Many entrepreneurs don’t really have time to think about the influence of personal productivity on their business performance. Business operations and the performance of their employees leaves their hands full.
You really need to be more productive. You’re going to be a great role model for your team. Entrepreneurship in Kenya is also getting increasingly competitive, so you have to gain ground in the many ways that you can. It’s easy to get distracted from work, especially by the opinions everyone is pressed to share on social media. I wonder how things were like in 2003.
It’s easy to fall hard for the self-care meme. You don’t need to twist yourself in a knot to rationalize why you were less productive yesterday and today. Yes, you need to both work and live. But you must clear your goals if you want to move forward.
You’ll find that most times you can’t pull it off consistently. How many times have you said you’re going to change? Until someone comes along and proves it wrong – people don’t change. Does this mean you will never be as productive as you want to be? No. The lesson is that we should really grow past the 20th Century’s one-size-fits-all mentality for everything. This is precisely why people pick on millennials. Millennials are not lazy, they are not know-it-all and they are not *insert adjective*. Even productivity has nuances because people work differently.
“Many folks put themselves into a box. They read a book or hear an expert say that they should structure their day this way.” These are the words of Carson Tate. Her expertise is in the field of workplace productivity. In the same way you and I found a different way to think about risk in business, Tate found that people are productive in different ways. Once you know the patterns in which you like to work, then you can become more effective and enjoy more success.
This is also valuable to Kenyan women who feel unfairly treated in climbing the corporate ladder. Too many people conflate productivity with how much time they sat on a desk or in front of a screen. Many more believe productivity, and hardwork, is entirely about how much sweat you break on your brow. It’s also about being efficient. Using the least to get the most.
What
You may be that person who majorly focuses on the “what” aspect of work. You may feel like this article is attacking you. It’s not. In fact you get the most done of anybody, and we envy you. You are consistent and decisive. You only want the outcome or goal to be realized. Carson Tate called these kinds of people Prioritizers. Their linear style of looking at things needs to be complemented by others who appreciate the varying shades of other aspects of business, like dealing with people.
How
Similar to these kinds of people are Planners. They also have a sort of linear thinking and want to use time well. Except, they ask more about the “how” of work. They love processes and plans and schedules. They love having contingencies for when things go wrong. Unfortunately, while they do have plan B to C to Z, they will be paralyzed by impromptu stuff. Don’t cancel a date plan with them, they will hate you. This inflexibility is their biggest weakness.
Why
Why do Kenyans act so surprised by corruption? Haha. I have digressed. If you’re always give your ideas or concepts and don’t understand why they say you must also implement it then you are a Visualizer, going by the research of Carson Tate. You want every day to be the beginning of some project – you’re probably running more than one business and are preoccupied with some involving hobbies in your free time. You leave others to deal with the real-world constraints of implementing your ideas. Hey, sometimes you have to get out and help push the car stuck in the mud.
Who
Finally, there are entrepreneurs who get more done by engaging with people. They are called Arrangers. Their productivity lies in their ability to communicate with others and partner others. Before, this was considered bad for the work place. But those who use it find that they can rally their team to completely but into the business as if it were their own idea. This is one of the 6 defining attributes of women entrepreneurs. You don’t really have to “think like a man.”
These productivity styles may not be scientific. But uncovering social concepts will never have precise rules like in a lab. They are a guide to lead you to the best way you can work. In fact many predominantly combine 2 of the 4 styles to achieve what they will.
