Why “Busy” is Not Always Productive: Rethinking Time Management.

How Daily Analytics Helped Me Become More Efficient.

A common thing people often say is, they are “too busy” to engage in activities they don’t find enjoyable,

Or they have insufficient time to accomplish all the tasks they need to complete in a day.

I used to be one of those people, constantly rushing from task to task and feeling overwhelmed by my never-ending to-do list,

Sizing up the things I need to do and feeling they are too huge a task for me and I opt to watch one movie on Netflix instead.

But as I began to reflect on how I was spending my time, I realized that being busy doesn’t necessarily equate to being productive.

This realization prompted me to rethink my approach to time management and develop a system that would allow me to get more things done without sacrificing my mental health or well-being.

In this article, I will share my journey of how I learned to prioritize my tasks and be more intentional with my time using simple analytics.

I will also discuss the common misconceptions surrounding productivity and explain why being busy isn’t always a good thing.

If you’re tired of feeling like there aren’t enough hours in the day, this article is for you.

It’s time to start rethinking how we approach our to-do lists and start prioritizing the things that truly matter.

And if we are going to prioritise the things that matter, we need to start by understanding things that don’t matter and why they don't;

In this case, Vanity Metric and Procrastination do not matter;

Vanity Metrics and Procrastination

Vanity metrics are essentially meaningless numbers that may look impressive but don’t provide any real value or insight.

For example, a social media post that gets a lot of likes or followers who don’t engage with your content.

These metrics can be seductive because they make us feel good about ourselves without requiring any real effort or achievement.

They can also be used to justify procrastination, as we tell ourselves that we’re being productive by focusing on something that isn’t important.

The problem with vanity metrics is that they can distract us from our real goals and prevent us from making progress on the things that matter.

They can also be addictive, leading us to constantly check our social media accounts or email inboxes in search of validation.

This can take up valuable time and mental energy that could be better spent on more productive pursuits.

They can be misleading, distract you from what matters, and prevent you from identifying areas where you need to improve.

Based on Research conducted by MIT and Harvard Business School, “Companies that focused on vanity metrics, such as social media followers or page views, were more likely to make poor decisions that hurt their business in the long run”

As opposed to brands that based their Marketing performance on real metrics like “Comments, Clicks, and Sales”. These brands tend to optimise their performance even better.

When we see how detrimental Vanity Metrics can be to companies, we can almost understand the impact it can do on ourselves.

Procrastination is another sneaky trick that our brains play on us.

It’s easy to put off important tasks in favour of more immediately gratifying activities, especially when those tasks seem daunting or overwhelming.

We may tell ourselves we’ll start working on that big project tomorrow, but tomorrow never comes.

The combination of vanity metrics and procrastination can be particularly dangerous.

When we focus on meaningless numbers instead of real progress, we may feel like we’re achieving something when we’re just spinning our wheels.

And when we procrastinate, we may use vanity metrics to justify our lack of progress, telling ourselves that we’re still making strides by checking social media or email.

These two are like a two head snake, the venom from one snake is already bad enough, but the venom from the second snake makes it a fatal blow.

And that’s exactly what I experienced, not until I figured out how to craft Daily systems that ensured I was able to become effective in my daily activities, track tangible results and get things done.

Crafting a System for Success: Building Habits That Help You Achieve Your Goals

When we set our sights on a goal, it’s easy to become consumed by the result.

We envision our lives once we’ve achieved what we set out to do, but we often fail to consider the journey we must take to get there.

The truth is, success is not just about the destination — it’s about the habits we build along the way. It is about the Journey

I know this from personal experience. As a young adult, I struggled to stay focused on my goals.

I would set my sights on something, and work towards it for a short period, once I feel overwhelmed by the fact that I have not achieved it, I quickly lose momentum.

It wasn’t until I began crafting a system for success that I was able to truly achieve what I set out to do.

Purchasing James Clears book — Atomic Habit — and reading it helped me discover the power of building habits that helped me stay on track and reach my goals.

Truthfully, I did have a very difficult challenge reading it completely, most parts I skimmed through, and other parts I read, but I just wanted to finish something for the first time.

Either way, I’d love to share with you the exact system I’ve used to achieve success in my career, which has helped me work my dream role with an Agency in an Industry I love.

For someone who could not hold down a job, started an agency and failed, and had many other failures and some successes, these systems have helped me keep a straight course.

It’s not a quick fix or a magic solution, but rather a practical approach to achieving what you want in life.

By focusing on building habits that align with your goals, you can create a sustainable and effective system for success.

So, let’s dive in and explore the power of habits and how you can use them to achieve your own goals.

“Build habits around your major Habits” — James Clear

That statement was one of the huge differences for me.

Since I had an issue with Vanity Metrics and Procrastination, I needed to find a way to measure real growth for myself, whilst taking action.

To do that, I started a habit of Structuring the next day. In other to be consistent with this new action, I picked a strong habit; my sleeping time.

I typically go to bed between 11 pm — 1 am. So before my back hit the bed, I draw out my pen and plan the next day.

It ensured I consistently do it, it was a major victory for me.

Building systems can be fun because you’re doing something fancy, However, I struggled to complete the daily plans due to one reason;

I wrote down too many things, consequently, they were too many things to do. So when I see the to-do list in the morning, my brain freaks out!

Eventually, I end up procrastinating or doing one or no task at all.

But here’s how I fixed this; I’d first created a Monthly Goal. Then Weekly Task and Daily Task.

The idea here is, everything I do daily, and weekly will compound to help me achieve those Monthly goals.

Now, I had a bigger view of how I wanted to use time, my daily task became evenly spread out.

And no matter how excited I am in the day. I only have 3–4 things to do. Starting with the biggest and hardest task.

At the end of the Month, I don’t measure how effective I was by the number of Medium readers, or Twitter engagement — these are my vanity Metric

Rather, I analyse based on my monthly goals, things I did, things I did not do, and things I postponed.

And most importantly, the results got from achieving or not achieving my Monthly goals.

By doing 3–4 things daily that are in line with my monthly goal, and measuring myself based on those data, I started to get a clearer understanding of my growth.

And this has helped me cut the fluff, focus on things that work and be more focused on my growth.

I believe this can help you too … Just Start!.

Recap

By following these tips, you can avoid the seduction of vanity metrics and procrastination and stay focused on achieving your goals.

Remember, real progress takes time and effort, but it’s worth it in the end. Don’t let your brain trick you into settling for less.

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