I loved the simplicity with which Allen writes this chapter. He talks about how much more productive we and our companies would be if we just always asked the question, "What is the next step?" I feel that this chapter didn't really state any new material but rather rehashed what has already been said in previous chapters. Allen has clearly demonstrated in the duration of his book how essential it is for us as we live our lives to consider the next "actionable action" when we approach our everyday tasks and also our occasional huge projects.
It was interesting to read how he explained that it is often the most intelligent people who procrastinate or have piles of "stuff" laying around in their lives. It's funny because, often, when I imagine a CEO or someone who's in a high position, I think of an immaculate table covered with clearly marked folders and stacks of paper ready to go out to their designated locations. However, after reading Allen's chapter and thinking about my actual real life experiences, I realized that, in many/most cases, those that I've met that are great leaders and really smart people are often messy or somewhat disorganized when it comes to having their entire life in a system. MOST often, it may not be that they're disorganized, but that they lack balance in their life and it usually ends up affecting their personal family life because they can't figure out how to manage otherwise.
Yes! I also think of very important people as extremely organized and in control of everything. However, this is a misconception because I am extremely organized and seem like I have everything under control, but if they got a glimpse into our class, they will see how life really works. We all have a little unbalance, but we can learn to fix this.
ReplyDeleteI think asking "what is the next step?" is really important toward productivity because it helps the project moving forward. This also clarifies what actual things need to be done and what each person is accountable for, not only knowing that there is a project. I definitely am a messy person, and cannot keep my desk organized for very long. I don't mind the mess if it means I can spend time working on something else rather than making things tidy. I know, that sounds pretty bad!
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