I am bit embarrassed to tell you that I am not really good book reader. I don’t read much books and when I do, it takes long time to finish them.

I had the possibility to read “the ONE thing: the surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results“.

Despite being lousy book reader I did read the book with one go. We were traveling in Vienna, Austria and I used all waiting time to read this book.

I will read books with excitement when I get well written and interesting books in my hands

“The ONE thing” is written by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan.

Gary Keller is chairman of the board and cofounder of Keller Williams Inc. Which is the #1 real estate company in United States.

Jay is the editor at HarperCollins Publishers and co author of Gary’s books. He is frequent speaker and corporate trainer.

The book is available in Amazon.

If you are chasing two rabbits, you won’t catch either one

What is “the one thing”? What is this book all about?

“One thing” is reference to an idea. Everyone should pick one thing and focus completely to the one thing only.

Michael Phelps selected swimming and practiced six hours every day. And he became the most successful swimmer and most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals.

Steve Jobs reduced number of Apples products when he rejoined Apple and rest is history we all know.

Pick one talent, one skill and start building your success on top of your ONE thing.

What is the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

So – that is the one thing. It means extreme focus and a lot of work – one important thing at a time.

Authors suggest that you should use focusing question: “What is the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” Answering the question and working with the items through focusing question will cause domino effect which will bring you success.

After you have picked your one thing, your number one priority should be protecting the time you use to work with your ONE thing. You should reserve four hours of non-interrupted time from your day only to work with your ONE thing.

…

Can your write a book about one idea? YES you can.

The flow of the book is extremely good. It is very readable and well written with good examples and stories to justify authors idea. It has several drawings that nicely fill the gaps and visualize the written text.

Every chapter ends with summary of big ideas.

Evil minded and cynical reader would probably say that “Do you need book for that? It is too simple and too obvious.”

Most productivity advises are obvious and simple. We just don’t notice them or follow them.

..But the book is not only about that one thing. It is everything around the one thing. It questions many of the common and well accepted productivity beliefs. The books first chapter starts with six productivity lies, like multi-tasking or task lists, which author rips in pieces.

I enjoyed very much reading it. It raised many thoughts about success and failure.

I believe what the book says. If you would follow the instructions I am sure it would bring success. The difficult part is the four hours of work with your one thing and in that the writers won’t help much.

The book really made me think and that is what I love.

Gary’s view of to-do-lists is interesting.

How lists are serving the productivity business. All apps and software are based on different kind of lists… lists are filled with low priority and unnecessary tasks. .. We are stuck with the lists, crossing done tasks over without moving closer to our goals or success.

After reading the book I have worked to get rid of my to-do-list and I tried hard to find ONE thing every day that would bring me closer to my success. Short term or long-term. I have asked the focusing question a lot to find the most important tasks and items for me and for my team.

You will hear of my successes and failures later.

You can find the book from Amazon.

I highly recommend reading it.

This post has affiliate links to Amazon. If you buy the book through the links I will get small commission (less than dollar)  from Amazon. I appreciate it if you do it to support my work. I wont recommend anything I wont like or use myself

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Creative work needs periods of time when you can concentrate to work without interruptions.

We live in work culture where interruptions are too well accepted.

Since collaboration is the selected and highly accepted way to work today. It is ok to interrupt. It is socially even required that you are always available for interruptions.

Companies are building open space offices where noise and interruptions are everywhere.

Collaboration is good, but if you are constantly in collaboration mode it will eat your and your organizations productivity.

It is ok to be unreachable. It should not be your responsibility to fight whole day against interruptions except your own internal ones of course.

I have always talked for fast and instant communication for getting things done and I am still for it, but I have recently seen the light. Collaboration can kill your productivity. Almost completely.

Interruptions make you stressed like hell. You have your own stuff to take care of. Your day is at best helping others and worst just listening all the nonsense others are offering to you. Your own tasks and projects won’t proceed.

It is miracle that I am able to finish anything at the office! .. and when I do it is certain that I am not doing it with full focus!

 

I recently did keep log of the external interruptions I had during one day. I had average 18 interruptions, not caused by me, during 8 hours. It means I was interrupted every 25 minutes.

Different studies suggest that recovering to full focus of the primary tasks takes from 11 minutes to 20 minutes. If I don’t count time that I did spend for interruptions I did spent least 198 minutes to recovering from the interruptions!  (Some of the interruptions happened already in the middle of that 11-2o minutes recovery time)

It is miracle that I am able to finish anything at the office! .. and when I do it is certain that I am not doing it with full focus!

Some of the productivity methods are built only to protect you from the interruptions like – Pomodoro Method.
Most remote workers are extremely happy to work from home and the number one reason is the time without interruptions. Most remote workers feel that they are more effective while they are working from home office.

So what is the solution?

Obviously you need the collaboration. You cannot be the expert on all areas. Even ideas need other ideas to breed and grow.

The solution is to agree in organization how the day is divided. The solution is to separate collaboration and work.

First part of the day can be reserved for collaboration and later part could be for work.

All teams can have their meetings in the morning. If you need support from your colleagues you can ask for help during the first part of the day. The last part of the day is reserved to work only without interruptions.

If the agreement is done on a company level it will reduce the need to fight individually against interruptions. Employers will have more space to focus to their work.

Productive organization is builded on top of people who are productive and who have tools to focus.

What do you think?  Tell your views below in comments!

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I have all my life kept strict boundaries between work and life.

My philosophy has been that boundaries make it easier to leave work behind and concentrate to other things at home.  Boundaries help you to keep the work-life balance.

I am not sure anymore if it is the right way. I have started to feel that it is not working.

Last two years I have practised my own “Better Productivity System” where I always take care of the issues that cause me the stress. It does not matter if it is work or home issues, but the things in my mind need to be handled, solved and removed.

For my well-being I have to mix work and life.

…

For extraordinary results – boundaries are not good either.

Best results will appear in extremes. When you can fully concentrate on your work OR on your life.

So why setting boundaries is not viable choice?

Because your life, your home and your work will always mix. Finding the balance between work and life is impossible. You cannot control when those extremes occur.

That is one of the reasons why freelancing is so popular. You can choose when you work and when you will have your life.

…

Your employer should make it possible to mix life, family and work. When you are in work, you are expected to work and when you are in home you are expected to have your life.

The problem in work-life balance are the working hours. We are expected to work at least eight hours per day and we are expected to arrive to work at certain times. If you have family, it is not easy.

Working hours will add extra pressure to your life and to your work.

If you are not working in a factory, sadly enough, we have NO better way to measure or control your performance than how long you stay at the office. Which has nothing to do how much you work.

…

I have started to mix work and life. What does that mean?

1. If I have work items in my mind. I will take care of them. Sometimes I work during the evening to finish something. When I do that, I sleep well and I don’t need to hurry to work next morning, since I know that I have already finished some of the next days work.

In my system I always take care of the items that stress me. If I need to take care home matters during work hours, I don’t feel guilt, since I will take care of the work also outside the office hours.

2. I divide my time differently. I will come late to the office after I have sent my kids to school. .. and it will also mean that I will stretch and take care of the work after they have gone to sleep – if necessary.

It is impossible to divide your day to three eight-hour periods. eight hours of work, eight hours of spare time and eight hours of sleep. It just won’t work.

You should stop counting hours. Concentrate more on the effectiveness of your day. How much you achieve and get done during they day.

…

Don’t be afraid of mixing your work and life, but be careful.

It does not mean that you will work eight hours in the office and then another six at home.

It means that you can leave early to meet your family, since you will take care of the work in the evening, early next morning or even during the sunday evening.

It means you will take care of the work in the office in less time than others, since you won’t spend your time to waste.

…

If your work results are good and you are productive and efficient most bosses are happy to give you more flexibility and freedom.

If your results are not good, your will receive complaints about your working hours for sure. It is so easy to use them as weapon against you.

Responsibility, productivity and efficiency brings more freedom to use your time. Your work-life balance is in shape when you enjoy both – work and life.

photo credit: Sebastian Anthony via photopin cc

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This time more casual and down to earth approach to productivity from every day life.

I am not fan of post-its or paper notebooks and I am heavy user of Evernote like mentioned before. You just can’t avoid post-its, even if you would like to do so.

…

The problem with software to-do-lists and task lists are that you need to open them.

Notebooks and post-its are easy, visual and you don’t need to start your PC or go to application for seeing your tasks .. or to be reminded.

I often split tasks to smaller pieces with post-its and then I just stick them on my monitor or on the desk. (The smallest post-it “page-markers” are good for this)

It is more rewarding to wrinkle the post-it after I have done the task than to cross it or delete it in application.

For tasks post-its are fine, but they are not meant for notes. Use Evernote if you want to have usable notes which are  searchable afterwards.

However, for visualizing your progress, or visualizing that you have done something post-its, are great.

When you finish your task use excessive force and collect them to done box or bowl or whatever where you can see what you have achieved.

Here is my “done box”. (It use to include peanut butter. Now it is a productivity tool)

I have really good memory and I rarely do any notes. That is what I believe at least. .. But if I need to do something before I go to work or leave somewhere I always forget to do it.

Luckily someone invented post-its. It is amazing how placing empty post-its to your outdoor helps you to remember.

I don’t write anything I just place them to our outdoor.

Do you have any “out of ordinary” ways to use post-its?

The post Two ways to use post-its. How empty post-its help me to remember appeared first on Better Productivity Blog.

What is perfect?

Have you seen it?

I have never seen anything perfect.

…

Except when your daughter is born and you see her first time. She is perfect. Your second daughter is perfect too. Third and fourth.

When your kid smiles at you. For a second the moment is perfect.

..

But in business. In work. You can always improve. You can always make more profit. There is always several ways to implement things. There is no such thing than one perfect way.

While perfect is not opposite of badly done, perfect seems to be opposite of done.

Perfect is one of the top most used excuses for not finishing something. “I need to still do this and this to finish it and then it is perfect”.

It is one of the top blockers for not releasing and finishing something.

Perfect does not equal success or more money. Vice versa. If you would implement the perfect product. What else you could sell?

Perfect is just in your own mind. When people change – perfect will change.

Perfect is NOT good goal. Goal needs to be measurable. How do you measure perfect?

You rarely hear word perfect from people who get things done. For them ultimate words are: done, finished, in use and sold.

Unfinished is not producing anything. Perfect is far from done.

New perfect is DONE.

Image courtesy of artur84 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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When I started blogging and tweeting I was worried “what people will think”

Then I did get back to my own thoughts.

It does not matter what others think.

I am not building picture of me that is NOT me.

Everything I tweet or blog is me. It is how I think, it is what I believe and it is what I do.

No fake.

In life easiest way to live your life is to be you. Always.

It is easy to forget and start to follow others, start to please others – but it will burn you out.

In my leadership position I am sometimes in situations where I start to think “should I do this as leader and what I should say” – but I always decide to be me first.

If your REAL you gets too much in to conflict with your employer. It is better to quit and find place where you can be you.

Small conflicts do not matter. My job as leader is to communicate the employers vision, goals, values and culture to the team.

But like I said – if your values and the values of the company are too much in conflict – you should quit. Living and working against your values is difficult, hard and it will haunt you.

READ: 16 Life lessons

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What if the time management expert in your family is actually 13-year-old girl?

What if she makes your complaints and busyness look ridiculous?

Welcome to my life.

My daughter practices rhythmic gymnastics. She is very serious, passionate and has high goals.

She has exercises six to eight times a week total 20-25 hours. If you add 25 hours of school to that and that she needs to go to exercises in different city which is 37 (23 miles) kilometers away – you know she is busy.

..and homework. School requires you to work a lot at home.

May has been specially demanding since she has been in competitions in Belarus, Italy and soon in Vienna.

In May and April she has also made socks and jumpsuit for schools handwork lessons.

If she would work in the office. She should say “it is really hectic”, “I am really busy” or “I am in stress”, but she rarely complains or mentions being busy.

We are often asked does the school suffer? How does she arrange the school.

Grades are excellent.

She has extremely good ability to focus. I am sure that the ability to focus comes from the sport.

Doing that in age of 13 is something that I admire. Me and my wife have not pushed her to do it, but we have helped her with all possible ways to meet her dreams and goals.

..

13-year old girl can manage time and get excellent results and here we grown-ups invent all kind of manifestos, rules, instructions and systems to get things done.

She has no systems, except perhaps brute force. If you need to do something – go and do it.

My daughters productivity tips:

1. Take all spare time in to use. When you are traveling read to exams.
2. If you need to read in the dark car. Head lamp helps. If you don’t have head lamp use iPhone.
3. Take pictures of school book pages with iPhone. You can read them anywhere when you have time.
4. Wake up early if needed. You get extra hours to your day if you wake up 5.15am.
5. Wake up early only if mandatory, otherwise sleep as much as you can.

..

She has shown that you can do almost anything if you have passion.

What I have learned from my daughter:

1. Focus. If you have focus you can do a lot.
2. Goals. You need to have goals with challenge. Otherwise you wont improve.
3. Passion and dreams are mandatory for exceptional results.
4. Always try your best. Your performance needs to be so good that even the dumbest judge will notice.

..and my free tip for you – productivity advisors, experts and enthusiasts – you don’t always find the best advice from expert.

Look for people who have drive and passion – even if they are small girls..

Photo Credit Flickr cliff1066

The post How 13-year-old girl defeated me in productivity? appeared first on Better Productivity Blog.

I have lost interest to my career and started to be interested about my job.

Career or job – what is the difference?

Career is the ladders where you advance. You will get promotions, bigger responsibility, more people who work for you – you become big boss or manager. Your friends will say “he has a good career”

Instead of the career I have started to build my job.

My goal in life and in my work is to do what I want, what is fun and what I love to do.

..and that is what I am building.

How do you do that?  How to have job of your dreams?

First you need to know what you want to do. Then you do it.

You don’t believe it is that easy? It is, but you need to be patient. It will take time.

1. Define what your passions are and what you want to do. Make sure you define them and you know what you want. If you don’t know, you cannot move towards them.

You need to know what you want.

Do you like to speak publicly? Do you like to do drawings? Do you like to write?

2. Find possibilities to do your passions in your current workplace. Talk to your boss. Talk to his boss. Talk to your colleagues. Talk to anyone who could know. Nothing BAD happens if you talk and discuss.

3. Offer to do what you love. Tell that you would be interested to do speaking, writing or drawing. Whatever your passions are. If nobody knows what your passions are and what you would like to do, nothing will happen. Nobody will offer you anything, if they don’t know….and if you don’t know.

4. Do what you love. Sometimes you can draw, write or prepare presentations about something. Then share them with your boss or with his boss. Or anyone who might be interested. Forget boundaries, limits and organizational boxes. Just do it.

—

We have the satisfaction query in our workplace. It has the one question that asks “How often do you feel joy in your work?”

The joy is not only in the hands of the employer. You are responsible of the joy in your work more than your employer is responsible of it.

Instead employers should hire people who are capable of finding their joy by themselves.

I have worked for a year to build my job. I am close to doing whatever I want.

Nothing I do conflicts the company or my employer – vice versa. More I do tasks, projects and work that is close to my passions, skills and my talent, more my employer will gain.

I don’t care positions, titles or job descriptions. I am building my work towards the things I love and I am talented to do.

–

You don’t always need to quit to achieve what you want.

When you quit, you don’t know what is ahead of you.

You can quit and choose to build your own business OR you can start building and developing your current job towards your passions – to feel the joy in your work and workplace.

Photo credit Flickr OakleyOriginals

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I believe that key to success of any company is the empowerment of the people.

I work with software development. I develop tools, automation and ways to implement and release software more rapidly.

Last weeks I have pitched about gamification. I have developed way to speed up the work through gamification. The game empowers people and moves responsibility from the managers to the people who are doing the work.

Response to my idea has been awesome and almost all so far have been happy that someone trusts to their employees.

Few days back I did keep presentation and after the presentation one of the software architects said that the presentation and topics are so good that the presentation almost made him cry. Wow.

Why you should empower people?

1. Empowering is the only way to establish proudness in work. Old age craftsmanship is disappearing. Shoemakers and tailors are known and respected for their skills and they are proud of what they do and can do.

That craftsmanship attitude is vanishing from modern work. ..and it is sad. Because establishing the proudness is the only way to have the best service and best quality.

2. Trust makes people to try their best. Trust makes people to take the responsibility. Trust and empowerment makes them to try their best. You don’t want to fail the trust.

3. Empowerment makes people to think. Empowerment makes people to think, because they have nobody who would think for them.

4. Empowerment allows people to fail. Failure is the best way to learn. Modern organization empowers people and allows them to learn.

5. Empowerment gives space and room for organizational heroes. That’s it. Give freedom to the ones that make things happen.

If your organization is not able to take the responsibility and ready to be empowered you have failed already long before.

Your recruitment has failed and you have hired wrong kind of people. It is time to define your culture and start fixing your mistakes.

Related : Valve has no bosses

Related : Zappos – Company values are reason to hire and fire

Related : Supercell – New road to success is Flat Organization

Photo credit Flickr Shoops2011

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I want to share with you one great moment of my week.

I know. You should not blog about yourself. For reader engagement the most important word is you.. But I am sharing this to prove that the things I do and believe are really working and appreciated.

Like I have said : “Life is small things, moments and actions that are everywhere. You need to find them!”

You need to find the good and best moments from your life.

Life is small things, moments and actions that are everywhere. You need to find them!

How to avoid stress?

My nine-year old daughter started to tell me that she had lost her fipple flute. She needs the flute in music class and she does not know where it is. She was crying that if she tells it to my wife – my wife will be upset.

I was so happy. Few years back I would have been the hot head of the family and I would have been angry if something is lost. Even ridiculously small item like flute.. It was because of the stress I had elsewhere and the fact that I was not able to put things in order. Now I can.

To tell how I have reached that state of mind is a too big to be told in one blog post, but..I have posted many times about stress and related things.

1. Understand what is important. the main thing in my life is to learn to know yourself and constantly work the items away that cause you the stress. I weigh things a lot and put them in order. What is really important? Asking what is the worst thing that happens if something is undone or fails? – can help you to put things to right priority and makes you to feel better.

2. Work the most worrying things first. I work the most worrying things first. It frees your mind. You need to recognize what troubles you the most. It does not matter if it is work or home, but you need to take care of it immediately.

3. Stay in the moment. I always try to focus on the moment. Even if it is just talking to my kids, watching TV or discussing with my wife. I try to be present as much as possible and stay in the moment. When you do that, your mind rests and you will get more out whatever you are doing.

4. Take care of the root causes. I don’t believe at all to exercising, breathing deeply, meditation or anything similar. I don’t think they are waste of time or bad at all. They make you feel better, but they are not the solution. They might cut the feeling of the stress, but they wont cure it. If you exercise, you will be stressed person who is fit.

You need to take care of the root causes. You need to solve the knots that cause you the stress one way or another.

When you’ve no issues or worries in your head. You will feel great.

Photo credit Flick Paul Bica 

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