5. Move Quickly
Develop a fast tempo. Move quickly. Pick up the pace. Remember, fast
tempo is essential to success. The more things you do, and the faster you
work, the more energy you have, and the more you get done. The faster you
work and the more you get done, the better you feel.
Most successful people work at a higher tempo of activity than unsuccessful
people. They don’t necessarily do different things, but they get more things
done in a given time than the average person. They produce more in less
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time, and as a result, they get paid more and promoted faster. Fast tempo is
essential to success.
Focus on Saving Time
Continually look for ways to save time by cutting down or eliminating the
major time wasters. Only then will you have enough time to work on the
goals that are central to your success and happiness. Only then can you
become an excellent time manager.
“Nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all your
energies on a limited set of targets.” (Nido Qubein)
Action Exercises:
1. Resolve today to minimize and eliminate the time wasters in your life
and work that take you away from doing the things that can be
responsible for your greatest successes;
2.
Plan every meeting before you hold it or attend it. Concentrate on the
most important items and always finish with clear responsibilities and
deadlines;
3.
Don’t be a slave to a ringing telephone; have your calls screened.
Prepare an agenda for every business call;
4.
When you work, work all the time you work. Don’t get bogged down
with idle socializing that contributes nothing to your results.
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5.
Make decisions quickly, whenever possible. Be prepared to accept
feedback and self-correct. Any decision is usually better than no
decision.
6.
Deal with problems and crises as they occur; get the facts, analyze the
information and take action.
7.
Pick up the pace. Move fast. Develop a sense of urgency. Keep your
mind focused on results, and on doing the most important things for
which you have been hired.
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Chapter Eight
Overcoming Procrastination
“Above all be of single aim; have a legitimate and useful purpose
and devote yourself unreservedly to it.” (James Allen)
Procrastination is the thief of time. We have all heard that many times
before. The tendency to procrastinate is the primary reason that many people
lead lives of quiet desperation and retire poor. It is not that people do not
know what to do to be more successful. Most people are quite clear about
the steps they could take to improve their lives or their work. The problem is
that they continually find reasons not to do it today until it is too late. They
procrastinate until there are no more tomorrows left.
One of the most valuable habits you can develop in life is a sense of
urgency, an inner drive to get on with it, to get the job done now. A sense of
urgency is the opposite of procrastination and its most powerful overriding
factor. A sense of urgency can help you as much as any other habit you can
develop.
Move On To the Fast Track
In a recent survey, 104 chief executive officers were asked what specific
qualities would most mark a young person in their companies for rapid
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promotion. They were given a list of 50 qualities and behaviors to choose
from.
Surprisingly enough, 84% of them agreed that two of the 50 qualities were
more important than any of the others.
The first of the two qualities was defined as “the ability to separate the
relevant from the irrelevant.” It was the ability to set priorities on the use of
time. Every manager has had the frustrating experience of coming upon one
of his staff working away at something that is of low priority when
something of higher priority is being left undone. Many organizations are
over-staffed and under-efficient simply because so many people in the
organization spend so much time on items of low priority.
The second quality identified by the 104 CEO’s was “the ability to get the
job done fast.” It was the ability to take the ball and run with it without
hesitation or delay. Everyone intends to do good work, but the road to failure
is paved with good intentions. It is only actions that count, and only those
actions aimed at accomplishing the most important tasks.
When You Get Around To It
I was a speaker at the annual convention of a successful national sales
organization recently. As each person came into the room, they were handed
a small wooden disk with the words “To It” printed on either side. They
called these disks “Round To-It’s.” They are handed out generously to
people who are going to do something as soon as they get a “Round To-It.”
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Once they have been given one of these round disks, they no longer have
any excuses for procrastination or delay.
The ability to select your most important task and then to get it done quickly
will do more to move you on to the fast track in your career than any other
habit you can develop, rather than waiting until you get around to it.
Develop a Reputation for Speed and Dependability
If you work for an organization, or if you run your own business, or if you
are in sales, and you develop a reputation for speed and dependability, you
will never have to worry about being successful, promoted or rich. With a
reputation for speed and dependability, you will be able to write your own
ticket. When you can separate the relevant from the irrelevant and get the
job done fast, you move to the front of the line in terms of success and
opportunity.
Alleviate Time Poverty
The biggest single shortage among employed people today is “time
poverty.” They may have the money they need, but they don’t have the time
to enjoy it. Because of this lack or shortage, free time is becoming more
important than higher cost for many people.
Today, we will pay more for people who will save us time, and for people
who will do things for us quickly. When we ask something to do something
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for us, or we call a company to supply us with a product or service, we value
and respect them far more when they move fast.
Today, we consider speed of response to our needs to be indicative of higher
quality products and services. People who move quickly are thought to be
more intelligent than those who move slowly. We will buy from them faster
and pay a higher price, with less resistance.
On the other hand, when we deal with an individual or organization that
moves or responds slowly to our requests, we automatically assume that
organization to be poorly run. We assume that a slow company is managed
by inefficient and ineffective people. We assume that their products are
worth less than the products and services of companies that do things more
quickly.
Time Is of the Essence
One of the final clauses in almost every contract written in business today is
a clause that says, “Time shall be of the essence of this agreement.” Today,
time is of the essence of virtually everything we do.
Learning to overcome procrastination is a vital step upward on the ladder of
success. Without this ability, you simply cannot succeed at anything
worthwhile. Fortunately procrastination is a habit that can be overcome.
Developing a sense of urgency is a habit as well, which can be learned.
Developing a Sense of Urgency
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There are seven steps you can take to program your mind with a sense of
urgency. This will motivate you to overcome procrastination, get started on
your most important job, and stay at it single-mindedly until it is complete.
1. Set Worthwhile Goals
Set worthwhile goals for yourself, goals that you intensely desire to achieve.
All motivation requires “motive.” A major reason for procrastination is that
there is no specific goal that the person wants badly enough to get started
and then to persist until the job is complete.
Many people procrastinate and delay because they don’t really want to do
what they are doing. As a result, they find every excuse to delay and put off
getting started. To counter this, you can use goals as a motivator. The more
goals you have, the less likely you will be to procrastinate on the tasks
necessary to achieve them. When you set a large number of goals for
yourself, you trigger the Law of Forced Efficiency. You find yourself
moving faster and working more efficiently simply because you have so
many things that you have to get done in a limited period.
2. Visualize Your Tasks as Completed
Program your mind to overcome procrastination by continually visualizing
your tasks as completed. Visualize your goals as already achieved. Imagine
how you will feel with the job behind you. Imagine and create the feeling of
satisfaction that you will have when the task is accomplished. The more
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pleasurable the feeling of completion that you can create in your mind, the
more focused you will be. The greater clarity you have of your finished task,
the more energized you will be. Clear mental pictures of a desired future
reality sharpen your mind and enable you to concentrate better.
For example, if you set an income goal that you want to achieve in a certain
time period, and you vividly imagine how you are going to enjoy the extra
money, what you will buy, where you will go, and what you will do, you
will find yourself internally motivated to do the things necessary to achieve
this goal. Every time you visualize your goal as complete, you increase the
intensity of your desire and strengthen your resolve. You will then develop
the willpower to do whatever is necessary to transform your mental image
into reality.
3. Practice Positive Affirmations
Use the power of positive affirmations to program a sense of urgency into
your subconscious mind. At the beginning of each major task, repeat and
affirm over and over, the words “Do it now! Do it now! Do it now!”
Starting as a fatherless boy selling newspapers on the streets of Chicago, W.
Clement Stone built an insurance fortune worth more than $800 million
dollars. In his book Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude, he wrote
that the repetition of the affirmation “Do it now!” was a key factor in his rise
from poverty to great wealth. By constantly disciplining himself to “Do it
now,” he became one of the richest men in the world.
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Throughout his company, with branches throughout the United States and
around the world, the entire staff would come together each morning and
shout out the words, “Do it now! Do it now! Do it now!” 50 times before
starting the day. This repeated affirmation had a tremendous impact on the
salespeople and staff of his company. Even after they went on to other jobs
and companies, they still repeated it to themselves. Many successful men
and women all over the world today trace their success back to their
association with W. Clement Stone and his motto “Do it now!”
You can develop any mental habit you desire by repeated suggestions, in the
form of affirmations and mental pictures, from your conscious mind to your
subconscious mind. At a certain point, your subconscious will accept these
words and pictures as new commands. These commands will then become
your new operating principles. Soon, you will find that acting with a sense of
urgency is just as much of a habit for you as breathing.
4. Set Clear Deadlines for Yourself
Set deadlines for yourself on all important tasks. Put yourself on record. Tell
other people that you will have the job done by a specific time. You will find
that promising others motivates yourself. We all work very hard to fulfill our
promises and to avoid disappointing other people. Often, promising others
that you will have something done by a certain time and date is more
powerful than promising yourself.
Setting a clear, specific deadline also programs the task or goal into your
subconscious mind. You will then find yourself internally driven toward
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getting the job done. When you set a deadline for yourself, your
subconscious mind installs an automatic override on your tendency to
procrastinate.
5. Refuse to Make Excuses
Refuse to rationalize or make excuses for procrastination. All procrastination
seems to be accompanied by rationalization. And rationalization is best
defined as “attempting to put a socially favorable interpretation on an
otherwise socially unacceptable act.”
Rationalizing is explaining away and making excuses for unproductive
behavior. You will notice that people who procrastinate always have what
they think is a good reason to let themselves off the hook. Don’t allow
yourself the luxury of making excuses. Commit yourself to completing a
particular task by a certain time, and then burn your mental bridges. Refuse
to consider the possibility of not working on your task. Never seek for
reasons to justify non-completion.
6. Reward Yourself for Completion
Create a reward system for yourself. Give yourself a reward for successful
completion of each part of the job, as well as for successful completion of
the whole job. We talked about this in an earlier chapter. You can actually
program yourself into being eager to start a job, and to continue with it until
it is finished. Just give yourself a reward at each step.
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In behavioral psychology, this is called “operant conditioning.” It is used to
train both humans and animals. Behavior is shaped by designing a specific
result or consequence that follows every act of the individual. Rewards tend
to reinforce and encourage specific behaviors. Punishments tend to
discourage those behaviors. Over time, the habits of the individual can be
shaped and their responses made automatic with repeated rewards.
Develop Positive Habits
Fully 95% of everything you do, or fail to do, is determined by your habits,
