Are you over the Productivity hump?

It is interesting how many parallels one can draw between sports and business. I thought of a parallel the other day and want to share it with you. It is the concept of “getting over the hump”. 

Beth Gets Fit!

I have a good friend that I want to pick on a bit. Her name is Beth Ziesenis and she is an independent copywriter/marketer here in San Diego. I met Beth about five years ago. At the time, she was definitely in the first group I mentioned above. She hated to go to the gym but forced herself to do so. She couldn’t keep it up long enough for her to truly get over the hump and enjoy the classical runner’s high. She was not happy with her physical capabilities and longed to do something about that.

She and I had long discussions about exercising many times. I would share with her my experiences about cycling and how amazing they were. They were fun discussions, but I could tell that she really didn’t “get it” yet. 

Then one day she decided that she wanted to run a marathon. She is the type of person that can do anything once her mind is set on it. She joined up with an organization called Team in Training that helped her train for the event in a very regimented way. 

At first, she talked about the pain and how difficult it was. She was getting blisters, tearing muscles and falling down and scraping herself up. (I never understood the falls:) This lasted for a few weeks and then it happened. She came into the office and could not keep quiet about the run she had just gone on! No talk about pain, just about how good she felt on the run and how amazing she felt about her life in general. 

It was then that I knew that she had truly gone over the hump. From there on out, she has been a maniac runner. She does half marathons for fun and is now trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon. What a magnificent change in someone’s life. Well deserved because she stayed with it for long enough that she had the “awakening” moment that hooked her for life. Before this experience, she would start a work out regimen and then slack off and get lazy; not run, not train. After experiencing a true runner’s high however, she has been running almost every day. 

Beth stuck it out for weeks to get over the hump. We all need to do the same thing when it comes to productivity. Sure, we know all the tools, techniques and methodologies, but do we practice them? Do we practice them long enough to have that epiphany? 

Here’s my suggestions for getting over the hump when it comes to productivity:

1. Never judge the success of a new habit rashly. Give it some time; work through the pain. 

2. Force yourself to be consistent. Without this element, you will keep quitting and restarting ad nauseum.

3. Find ways to measure your progress. Completing tasks quicker. Less time spent in email management. Lowering your distractions.  

4. Seek out other people to help you along. It is easier to stick to something if you have support.

5. Take time to reflect on the changes you have made and how they affecting your work life. Honest self assessment is critical.

Take the time to get over the hump with productivity! It takes a bit of grit to make it all work, but when you do, you will be addicted to it in a very good way.

 

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