Be Productive, Have Free Time, and Reduce Stress: Rethinking Productivity

Does being productive mean living a life filled with stress and working crazy hours…or is there a way to increase your productivity while also reducing stress and having time for other parts of your life?

Many serious business owners assume that the more time they work, and the more stressed out they get, the more successful they’ll become. Naphtali Hoff, President of Impactful Coaching & Consulting, suggests that they have it completely backward. An expert on productivity and leadership, Naphtali explains that with the proper strategies and outlook, you can become more productive and more successful by using your time well, rather than by working late hours. Join Meny and Naphtali as they talk about the secrets of productivity, common mistakes that lead to unwarranted stress, learning how to have a closed-door policy, reducing the number of decisions you make every day, how to create a productive daily calendar, and much more.

Transcript

[00:01 – 07:16] Opening Segment

• How to increase productivity while reducing stress

• Naphtali’s background and story

How Naphtali transitioned to becoming a coach and consultant
• Check out Becoming the New Boss

[07:17 – 21:06] Leaders Must Delegate to Stay Productive

•The difference between coaching, consulting, and mentoring

• Why a leader’s productivity is critical to company success

How the success of a leader is largely dependent on their productivity
• Leadership productivity is important for any company’s success

A busy leader will have a hard time leading others, and will not be able to oversee and support them

[21:07 – 34:27] Leaders Must Delegate to Stay Productive

• Delegating allows leaders to be more strategic and influential in their work

• Productivity is about knowing what you need to do and being focused and targeted with your meetings

How to protect your time and be more productive
• Developing a framework for leaders to serve as coaches within their own organizations

The key to productivity

[34:28 – 47:46] Set Expectations for Your Teams

• Why people are becoming more aware of the “hustle culture”

Realizing that there is no direct correlation between work and success.
• What has led to a shift in the definition of work-life balance

• Leaders should set expectations for when they will be available

Make sure to communicate these expectations to their employees

[47:47 – 54:22] Closing Segment

• Naphtali on the rapid four questions

• Q&A: How to start and grow your email list for your business?

Practical Pointers

Do your research before hiring a coach. Coaching doesn’t require official certification as do other fields like therapy or medicine, so anyone can theoretically call themselves a coach. If you’re careful and find the right person, your coach can do wonders for your business - but you need to check him out first.

Don’t necessarily have an open door policy. You need to know yourself: if you’re someone who needs private time in order to be productive, you’re undermining your business by letting people talk to you whenever they want. While you need to balance this with the needs of your employees, your priority is to be as productive as possible - and that might mean having times when you’re simply not available.

The more decisions you have to make, the more the quality of your decisions declines over the course of the day. So reduce decision fatigue by scheduling your day the night before - and not just by making a “to do” list, but by actively scheduling items in your calendar.

When marking things in your calendar, use the one-point-two-five rule: estimate how much time you think it will take, and add an additional 25%. This way, you avoid the common temptation to underestimate how much time a job will take, you’ll be more productive, and you’ll enjoy the satisfaction of getting everything done by the end of the day.

Show notes

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Guest Bio

Naphtali Hoff

Naphtali Hoff is the President of Impactful Coaching & Consulting. He is an accomplished executive coach, organizational consultant, and sought-after trainer and lecturer. He is the author of Becoming the New Boss, a leadership book that helps new leaders hit the ground running and enjoy sustained success.

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