In today's fast-paced world, many of us find ourselves constantly busy, juggling multiple tasks and feeling overwhelmed by our never-ending to-do lists. We often wear our busyness as a badge of honor, believing that it's a sign of productivity and success. However, despite our best efforts, we still feel overworked, disorganized, and perpetually behind schedule. So, what are we doing wrong?
In his book "Procrastinate on Purpose," management consultant Rory Vaden challenges conventional wisdom about productivity and time management. He introduces a revolutionary approach that turns traditional thinking on its head and shows us how to achieve more by doing less. By sharing insights from highly successful individuals, Vaden reveals powerful techniques to multiply our productive hours and stretch our time, money, and effectiveness.
The Myth of Busyness
One of the first lessons Vaden teaches is that the most successful people never complain about being busy. While many of us take pride in telling others how packed our schedules are, high achievers, whom Vaden calls "multipliers," don't waste time or energy complaining about their workload.
Vaden himself used to boast about his busy life, sighing and explaining his numerous responsibilities when asked. However, he realized that this behavior was more about feeling important than being truly productive. After observing multipliers, he noticed that they accepted their packed agendas with a peaceful frame of mind, taking responsibility for their commitments instead of adopting a victim mentality.
To follow in their footsteps, we must remember that we chose the commitments that make demands on our time. By taking ownership of these responsibilities, we empower ourselves to find solutions to our overloaded schedules. We are not victims of our responsibilities, and we are not too busy to take care of them.
The Power of Elimination
Contrary to popular belief, the path to increased productivity doesn't lie in adding more tasks to our lives. Instead, multipliers focus on eliminating activities from their schedules. While human nature craves the satisfaction of achievement, often leading us to engage in trivial activities just to feel accomplished, the most productive individuals constantly ask themselves which tasks they can eliminate.
Multipliers concentrate on results rather than activities, understanding that success is measured by the significance of completed tasks, not their quantity. To start multiplying your own time, adopt an elimination mindset and scrutinize everything you do in a day. Some common time-wasters to consider eliminating include:
Television: The average American spends 34 hours a week watching TV, which adds up to nine years of their life. Unless you've already eliminated this distraction, you can't justifiably complain about being too busy.
Unnecessary meetings: A survey found that 47 percent of respondents consider meetings their largest time-waster. Before accepting a meeting invite, ask yourself if you really need to know the information shared or if you'll be called upon to make decisions. If the answer to both is no, eliminate it from your schedule.
Investing Money to Make Time
Multipliers approach time management with an investment mindset, similar to how wealthy people think about money. Instead of considering only the immediate cost of a purchase, they think about the long-term implications and opportunity costs.
For example, when deciding whether to buy a $5 coffee, a wealthy person doesn't just consider whether they have $5 in their pocket. They think about how that $5 could be invested and grow over time. If invested at an 8 percent interest rate, that $5 could become $30 in 30 years. Thus, the true cost of the coffee is $35 – the $5 spent today plus the $30 in potential future earnings.
Multipliers apply this same investment mindset to time management. They understand that investing money in automation and time-saving tools can generate both time and money in the long run. Many businesses hesitate to invest in automation due to upfront costs, but the hidden cost of not investing is wasted time in the future.
To multiply your time, give yourself permission to automate repetitive tasks and invest in tools that will save you time in the long run.
The Power of Delegation
For tasks that can't be eliminated or automated, delegation becomes a powerful tool for multiplying time. Many people resist delegating because they worry that others won't meet their standards or complete the work on time. However, this mindset often leads to the false belief that it's quicker to do everything yourself.
To illustrate the power of delegation, consider a task that takes you five minutes each day. If you delegate this task, you might spend 150 minutes training someone else to do it (using the 30x rule from business school experts). While this might seem like a significant time investment, it saves you 1,100 minutes annually in a 250-day work year.
When considering delegation, remember that time is money. If you earn $100,000 annually, your hourly rate is about $40. By delegating tasks to someone with a lower hourly rate, you free up your time to focus on higher-value activities, ultimately turning a profit.
Don't try to do everything yourself. Use delegation as a powerful tool to multiply your time and increase your productivity.
The Art of Strategic Procrastination
Contrary to popular belief, procrastination can sometimes be a valuable time management strategy. Vaden encourages readers to give themselves permission to procrastinate strategically. This doesn't mean putting off important tasks indefinitely, but rather waiting for the optimal time to act.
Just as a fisherman knows that fish bite at dusk and dawn, multipliers understand that success is not just about taking action or how long you spend doing something – it's also about timing. Strategic procrastination allows you to adapt to unpredictable changes and avoid wasting time on premature actions.
For example, a business owner who immediately packs an order due in two weeks might have to unpack and repack if the customer changes their mind. By patiently waiting until closer to the delivery date, the owner can accommodate any changes and save valuable time.
In our fast-paced world, things change rapidly. Don't be afraid of a little procrastination, and have the patience to wait for the right moment to act.
The Power of Focus and Concentration
When a task can't be eliminated, automated, delegated, or strategically procrastinated, it becomes a priority. Multipliers understand the importance of giving their full attention to these priorities. Like a farmer during harvest season who works 18-hour days to secure their livelihood, sometimes we need to focus all our energy on the task at hand.
To help maintain focus, multipliers use specific tools and strategies:
Comprehensive written plans: 85 percent of multipliers use detailed weekly schedules to allocate their time effectively, compared to less than 10 percent of the general population.
Full mental engagement: When working on a priority, bring your whole mind to the task, not just your physical presence. Avoid letting your thoughts wander and give the task your complete attention.
Single-tasking: Remember that you can only have one true priority at a time. When you sit down to concentrate on something, it should be your primary focus. Trying to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously diminishes your effectiveness.
Time Management as an Organizational Priority
While individual time management is crucial, Vaden emphasizes that it should also be a commercial imperative for organizations. A survey conducted by his consultancy found that the average employee wastes 2.09 hours on irrelevant activities daily. This translates to a significant cost for employers – approximately $10,396 per employee annually, based on the average American salary.
Despite the high cost of wasted time, many companies focus more on saving dollars than on managing time effectively. While businesses meticulously track financial metrics, they often lack formal strategies for addressing time waste. This failure to recognize time as a valuable, finite resource is a major problem for organizations.
To address this issue, companies need to adopt a multiplier mindset at all levels of the organization. Imagine a workplace where:
- Every pointless task is eliminated
- Activities are delegated to the most suitable person
- Teams know when to take action and when to be patient
- Individuals focus on their current priority without distractions
Such an environment would be both productive and profitable. To initiate this change, start by implementing these principles in your own work and lead by example. As your results improve, colleagues will likely follow suit.
Final Thoughts: Multiplying Your Life
The core message of "Procrastinate on Purpose" is that individuals and organizations waste precious time every day, resulting in significant financial and productivity costs. To regain control of your schedule and multiply your time, you need to carefully evaluate your daily activities and determine what can be eliminated, automated, delegated, or strategically procrastinated. What remains becomes your true priorities, deserving your full attention and focus.
One of the most profound ways to multiply your time is to invest in your health and well-being. By taking care of your body through regular exercise and healthy eating, you're not just adding hours to your day – you're potentially adding years to your life. Remember that investing in your health today can multiply your time on earth in the long run.
As you implement these strategies and begin to multiply your time, you'll find yourself with more free hours in your day. The next step is to ensure you're using this newfound time meaningfully. Consider exploring resources on how to spend your leisure time wisely, focusing on activities that contribute to your happiness and overall well-being.
By adopting the mindset and strategies of a multiplier, you can transform your approach to time management, increase your productivity, and create a more balanced and fulfilling life. Remember, it's not about finding time – it's about making it. So start procrastinating on purpose and watch as your available time multiplies before your eyes.