Do you ever have one of those weeks where you spend lots of time on stuff that doesn’t move you forward?

    I’ve had one of them.

    Firstly, I’d been having laptop problems so I got a new laptop. But I ended up having problems with the new laptop so I ended up switching again. Let’s hope the latest one does the job!

    Also, it’s getting close to time to file the company’s annual return so I’ve been pulling together financial stuff and getting it to the accountant.

    All this work has been necessary.

    But, in doing it, I haven’t really achieved anything other than keeping the wheels turning.

    So what is achievement? What does adds value?

    For me it’s stuff like:

  • Servicing customers
  • Business development
  • Learning/developing (to improve myself)
  • Thinking
  • Planning

    We need to keep our eye on the ball, to keep focused on how to progress the business.

    Every morning I read (and say out loud) a few things to help me with this. And “Achievement is more important than activity” is one of them.

    The dark smudge on the left tells you how long I’ve been saying this to myself. That’s what a left thumb does to a 5*7 piece of paper after so many years!

    Admin is necessary but not sufficient.

    But, if you keep achievement as your north star, you’ll:

  • Have a sense of steady achievement
  • Progress towards achieving long-term goals
  • Be more effective

    Go achieve something!

    To get my regular emails on productivity and effectiveness, sign up in the box that’s somewhere on this page – top right corner perhaps – or maybe immediately below this if you’re reading on a mobile device.