Productivity cliches

The new country manager went to the office floor and started lecturing on productivity.

He emphasized the need to cut out fat, streamline operations and increase revenues.

After that, they left for lunch. While passing through the offices, the new boss found a young man dressed in jeans leaning on the wall, tapping his phone. Deciding to make an example for his managers, he approached the teen.

“Hey, young man, what are you doing?”

“I’m texting my girl, man; what’s up?”

“Well, how much do you earn per month?”

“Fifteen thousand pesos, give or take a month, sir.”

The boss said, “I have 20 thousand in cash; take it and never show your face again.” The teen took the money and left.

Smiling, the boss turned to his managers. “See? That’s what I’m talking about: Cutting off the fat. Productivity is the key!”

The managers applauded. Then the boss turned to one of the workers and asked. “How long did the boy work here?” The girl from HR said, “He doesn’t; he was the guy delivering us food from Grab.”

Today, we have a plethora of productivity advice from people posting stuff on their Facebook and LinkedIn pages. But as a thinking professional and experienced business person, you need to know that not all advice is good. Much of the productivity advice that has become cliches may be well-meant; we need to reflect and think deeper on them rather than accept them as gospel truth.

Let us qualify these cliches and seek wisdom on either applying them, rejecting them outright or refining them and revising them.

1. Do the hardest thing first thing in the morning.

I read the book entitled. “Eat That Frog!” The book popularizes this idea and claims that the rest of the day will be easier if you first do the hardest or worst thing on your to-do list.

I am not sure about this because the prospect of waking up and eating a frog turns me off so fast I would like to go back to sleep. I would do creative work first thing in the morning when my mind is fully rested and fresh. Then I will do the administrative work later, like answering emails, posting stuff, and working on the difficult tasks later.

The advice may be suitable for procrastinators, but not all hard work is equal. Work that is hard to do may not mean it is valuable work and bring significant results. We should do our most important work first, not just the hardest.

2. Do not give up, and you’ve got to have grit.

If something you are working on does not work, just having “grit” and working harder on it would not improve things. Angela Duckworth’s best-selling book “Grit” has been quoted and copied by speakers and often without understanding the context. More than effort is needed to make you productive. You may need a new strategy. There is a fine line between perseverance and stubbornness. If something you are working on does not work, ask for help, get advice, and see how you may have to work on it differently.

3. Do what you love and you will never work another day.

This cliche alone has led many young people to make wrong decisions. They quit their job because they cannot “love” their jobs.

The famous Dr. Adam Grant says: “If you do what you love, you may be an amateur. But if you love what you do, then you are a professional.” So many self-proclaimed gurus and subject matter experts keep playing this card, and their unwitting audience is still frustrated and disappointed as they search for the job that will provide them with the love they seek.

I love speaking, lesson preparations, and providing coaching and training. I wouldn’t say I like organizing receipts, accounting, or filing taxes, yet these are parts of my job. And now that I run my businesses, I have learned to “appreciate” the work. My writing, speaking, and training on certain days may hit a wall, and things do not work out the way I wanted them, but I keep working on it because I am a professional.

You must go home and process your thoughts when you come across cliches. You cannot build your life philosophy based on a bumper sticker slogan or these worn-out cliches by writers or speakers. Reading a book, an article, or even listening to a speaker or a trainer is like eating fish. You swallow the meat and throw out the bones. The material you have just read is no exception.