Mike Clark's Business Bites: Busy does not pay the bills - productivity does

Time is a resource. We pay people by the hour for their time and skills. Photo / Freepix

OPINION:

People form companies to go into business. Unfortunately, many end up pursuing busyness instead. Many cartoons, TV series, books, comic strips, and sayings try to encapsulate this phenomenon - from the classic expression of being 'in the rat race' or 'on the hamster's wheel', through to the more vivid descriptions of 'running around like a headless chicken', or being on a 'wild-goose chase'.

Time is a hugely valuable asset. Intuitively, we know this. Many people claim they want to live purposeful lives and to have their life mean something and, ideally, to make a difference. A near-death experience led inspirational speaker Brendon Burchard to ask three questions that changed the course of his life: "Did I love? Did I matter? Did I make a difference?"

Ideally, we should not need a near-death experience to change the course of our lives - and yet many remain stuck on a treadmill, wondering if an alternative actually exists.

What about you? Do you live a fulfilling life? Is your work satisfying? What about your team? In a comprehensive study of executives, researchers asked how many of them set strategic plans and actually executed them. The results led authors Chris McChesney, Jim Huling, and Sean Covey to write The 4 Disciplines of Execution to help people break out of the "whirlwind" and achieve their "wildly important goals" (wigs). The first discipline is getting clear on the one or two most important goals you have. Clarity leads to action.

When you reflect on this week, this month, this year to date - how well have you used your time? How well has your team used their time? Time is a resource. We pay people by the hour for their time and skills.

In my experience, when people are required to analyse their time-usage, it is not unusual for them to find 30 to 50 per cent of their time is wasted. Interruptions, waiting on others, procrastination, lack of clear instructions, lack of motivation, having too much on, and poor prioritisation are among the top identified reasons people give.

These are ALL preventable. Looking at yourself and your team, you would likely argue with my time-wastage estimation. It is hardly like people are just standing around doing nothing! Your observation of your team is most likely correct. They are busy. Busy does not pay bills. Productivity does.

One warehouse team I worked with were so busy they had asked for another team member to join them. Before acquiescing, a study was done of their movements, activities and productivity throughout the day. They were certainly busy, covering huge distances. A closer look revealed often they would cut open a box, put their knife down, get the product and take it to dispatch before heading off to pick up the next product, only to discover they did not have their knife (or pen, scanner, tape gun, etc).

The running around looking for tools was costing the company thousands of dollars. A belt was designed for each team member to hold all the tools and accessories they needed. Productivity increased dramatically, and another team member was not needed.

Consider where are you wasting time. Take action. Remember, it is not about being busy, it is about being effective and productive.

• Mike Clark is director and lead trainer and facilitator at Think Right business training company.