What’s Your Productivity Trigger?

#culturecounts #engagement #humanresources #positiveworkculture #productivity #shrm #workpositive Sep 15, 2024

My Grandfather told me stories of getting up at 4:30 a.m. to bring in the wood, put it in the cook stove, and light the fire so his mother could prepare breakfast. A sister gathered eggs laid by the hens. A brother prepared the pig months earlier. The flour ground from their corn was in a sack to make the biscuits with fresh milk from their cows. Sure they had a lot to do every morning, but if they wanted to eat, this is what they did.

Your biggest morning task is to decide whether to stop by Starbucks or McDonald’s for breakfast. That leaves you an abundance of time to do other things on your to-do list that are important, right?

Struggling with your to-do list?

How do you focus on what’s most important as you create a Work Positive culture?

Step one: Find your productivity trigger.

I found mine as I stood at a family member’s open grave. He was young and his death unexpected. As I stood there, my mind flooded with all the times I wished I had called him just to say “Hi!,” the birthday cards I didn’t send and “just because” notes left unwritten.

I cried.

I cried not for him, but for me.

For the lost opportunity cost—words left unsaid; deeds left undone. A less-than life.

My mind rationalized quickly.

“Come on buddy. You’re really busy. You run your own company after all.”

Yes, I am.

Yes, I do.

But, the opportunity cost lost was undeniable.

You see, we were family.

And he took his own life.

That’s an eternal response to a temporary problem.

No, his death wasn’t my responsibility.

Yes, I could have helped shift this polarity . . . if I wasn’t so busy.

“There must be a better way,” I thought.

Just then a beautiful dragonfly flew over the grave, his iridescent wings glittering in the summer sun. More joined him and I remembered that most dragonflies live only about a month.

As I stood there at that open grave, staring at remarkable dragonflies, I asked myself, “If I only had a month to live, what would I do?”

Watching the sandy soil cover his casket, dragonflies flitting about, I decided to do better.

Now I say all the words, some to people I haven’t spoken with in 30 years.

Now I do for others rather than wait until later. I define success by my clients’ metrics.

Now I pay attention to what’s most important: business instead of busyness.

I focus on and filter for positive thoughts.

I cooperate and collaborate with other positive people. No Eeyore Vampires allowed.

I trust my birthright to believe in the immense power of the small. I imagine the best opportunities, while my accountability partners sniff out the trail of my ego and redirect me as necessary.

I pay attention to what is important, align my intentions with it, and take massive action quickly.

I serve those around me, share my discoveries with you, and multiply the Work Positive culture, knowing that you reap what you sow.