Most everyone agrees that execution is critical to the development of a company. In fact, many investors in Silicon Valley, believe that execution is the number one risk when it comes to startups and early developing companies. We will have many articles on this topic because it is so important. But, I want to start with how to get more done in less time.
There are so many things that need to be accomplished and often not enough time or people to do all of these jobs. So the question is: If everyone has the same number of hours in a day, how is it that some people get exceptional results and others get very little done?
Here is one way to do it. I am sure you have heard of the Pareto Rule or the 80/20 rule. That rule works for most things and you can use it to become more efficient and more effective and in fact, do bigger things. Gary Keiler, in this book, “The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results” tells how he accomplished more by doing less.
He says things were not working out with his job and his life. Too many demands, too little time and he had to do something. He went to a consultant and was told to do less. He was told to narrow his focus to one thing. In fact, the more narrow your focus the more successful you will be. “To achieve an extraordinary result you must choose what matters most and give it all the time it demands”
He was told to answer this question: “What’s the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
It all boils down to this very simple thing but something you have to practice at to become good at. In other words, you need to get out a calendar and make an appointment with yourself, four hours at a time, every day, to focus and work on that one thing that must get done. No distractions such as email, phone, chit chat with other workers or friends. Tell people you are busy. Four (or more) uninterrupted hours to focus on what is important. That is how you master your craft and that is how you get things done.
Here is a couple of examples. Harry Browne, America’s most successful salesman, worked four hours a day selling different things including cars and in the afternoon did other personal things including writing. He says selling is easy and we will be discussing his methods and ideas in
other articles.
Michael Phelps practiced six hours a day, 365 days a year, a 52-day practice advantage over
his competitors, which resulted in 22 gold medals, the most ever by an Olympian.
Focusing a minimum of 4-hours a day on being the best rather than doing your best is the answer.
As you knock down one goal, the next one gets easier. But, you have to protect your time blocks. Don’t let those time blocks get moved or interrupted Until that one thing gets done, everything else is a distraction.
Try it. You will be amazed at what you will accomplish and how good it feels to complete difficult tasks quickly and how many tasks you will get done and the progress you will make because each completed task moves you closer to your goal.
