Audio Download

How to be productive

In this lesson we dig into productivity. In order to stay true to “Manage your energy, not your time,” productivity cannot be about getting everything on your list done or squeezing every minute of every day. I love this definition of productivity from Charles Duhigg: “it’s basically being able to first identify your goals, what actually matters most to you, and then being able to achieve those, without stress and strife and a sense of incompleteness in chasing them.” This lesson offers you the 5Ds – a concrete tool to achieve your goals with a lot less stress and a lot more fulfillment. 

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For Experimentation

Your challenge this week is to 5D your entire to do list based on the three goals you set for yourself in the discussion questions. You might be surprised by how many to do items fall off your list. More importantly, check in before and after to see if this process lightens the weight on your shoulders. It always does for me. 

Extra credit: share the 5Ds with your team and see what difference it makes for them.

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Going Further 

Read more about energy management and 5Ding your to do list on my blog.

Listen to a conversation with Charles Duhigg on Habits and Productivity on Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead podcast. Favorite quote: “Throughout history, there has only been one killer productivity app, and that has been thinking more deeply.” 

Watch Laura Vanderkam’s fabulous TED talk on Time Management. It’s not about shaving off tiny bits of time here and there. It’s about getting clear, really clear, on what actually matters.

For Discussion

The 5Ds is a structured way to create a habit of reflection – thinking deeply about what is truly most important to you in the long term, and then aligning your everyday actions with your passions and purpose rather than with the brightest blinking light on the dashboard. It helps ensure that you are working on what truly matters most to you, and clearing space for your teammates to work on what truly matters most to them.

So, what are your top three goals right now? Laura Vanderkam suggests setting a weekly priority in each of three categories: career, relationships, self. What are they?