Friday, February 11, 2011

Productivity...


..can be measured by how big the pile of dirt is you've moved. It's a fairly simple task. There are a number of ways to measure the pile. Height, circumference, volume, number of shovel loads moved. For different jobs there are different measures. Telephone calls can be counted, tracked and monitored by supervisors. GPS maps your movement. Time clocks log your time so your accountable to your employer. But suppose the pile of dirt is not very big and it has taken to be to long to move according to the person in charge. Then what?

What were the distractions you faced? Were they legitimate to the task or other aspects of the employer? What were the delays and setbacks encountered in moving the pile of dirt? Did you have a spoon-sized shovel, or worse did you choose a spoon-sized shovel over the correct one? Did you have to help out a coworker who could not complete his own duties without help?

There are days when no matter how hard you work, you seem to be in the same place at the end of the day. Can you review what you spent time on and show that work was really accomplished? And did that work count toward your goal or merely distract you from your goal.

We all need help now and then. But another persons work, if not our responsibility, is not work done to our favor. So sometimes the phone is better off unanswered and email unread, until it is time to deal with the distractions.

Complete the task, check it off, then move on.

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