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Sometimes I find myself sitting at my desk with no particular objective in mind. It is what I call, Seat Time O’Rama. You know. It is when you are just kinda hanging out because you feel you should be working, but you are not really getting anything done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I catch myself, I stop, try to figure out what I need in the moment and change course, so that I am not wasting more time. Sometimes what I really need to do is eat, exercise, read, call a friend or family member, take a nap, do housework, take care of finances, make appts or, yes, do another business related task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being productive isn’t always about doing work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
This past weekend my daughter was reading a Greek myth about Hercules. When she finished the reading, I asked her what she was responsible for doing with it. She told me that she was going to have a quiz on his twelve labors. Listen in on part of our conversation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Me: Did you finish your assignment?
G: Yes
Me: Do you know the 12 labors?
G: No
Me: So, you did not do the assignment.
G: Yes, I did. I finished the reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the conversation continued…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Working is Not Productive<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Working without an objective in mind is often just wasted time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I receive inquiries about my coaching services or general questions about ADD, in most cases the concern is about some aspect of productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When people come to me with concerns about a career related concern, they often say that they want to be more productive in order to earn more money or perform better on the job. For most people, the desire to have more money is really about having a greater sense of security, a more balanced life and less stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, in an effort to reach these ultimate goals (e.g. make more or perform better ), many of us forget that we can create some of what we really want (e.g. more balance, more security, less stress) right now. Instead, we just read the story because that was what we were told to do. Alternatively, we sit in our seat doing work, because, well, we should be working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Need to Strategize <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n If we strategize, rather than just working, often we can be much more productive. Productive, as defined in the America Heritage dictionary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Productive adj.yielding favorable or useful results; constructive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With this definition in mind, here some alternatives to “just working.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n