Reduced Productivity – A Natural Part of Aging or Misplaced Priorities?
I was complaining to a colleague that I’m not getting as much done as I’d like. I set goals and create to do lists. I’m working hard but I’m just not getting everything done. And it’s making me frustrated.
I told her I don’t know if I’m just not being productive or if I’m expecting too much of myself. My colleague agreed, saying she wonders if maybe we’re just slowing down as we age. We don’t have the energy we had in our twenties and thirties and our memory isn’t as good. Maybe it’s just taking us longer to do things - longer to make decisions, come up with ideas and get things done. What a depressing thought.
I spent some time mulling over this question of productivity and efficiency. I don’t want to just accept the status quo. There’s got to be something I can do to solve the problem. The conclusion I’ve come to is that my slow production is probably all of the above, plus one more thing. Upon reflection, I realize in the last few weeks I’ve been doing too much “busy-work”.
I’m keeping busy, doing tasks but I’m not working on high priority items. If someone poked their head into my office I’d look like I’m working hard, but I’m not working on the important tasks, tasks that will move me closer to my goals. It’s time for a course adjustment.
This is the first week in June - two thirds of the way through the second quarter of 2008. When I look at my goals for this quarter I see that I’m doing well on some goals but am falling way short of many others. I’m behind on some of these goals mainly because I haven’t given them enough attention. I’ve been working on projects that weren’t on my original plans and allowed some other people’s priorities take precedence.
Clearly I need to reprioritize. As soon as I finish writing this post I’m going to review my plans for this quarter and pare them down to the most important for achieving my long term goals. Then I’m going to block a chunk of time each day for working solely on these goals.
Hopefully this course correction will help me get more accomplished. I can’t do anything about aging and any natural slowing down that accompanies it. But by focusing on the high priority items and creating blocks of time for these items, I should be able to get a lot more done. It’s a cliché but it’s time to work smarter, not harder.
Andrea J. Stenberg
If you’ve struggled with your productivity, please leave a comment and share your thoughts.
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Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 11:48 am under
I am 66 and still hold down a full time recruiting job. I have to write an outline every day in order to get everything I have to do. Your right I too don’t know if I have more to do or if I am getting slower.
June 5th, 2008 at 1:22 pmJane,
I’m glad to know I’m not alone. Do you write your outline first thing in the morning or the night before? I find I’m more productive when I create my list the night before. I guess it gives my subconscious time to mull it over.
Andrea
June 6th, 2008 at 4:40 pmAndrea:
I am 55 and dealing with the same “not getting enough done” concerns. I could easily say am spending too much time on busy work and not enough on projects but is that really the case? Projects are projects and ongoing tasks and support roles are on going tasks and support roles. I think we are sometimes too quick to classify our support - keeping the trains running on time roles as busy work. I think this comes from not having a “deliverable” at the end of the day. The deliverable is injected into the system like the fuel in your car as you drive along. No one sees it but we sure know it when it’s not there.
I think sometimes we need to give ourselves more credit for the support roles we play and the tasks we do the keep our staffs motivated, directed and making sure the trains run on time. Without this the projects become pretty meaningless. I write about this and other stuff on my blog. You might like it. http://lester-sez.blogspot.com
Lester.
June 8th, 2008 at 5:51 pmI’m a member of a women’s group and this is a favorite topic. We noticed that we just don’t process as quickly, though we have gathered a lot of information to compensate for the slower productivity. It isn’t just ‘maturity’ that hampers our productivity…it’s too many interruptions that surrounds us each day.
Your point regarding staying focused on the priorities…what’s the most important action for me to move my goals forward to completion.
What is important to me is how do I want to live each day. I plan the night before and wake up ready to step into my day.
Pat
June 11th, 2008 at 3:21 pmLester,
You are so right about giving ourselves a break. Sometimes I think I should have been a bricklayer so at the end of the day I could see what I’ve accomplished. Doing bookkeeping or replying to customer emails doesn’t look like much at the end of the day, but they’re all necessary parts of doing business.
Pat,
I’m with you. When I plan my day ahead of time I get so much more done than when I leave it ’til the morning.
Andrea
June 12th, 2008 at 11:46 am