Three Voices that Affect Your Results

The Wall Street Journal headline announces “U.S. Productivity Falls 1.9% in First Quarter.” What if your personal productivity made the headlines, how would it read?

There is a battle associated with your ability to work efficiently and enjoy life harmony. There are three voices that influence your thinking about the work you do each day.

1. The Voice of Illusion
2. The Voice of Deception
3. The Voice of Reality

The voice of illusion deals with time

When you accept a misleading view of time, you make poor choices, waste time, and increase your stress. The message “Later…that can wait” is designed to encourage procrastination. When “later” comes it is then that you may realize the amount of time wasted. The Illusion returns to mock you for falling for the same old trick yet again.

This moment in time will never repeat itself — that is the truth. This hour, your morning, this day of life will never happen again. Productivity calls us to be good stewards of time. Time used wisely, intentionally, and purposefully rewards you with progress and energy. 

The voice of deception is about being busy

Deception imposes a false understanding regarding your time use which leads to a lack of awareness, misunderstanding, and even vulnerability. If you accept the message that “being busy” is what matters, your efforts will be to stay busy. Busy gets in the way of adding value. Yes, busy feels good. Time to reflect seems wasteful. That is part of the deceptive plan.

When your days are full of activity, you lose freedom to receive something greater. Being busy about the “wrong things” will land you where you don’t want to be. As Jim Stovall writes, “Just because you are moving does not mean you are moving in the right direction.” 

The voice of reality: “You will succeed as you do what matters the most, at this moment.”

Reality is doing the right thing, for the right reason, at the right time, for the good of all. Reality is about what is real, not illusionary or deceptive.

Productivity is about being engaged in what really matters. Being productive is about producing results. Success comes because you are engaged in what matters most now.

One secret to productivity

You must recognize the illusion of time and the deception of being busy in order to live in the reality of what matters most, right now. Such mindfulness will support getting the work done and your future success.

As Jim Stovall writes in Ultimate Productivity:

There’s only one good reason to pursue any activity, and that is because it’s the most productive and efficient way to accomplish your mission of moving toward your personal success goal.

In the productivity battle, choose which message you accept as true…

• The voice of Illusion says, “No worries, you’ll have time for that, later.”
• The voice of Deception chants, “You are so very busy, good job!”
• The voice of Reality clarifies by declaring truth, “You will succeed, because right now you are engaged in what matters most.”

Creating Space for Reflection

• What do you desire to accomplish with your life? What are your thoughts about “time” – your lifetime?

• Where do you think you are “wasting time”? What causes you to procrastinate?

• What is it costing you to live “busy”? How will you engage in “what matters most” today?

Here’s to your productivity today,

Steve

Image credit: Len Matthews