For a long time, whenever I heard the word “productivity,” I equated it with fast-moving executives in crisp business suits, rushing to the next meeting while confirming the latest sales reports on their smart phones. I didn’t want to contribute to that lifestyle! Jamming more and more into the day was the problem, not the solution.
Lately, I’ve been doing some soul-searching, reflecting on my work with clients and evaluating what I enjoy most and how I’m most effective. Lo and behold, what jumps out at me is that I’m best at helping people get things done! I am, in fact, a productivity coach!
The difference is, instead of helping people juggle more, I help them move through and beyond the areas where they are stuck, either literally or figuratively. My brand of “productivity” is focused on bringing completion to unfinished projects and back-logs, both at work and in the home. The ultimate goal is to allow people to move forward without burdens and get more satisfaction out of their career or leisure pursuits.
Recent clients included a university professor who needed to sort through decades of papers to determine what needed to be archived and what was no longer relevant; a new retiree who wanted to wrap-up her long career by weeding through work-related memorabilia; a recently divorced individual who needed help to sort through and dispose of the remnants of life with the ex-spouse; a widow who took over as head of the family business, and needed to redesign her deceased husband’s workflow systems in a way that made sense for her. They all needed help to wrap-up the past and move forward with new habits for the next chapter of their lives.
Now that I’ve opened up my understanding of what it means to be a productivity coach, I can embrace the role, and am looking forward to new chapters in my own career. What does the word, “productive,” mean to you?