Are you truly productive, or just busy?
As a humanitarian and development leader, your to-do list never seems to end. You’re constantly balancing competing priorities and may feel like there’s never enough time to get it all done. One thing that is important to realize is we only have so much time during the week, and so it is important to understand how we efficiently use it. You may think you are getting a lot done, but depending on how you use your time, you could simply just be… busy. And busy does not mean productive. So how can you truly determine if you are busy or productive?
Here are two steps to get clarity on how to become more productive and make a greater impact:
Step One: Define the impact you want to make (your Leadership Impact Goal)
Just like we have an idea of the impact we want to make in our projects, we also want to understand the impact we want to create as leaders. Knowing this will then allow you to make decisions about how to use your time.
Having a clear Leadership Impact Goal will help you:
- Make strategic decisions about where to focus your energy
- Align your daily actions with your long-term vision
- Feel more in control of your workload
Step Two: Track your team with a Time Diary
Think of it like tracking your diet— when you write down what you eat, you notice patterns. The same applies to your time. If you want to lose weight, your dietician will likely have you write down what you eat throughout your day – also called a “Food Diary”. This is because a lot of what we do is subconscious and so writing down our food habits allows us to be aware of all the snacking we are doing without even noticing! In the same way, you likely go throughout your week without realizing how you spend time on things that will not lead to the impact you want. For example, meetings and email!
Of course, meetings and email are necessary, but most of us spend way too much time on those things. And when we combine that over time, we don’t get the impact we want. For one week, track how you’re spending your time, and you’ll likely discover:
- You’re spending time on things that will not lead to the impact you’re seeking
- Important priorities are being side-lined
- Small distractions add up, pulling you away from strategic goals
Understanding the impact you aspire to achieve as a leader (Leadership Impact Goal) and analyzing how you currently allocate your time (Time Diary), will help you are on your way to becoming a more impactful leader. This also means freeing up your time to support those around you to do their best work. After all, the greatest impact and influence you can have as a humanitarian and development leader lies in the success of your team.
If you’re seeking guidance and strategies to enhance your productivity and support your team, check out our latest course Becoming the Modern Humanitarian and Development Leader.
Author: Torrey Peace, Leadership Coach and Humentum Trainer
