What’s Your Score?
We find today that most executives and their businesses are no longer fighting the battle of the bulge, but are rather combating against its modern day counterpart — efficiency bloat. Today’s owner or manager doesn’t have enough time. You are so busy and so overloaded; it is near impossible to free yourself up to do any planning, organizing, traveling or pursuing of personal interests or passions.
- Do you leave work thinking about work, or are you thinking about work when you’re at home?
- Do you write a list of ‘things to do’, only to re-write the same list the next day because very little got done the day before?
- Do you have a few hundred emails in your inbox?
- Do you crave a paperless lifestyle?
- Do you have an inner itch to digital detox that is never scratched?
- Is your office an ‘organized mess’?
- Do you find that no matter how often you travel you overpack and can’t get away with a carry on?
- Do you have a child’s schedule that’s more difficult to manage than your own-one that leaves you feeling insufficient?
- Do you literally feel bloated by the amount of information you carry around and have intruding into your life on a daily basis?
- Do you feel held back from being the best you and can’t figure out why?
If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, then the A Simplified Life Efficiency Fitness Program for executives is right for you.
In today’s era of information overload, multitasking is no longer a unique skillset, it is a strategic imperative. And to be able to compete effectively as an executive who also needs to act as parent, spouse and/or friend, one must develop a ritualistic program designed to sculpt their daily “ mental bodies” into lithe engines that don’t just function, but are built to compete at the highest level. Physical fitness gives you the physical endurance required to achieve an exterior appearance that allows for people to be their best selves optically. Efficiency fitness gives people the mental agility required to be their best selves in all their relationships-whether they are personal or business related.
The first thing we do is help you figure out what your current Efficiency Fitness (EF) score is. Through a consultative approach, married with a formulaic model to analyzing questions such as the ones list above, on a scale of 1-10 we work to ascertain what your EF currently is, and then develop a customized plan to get you where you need or desire to be. Our programs work to help you “diet” in ways that manage to cut back on your “time” caloric intakes to make you the most efficiency fit version of you. The time “loss” will allow you to get back to a position of focus and efficiency that enables you to pursue the very best version of you.
At a simplified life less is more. Below are the top tips we recommend to begin your own efficiency fitness regimen:
- The more specific you are in identifying your key strengths and the pathways to enhance them, the more efficient and productive you will be. Follow the Steve Jobs mantra: Don’t be good at everything. Be good at one thing and do it better than anyone else.
- In the age of experience, where you work is as important as what you do. As such, it’s essential to have a great setup of your environment to put you in the driver’s seat and set you up for success. Being comfortable in ones environment makes the quest for the uncomfortablity that drives greatness all the more possible.
- Invest the time to give yourself access to the tools required to make you most productive and do your job. Selecting the right equipment can help you maximize efficiency throughout the day.
- Marry timeless tools with new technologies to keep track of time. A great example of this would be to have an hourglass on your desk to manage meeting times, while also relying on a productivity app such as Doodle or Workflowy.
- Proactively work to separate your business and personal life. While there are obvious synergies between the two, there needs to be a separation of church and state for either sector to thrive. Experiment with a digital detox weekend to completely disconnect from work and focus only on your family.
- Limit your distractions. Top drawer is extension of desk. Only putting what is necessary and used on a daily basis. Minimize personal items. Designate one shelf in your bookcase (or elsewhere) to your personal items so they’re not in plain view when at your computer. I do like a minimalistic approach in the office. Have fewer items on your desk and in your office. Don’t be tempted.
- Prioritize your to-do list. A to-do list should be replaced with a POA list. Identify what your PLAN OF ACTION is and stick to it. A TO DO list has a list of activities. A POA list has a list of activities that will result in a specified desired outcome.
- Fail Forward. Recognize that failure is the key to success and organize your environment in the most clutter less fashion to enable yourself to have the clarity of mind and spirit to take a chance. Boldness is often the result of clear vision.
- The Fast 15! (what is this??) Perhaps the Fast 15 should be 3 quick mental efficiency exercises that can be done daily in 15 rep formats over the span of 15 minutes)
- The #1 tip (for Efficiency Fitness) is don’t look back! Don’t worry about the past (and what you used to do), but focus on the now and future (and the system you want to create). Eventually you’ll marry your “old” system with your “new” system to create the best you.
At the end of the day, it’s about YOU being able to glide around your life, without bumping into obstacles or distractions. Crafting the best Efficiency Fitness regimen that will enhance YOUR performance, as the best version of you is our mission.
a simplified life EF Score
If you answered yes to 7-10 questions above
You are an encumbered warrior who has a fierce stance, but can’t find the clarity to get to their weapon of best destruction. You are a mighty soul, with enormous talent, but require the clarity needed to find and build the arsenal required to compete today.
If you answered yes to 7-4 questions
You still have the ability to get your fighting career carapace on at a moment’s notice, but you are too mired in clutter and data overload to transform that fleeting pantina of strength into an unwavering countenance of courage
If you answered yes to 4-1 questions
You are a born to be an efficiency fitness titan, but require the extra agility and discipline required to go from efficiency fitness amateur to professional.
How did you score? Let us know below in the comments.
