective as well as an emotive issue, therefore for the purposes of this blog we are going to look at “productive” and “busy” in the very narrow sense where productive equals more money and busy equals how much time I’m spending in achieving this goal.

Many a poor spouse, family member or friend has often heard the lament “I work 10 to 14 hours a day and am so busy, yet at the end of the month I have very little to show for it!”

So, how is it possible that one can be so “busy” and yet not achieve your goal of earning more money?

Busy, according to the dictionary is defined as “full of activity”, but it doesn’t define what this activity is or should be, as a result we group all activities under “busy” and this is the beginning of our downfall. What we very quickly need to do is separate our “busyness” into “productive” and “non-productive” activities and then focus more of our time on the activities in the productive column.

Now this sounds easy enough, however if it was this easy, why is it still such an issue in our daily lives? The truth is, this is a real problem because the majority of people are too “busy” to prepare a list of their monthly activities, therefore below is a simple step by step guide to get you going:

1. Prepare a list of all the outstanding activities that need your attention.
2. Sort these activities into productive and non-productive activities. If you are unsure how to decide ask yourself this simple question “Is this activity going to earn me money (productive), or distract me from earning money (non-productive)?”
3. Prepare a daily activity list with allocated time slots. The bulk of your day must be taken up by productive activities, with one or two of the more pressing non-productive activities.
4. Delegate as many activities as possible to members of your staff, then train them on steps 1 to 3 above.
5. Repeat daily as new activities are identified

The above process will keep you focused on the important tasks of earning money while identifying those activities that can either be delegated or put on the back burner to be attended to at a later date, thereby freeing up more of your time to enjoy running your business.

At SME.TAX we do more than just assist clients with tax planning, we are your “one-stop SME shop”, assisting with everything from Accounting, Business Management, BEE, Consulting, Company Registration to Payroll and Mentoring

For more information, please visit our website www.sme.tax or give us a call on 012 021 0829