Productivity Gains - Ask Your Boss

In my previous posts, you should have gotten a process that not only increases your productivity by 25 percent - at minimum, but a process that allows you to do the RIGHT things at the expense of the WRONG things.

Writing things down forces you to think about the question: "How important is this?" And you may want to use this question, as it pertains directly to you and your performance: "Is this what I was hired to do?"

The last question is key. We may feel like we should do everything we are asked to do or comes by our desk (or email/blackberry/etc.), because that is what a team player does, but in fact, it may be the wrong thing to do, at the wrong time.

If you are stuck - and I mean you have too many "competing priorities" - you should take your list of 1-1's and 1-2's and your 2-1's and 2-2's to your boss. First, your boss will say, "Where did you get that system and how does it work?" So be prepared to explain it before you walk into his or her office.

Second, your boss will see that there are too many competing priorities. He or she will wonder how in the world are you doing what you should be doing. He will then - or should - think how can he keep you protected from all the requests you are getting.

Third, he will tell you what he feels is important. You will immediately see where you are out of sync and why you are having difficulty communicating some times.

Fourth, in his mind, he will see you as organized and wonder why his other people aren't as organized as you. This is not the reason you go down to his office however. This is a bad things to do, because your boss will smell out the sneakiness of such a move if you are insincere about asking for help.

So the list - the MASTER LIST and the DAILY TO DO LIST is key to getting things done.