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12 Ways to Be Twice as Productive in 80% of the Time

How can advisors be more productive and take more time off? According to Jimmy Williams of Regier, Carr & Monroe in McAlester, OK and Randy Thurman of Investment Advisors Inc., the answer is simple. Core concepts they taught were “you control your life by controlling your time. To reach any significant goal you must leave your comfort zone. Daily planning leverages time through measured focus.”

Here are 12 ways to be productive in 80% of the time.

Source: Deborah Fox, founder, Fox Financial Planning Network
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1. Segment your week

Schedule three or four Focus Days (productivity days) into your week and make sure you also schedule a Free Day (personal day).
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2. Alignment

Your goals must be aligned with your values. If they aren’t you will not be energized to achieve them and you will feel unfulfilled even if you do accomplish them.
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3. Review your Values

If your values don’t motivate and inspire you, take time to review them again. You should feel passionate about your values and the corresponding goals.
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4. Think About the Big Picture

Work on spending more time on what is important rather than what is urgent. To maintain balance between values and activities ask yourself:

a. What is the long range priority of this project?’ What and for whom must the task be completed?

b. What parts of this project could be delegated?

c. Is this the most important project at the present time?

d. What would happen if I didn’t complete this project?
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5. Separate Work and Home Life

Compartmentalize your work life and home life. In other words, focus only on work when you are working and give 100% of your attention to your family and home life when it’s family time. In addition to making your loved ones happy, by giving your mind a break from work, you will increase your productivity during work time.
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6. Create an Annual Goals Board

Create a Goals Board each year. The horizontal axis has the following categories:
Personal/Professional/Physical/Family/Financial/Spiritual/Giving/Other. The vertical axis has 20 spaces for each category where you write in 20 goals for each category for the year. If you can achieve 80-85% of your goals you win. Be sure to include a few goals in each category that are easily achievable so you experience the feeling of accomplishment early on. Williams prioritizes his goals. He works on achieving A1 before going on to A2.
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7. Log Your Time

Log your time for one entire week to identify both your productive and non-productive areas by time of day and day of the week. Find how much time you are spending on key activities and non-key activities.
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8. Gather Feedback from Employees

Ask your employees: “What’s not perfect with your job” to find out what needs to be improved.
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9. Provide Content Online

Stop mailing investment performance reports. Tell your clients they can find it online in the client portal you have created for them.
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10. Stick With What you Do Best

Learn to say “no” to requests that do not fit your Unique Ability. Delegate anything outside of your UA to someone on your team.
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11. Unplug for an Hour

Turn off your phone, email, cell phone and shut the door to your office for time each day for strategic thinking. Williams and Thurman recommend at least an hour per day.
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12. Read, Read, Read

Take a speed-reading course. Both Williams and Thurman each read dozens of books per year. One way they do it is taking advantage of unproductive travel time by turning their car into a school. They recommend listening to books on CD on various educational topics.
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