Be Your Best

DEE President, Todd Gifford (white shirt) in the last mile of a Triathlon on September 4th, 2011…that he was never ‘ready’ for

“I will when I am ready” or “I am just about ready” are phrases I here a lot, and I probably say myself from time to time.  How many things are never started, let alone, never completed, because we are not quite ready…yet?  How many goals are not met because people did not get ‘started’ because they were not ready? Being ‘ready’ is a very interesting concept that I want to dig into a little bit.

What does ‘ready’ really mean?

Based on the dictionary, ‘ready’ is “in a suitable state for an activity, action, or situation; fully prepared.”

“Being Ready” is really a concept of your imagination or someone else’s imagination.  How do you ever really know when you are ready for anything or to do anything?  To me, not being ready really means procrastination most of the time.  And procrastination is just a fancy name for an ‘excuse’ not to do something.  Sure, there are certain things where there is a well-documented training or preparation process to prepare for an activity (like flying to the moon).  But, hey, are those astronauts really every totally 100% prepared to fly to the moon?  I doubt it.

The big point here is that ‘not ready’ is in the way of getting a lot more done and accomplishing your goals and objectives for probably almost all of us.  The perfect example is when you have a good idea, and then you write it down, but you do not act on that idea right away.  Not even a little action to move it forward.  Not quite ready yet.  What happens a lot of the time?  The idea starts to dissolve and lose its body and importance, and then…pooof, it’s gone and forgotten.

The Antidote to Procrastination or Not Being Ready

The widely accepted antidote to procrastination (and stress, anxiety, and fear by the way) determined by many experts, is…action.  That’s right, just ‘action’.  Doing something, anything.  Movement…physical and mental.

Another version of this is the Principle: “Start Before Ready”.  Taking little steps forward immediately after having an idea, before you are ready to, is an example of “Start Before Ready”.  Does it guarantee success with the idea?  No.  Does it put you in 1000% better position to accomplish much more?  Yes.

Aristotle: “We are what we Do.”

An interesting example:  Walt Disney bought 122,000 acres of swampland in Florida, opened a visitor’s center before any other construction on his theme park began, and in the visitor’s center he started selling Disney Theme Park souvenirs.  That is Start-Before- Ready!

One personal example of how Start Before Ready really works is my experience with triathlons.  My long range dream goal is to finish an ironman distance triathlon (having never done a triathlon when I created that goal).  Within a couple hours of hatching that idea/goal, I signed up for a shorter distance triathlon event before I really even knew what I was getting into — certainly before I was ‘ready’.  I was not even ready to get ready!  Plunking the money down after registering for the event, buying a triathlon book, and then telling people I am going to do it was my start-before-ready actions.  Nothing like putting a non-refundable deposit down to help you figure out how to complete a triathlon!  If I had not registered within minutes of deciding on my goal, I likely would not have completed even one event by now.  Never ready.

Most all of us are perfectionists in some way, and we tend to like to get as close to perfect and ‘ready’ as we can get before implementing.  Unfortunately, our version of ‘ready’ is blocking progress and effectiveness more often than we realize.  Recklessness is obviously not good, but being feckless is worse.  A big irony in all of this is our reasoning for waiting to be really ready so we can accomplish great things is THE reason why many things don’t get done (or started).  Start Before Ready and see what you can accomplish.

Be Your Best,
Todd D. Gifford

Todd Gifford, Exiting the 1.1 Mile Swim of the Olympic Distrance Triathlon on Sept 4, 2011

It never ceases to amaze me how I act and feel when I am constrained (or ‘guided’ might be a better word for it) by some type of plan vs. with no plan.  Even though we typically like to think of ourselves as being more productive and effective without lots of guidance and constraints, I really question the logic on that when I look at my own behavior and results.  My conclusion is that what most of us don’t like is other people constraining us (unless we ask them to to), but constraints, guidance, and a written plan absolutely make us more productive in whatever it is that we are doing, whether it be at work or outside of work.  I think this applies to every thing right down to the grocery list, which is really a specific ‘plan’ of action.

Anything I am tackling without a plan or specific constraints or goals laid out is basically relying on self discipline.  Many experts have studied self discipline, and define it generally speaking as “marshalling one’s willpower to accomplish desirable things”.  The problem with relying on self discipline to accomplish anything ranging from getting the groceries, losing weight, completing a marathon, or finishing a major work project is that we are up against major natural forces that can be extremely difficult to overcome or power through.

The reason I bring this up is to make a key distinction between Self Discipline and Self-Imposed Discipline.  Sounds about the same, but to me, there is a huge difference — and the results you can achieve understanding this difference is significant.  One critical point of distinction:  Self Discipline is based largely on dealing with your own natural instincts and emotions.  Self-Imposed Discipline is non-natural, fabricated, and very systematic.  Those sound like pretty opposite sides of the coin, don’t they?  They are.

I really like the following quote from Les Brown, an author and motivational coach and speaker, because I think it sums up a lot of what Self-Imposed Discipline is all about:  “People fall short of their potential not because they aim too high and miss, but because they aim too low and hit.”

If you don’t select and document a lofty goal to begin with (and this really applies to even the most mundane of tasks or activities), and rely only on your self discipline, chances are you will fall well short of any expectations or visions that you had, or what you were capable of.  Self-imposed discipline, on the other hand, is artificially creating a discipline ‘system’, where your natural emotions and willpower bump up against virtual ‘guide rails’ that inflict pain greater than your natural instincts can conjure up.

Specific Example of Self-Imposed Discipline

I just completed an Olympic distance Triathlon earlier in September, which was a mid-range goal that I have had moving me towards obtaining my longer range bigger goal of completing an iron man distance triathlon.  I implemented a 13 week training program leading up to the event that I was following based on a book written by a professional triathlete.  Each morning waking up I never waffled or debated about ‘if’ I was going to do the training required in the program that day.  It was not about ‘if’.  There was no ‘if’ choice to be made.  I paid my event registration money, told many people I was going to do it, and the training plan prescribed had to be followed very closely if it was going to be effective.  The pain of not doing the training each day far exceeded any pain of doing it, that my mind could come up with, making it a ‘no brainer’.  The interesting thing is that once the triathlon event was over and completed, it was pretty challenging to settle back into a training routine that was only half as rigorous.  My general daily training is relying more on self discipline vs. my preparation for the triathlon was done with self-imposed discipline.

It’s no different whether you are dealing with managing the tasks and projects for your work day, accomplishing everything you want during your weekend, or trying to lose 12 pounds.  Telling yourself what you want is not enough.  Left to self discipline and willpower, your odds are pretty low to achieve what you desire.  You need to artificially create a self-imposed discipline system that has: (a) a very specific documented goal and deadline (the more aggressive the better), (b) a plan written down to achieve your goal, and (c) systematic designed-in ‘pain’ factors that are greater than what your natural instincts push you towards.  See what self-imposed discipline can for you!

Be Your Best,
Todd D. Gifford

Todd Gifford – Success Coach

Productivity for most of us is about getting the most results out of the time we spend trying to achieve the results.  Or another way to say it, get the greatest results and impact out of the least amount of time and/or effort.

Productivity comes down to making best use of your time, and making good choices about how to utilize your time.  In order to take all this stuff that we do and try to better understand it as it relates to productivity, here are 3 key lists that you can create and use to help you become more productive.

The 3 Key Lists

1. Key Things I Must Do

This list sounds really simple and basic, but it is surprising how many of us get caught up in activities that we did not ‘decide’ were things we must do.  In order to improve productivity, we have to have conscious thought about what tasks we are choosing to spend our valuable time on.  ‘Must’ is different than ‘should’ or ‘could’.  Must-Do things represent tasks and projects that you have consciously decided are critical to get done, period.  These are ‘if I do not do this _______ task/project, I will not get to where I need to go.’  When you bump many of the things you find yourself doing during the day against this criteria, you will generally find that you are doing many things that are not Must-Do.  This fact, by itself, is not a problem.  The problem comes in to play when you review all 3 Key Lists of your Productivity System.

Bottom line is you should have a “Things I Must Do” list which comprehends all the variables and priorities that your job/life present you.

2. Things I Don’t Like to Do, But Are Key to Get Done

Inevitably, when you are thinking about your Must-Do list, if you are doing this correctly, you will identify Must-Do items, tasks, and projects that you do not like doing.  The reason you do not like doing them is irrelevant.  Bottom line is you don’t like to do some of the Must-Do critical tasks and projects.

The key aspect of this ‘Must-Do But Don’t Like to Do’ list is that you need to find someone or something else to complete these tasks/projects.  If you do not find alternative methods to get these tasks/items completed, then they likely won’t get done or done soon enough.  If you are like me, I procrastinate on things I do not enjoy doing.  I trick myself into thinking that the task is tough or time consuming, and that I need a bigger time slot for it than I have right now; or that it will require more research or pre-work than it really will.  Since you don’t like doing the items in this category, we all will tend to stay away from these items or put them off.  But that does not make them any less important on the Must-Do list.

The key for items falling on to this list is a little bit of time spent being creative about how someone else or something else could complete the task for you is time well spent.  Instead of grinding on the task itself, brainstorm how it could be completed some other way.  Obviously, if the task can be delegated to someone else, that is the easiest route to take.  But many times, we dwell on the task needing to be done that we don’t like to do vs. thinking ‘who else or what else could do this for me?’.

3. Things I Like To Do, But Should Not Be Doing

This is the toughest list to create, but arguably the most important list that negatively affects our productivity.  This list is made up of the tasks and projects and activities that we really like to do, but they do not bring substantial value to you or the company.  Essentially, they are not Must-Do items, but they are attractive to you like a ‘shiny object’.

These ‘shiny object’ tasks and activities can chew up a tremendous amount of time, and prevent you or your team from completing ‘Must Do’ critical and high value projects.  I see very capable people ‘justify’ these Like-To-Do tasks into the day’s agenda.  If they are repeat type of tasks, then they can become a bad habit within your daily schedule.

Thinking in terms of these 3 key lists of activities/ tasks/projects, helps to serve as a neutral check and balance for your time.  They serve as a good audit and pulls you out of the forest to see the bigger picture and ensure you are making best use of your time.

At minimum, just thinking about which list or category the task or project you are working on falls into will help you become more productive.  Eliminating just one chunk of time each day that would have been devoted to a ‘Like To Do, But Should Not Do’ task and replacing it with a ‘Must-Do’ critical task can increase your productivity substantially.

Be Your Best,

Todd D. Gifford