Introducing "Food for Thought" #72. The formula is simple: three short messages once a week to feed your mind.
Management
How to be productive in 2024?
It's not enough to tick boxes on your to-do list, answer your e-mails or fill in your activity diary. True productivity lies in the impact and value you create. Writing this from Paris, I can tell you that the inspiration this city brings me is true productivity.
Since the advent of new technologies, we've begun to use visible activity as an indicator of productivity. Here are a few examples of this pseudo-productivity:
- I'm physically at my desk.
- I'm active on Teams.
- I answer my e-mails every fifteen minutes.
We mustn't confuse "being busy" with "producing value". This pseudo-productivity prevents us from doing our best work, as the constant effort to stay active becomes a source of distraction. It even impacts our well-being: "I find it hard to switch off and give myself a rest, because my to-do list just keeps piling up day after day." What can I do to get back into balance?
Leadership
Do less
Strive to reduce your obligations to the point where you can accomplish them and still have free time. For example, I'm in Paris this week for a single meeting that's part of a major project aligned with our strategic objectives for the year. Take advantage of this lighter load to fully commit to advancing the small number of projects that matter most.
Motivation
Work at your own pace
Don't rush your most important work. Do you think Picasso painted his masterpieces in between tasks, or that Edison was constantly interrupted during his experiments that led to the invention of the light bulb? Let your work unfold on a reasonable schedule, with variations in intensity, in environments conducive to producing your best work.
