Do you have a problem with being productive? In this day and age, it can sometimes seem as if time management is nearly impossible. Productivity expert Penny Zenker says that there are four essential elements of being more productive and creating a better life for yourself.
Penny says that productivity isn’t about time. In reality, time can’t be managed. We all only have so much of it, and that’s not something that any of us have control over, however, we do have control over how we expend our energy in the time we are allotted.
She says that productivity is always self-defined, and that every person has their own understanding of what productivity is. It may very well be that because we each have our own definition of what productivity is, we have great power to be productive in our own way. Given the technological capabilities at our disposal and the opportunities to educate ourselves on pretty much whatever we want, if we are able to direct our own energy, there really is no limit to what we are able to produce.
In her book The Productivity Zone, Penny states that the four essential elements of being more productive are purpose, language, focus, and physiology. When we are on a purpose that is beyond just what we need to do or what’s in it for us, we achieve a greater sense of being productive and feel that we are actually accomplishing something. Do you have a purpose you are working toward?
The language that we use, when we talk about the world around us and when we engage in self-talk as those little voices in our heads start chattering, when we use negative language, we set ourselves up to produce more negative conditions. However, if we become aware of the language we are using, then we have the opportunity to change the words that we use and talk ourselves into being as productive as we are capable. Are you using language that helps you be productive?
In guiding our energy in the time that we are given, perhaps the most vital gift we have going for us in the New Economy is that attention is the new currency, and the value we create in our lives is where we focus our attention. To be productive, we must have an objective and keep moving toward that, and in an age when Attention Deficit Disorder is largely our modus operandi, focus is an incredibly important trait. How do you keep focus?
Lastly, she said that our physiology is also vital in developing productivity in our lives. It has been stated time and again that we are what we eat, and unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that much of what we’re eating is helping to become what we’d really like to be. But if you want to take care of your productivity, you need to start by taking care of your body, both by what you eat, the exercise you get, and the time you spend in nature.
To find out more about Penny Zenker, her services, and her book, go to http://p10app.com.
I had the opportunity to interview Penny a few years ago on “Renaissance SRQ” at WSLR. Listen to my interview with Penny Zenker below.
Penny Zenker on Productivity by Steve Mcallister on Mixcloud
