In order to increase productivity by being efficient with your time, you must be able to focus on what needs to be done and what can be delegated. As easy as this may sound, for many this can be a challenge to accomplish. In this snippet from an interview with Dale Beaumont and Laurence Harrould, find out some incredible tips on focusing on the necessary and delegating in order to see an increase in your productivity.
Combining his three passions of business, science and astrology with a love of working with people, Laurence has developed the Aviel brand. Laurence has also achieved diplomas in education, business information systems, orthomolecular nutrition, clinical ecology and workplace training.
For most business minded people, there are never enough hours in a day. What’s your advice for getting more done with less effort?
Everything keeps coming back to focus. If you know what your objectives are then whenever something comes up you can make a decision about whether it needs to be dealt with now. Stephen Covey (author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and First Things First) uses four quadrants:
- Important and Urgent
- Important but Not Urgent
- Not Important but Urgent, and
- Not Important and Not Urgent
When we are clear about our purpose we can more easily put tasks into these quadrants. If it is in quadrant four, ignore it; quadrant three, get someone else to do it. Ideally life should be about working in quadrants one and two.
Particularly challenging for small business owners is getting caught in the trap of thinking, ‘If I don’t do it, then it won’t get done’. Something I find useful is to have a sign above your desk that says, ‘Whose job am I doing now?’
Delegation is very powerful and often misused. It is about having people who are responsible for specific tasks and allowing them to carry out their responsibilities without micro-managing. The other important point here is that your staff must have the authority and the tools to enable them to perform their roles. There is little that is more soul-destroying and stressful than having responsibility without the authority or ability to fulfil that responsibility.
Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth is a must for any business owner; the basic premise is about having systems in place. The other must-read is The New One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson.
For more of this interview check out Dale Beaumont’s “Secrets of Great Success Coaches Exposed!“.
