In February 2020 I had the honor of presenting “Productivity Game-Changers” at Alamo College in partnership with the San Antonio Business Journal. My goal in presenting this information is to share what I have learned with others. The more aware of the value of our time, the better we can protect it to be more effective and help more leaders. The following information includes the presentation deck, handouts, examples and commentary with links to additional ideas. I hope you find it useful!

Recent interview on Productivity:

How do you start your morning?

I follow the same routine each work day morning and include some “anchor habits”.  I wake up at 5:30 am, let the dog out and then, no coffee until I read my devotional.  I spend thirty minutes to get to “Inbox Zero”, then out the door to the gym at 630 am.  Going to the gym almost everyday (my goal was 240 days in 2019) is a “behavior driver”. Achieving that helps me to accomplish other goals and be at my best during the day.

Amidst long to-do lists and multiple fire drills, how do you achieve focus or get in the zone?

Focus and presence are the keys to accomplishment.  I use a Bullet Journal to keep all my tasks and notes in a single place.  This allows me to focus on what is important at the time I planned to work on it.  The most important part of my job is to be present with the person in front of me. Knowing that my tasks and activities are planned and organized enables me to be fully present and engaged.

How do you manage meetings and email overload? (is there anything specific you do or request from others?)

I start by sending tasks and emails to where they go and when they go.  What I mean by this is I plan and schedule time to work on email.  I use Spark and FollowUpThen.com to send email to myself in the future so I am not distracted.  My email signature contains an “Email Protocol” to let people know what to expect.  

ScheduleOnce allows me to open windows on my calendar people can schedule, when I chose to be available.  Guarding my time is a trait I learned from the most productive people.

Do you have a favorite tool or piece of technology that helps you stay productive?

I calendar everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) using Google calendar.  Other favorite productivity tools include Voxer, a walkie-talkie app for communication with my admin, Evernote for storing notes, images and ideas and Braintoss to remember things on the go.  The key is to eliminate notifications and distractions. This keeps me focused on what’s next.

Do you have any tricks for being productive? (Ex. work in 90-minute spurts)

Let the work come to you.  Spend time planning and building processes that automate the routine parts of your work life.  Develop a schedule that builds on behavior drivers to keep you focused. Don’t get frustrated when things fall apart because they will!  Trajectory is more important than achievement. Appreciate the progress and begin again.

What do you do to take a break? How does the break help your productivity?

Exercise, sleep and recovery are keys to productivity.  I track my sleep using the Auto Sleep app on my Apple Watch and plan to get 8 hours a night.  I take frequent breaks during the day and often conduct “walking one-to-ones with CEOs. I rarely have lunch meetings and instead, use that time to refresh myself by walking, reading or listening to music.

Can you describe a time you delegated a job and the delegation made a significant difference for your time/productivity? What did you delegate? What did it free you up to do, or how did it make a difference for you?

My friend Jack Daly says each of us can only do three things well.  My three things are plan, facilitate and coach. I am constantly asking myself, “What and I doing that someone else could or should be doing?”  I have a part time admin and we have built specific processes for the recurring tasks that improve my productivity.

When you’ve finished your work for the day, what makes you walk away feeling like it was a productive day?

I have an end of day routine to accomplish multiple things.  After a few minutes to get back to Inbox Zero, I take off my Apple watch and put it and my phone on the charger.  This allows me to disengage from the outside world and focus on my family. It also charges my watch before bed so I can track my sleep!

Presentation Recap

Reflections and Goals
I set goals annually and share them with my members. My Vision, Mission, Lenses, Core Values, Value of Time, Three Things and goals (along with a video) can be found at www.tomcuthbert.com/goals. Additionally, I require members to do the same. We use a Reflections document that is a look back on the past year. I review their goals and reflections with them in our January 121s.

Additionally, I scan them and email them to december@followupthen.com so they show back up in our inbox in December. Information on FollowUpThen (credit Dave Nelsen!) at www.followupthen.com

1. How do I know what an hour of my time is worth?
Knowing the impact of an hour of your time will help you prioritize time more effectively. I use this with my members and myself and it has become a very effective tool.

I use my number everyday by asking, “Am I delivering $X value to my member right now? If not, what can I do differently?” I use it the same way when focused on my three things” (plan, coach, facilitate). I constantly ask myself, “What am I doing that someone else could or should be doing?”.

2. How do I optimize my scheduling and control my calendar?

Establish an ideal work schedule, then add meetings and planning time. I start with meetings setting them for recurring days (i.e. first Thursday of each month). I add open 121 windows that are 1 hour and 50 minutes each. This allows me to run a few minutes over if needed. I have 42 monthly 121 windows.

Then I decide the area of town I will be in that day to accommodate travel time. I grouped areas into five zones (1-5 on map, color coded by group or coaching client). It took a number of months but I worked with members to reschedule 121s to better fit this schedule.

3) How do I focus on the most important things?

Ask yourself, “What is the ONE THING that I can do such that is makes everything easier or unnecessary?”. This comes from the book, “The One Thing” by Gary Keller. By identifying your one thing, you will able to focus on what is most important.

4) How do I make myself more available while protecting my time?

I use ScheduleOnce to connect open meeting times to members and prospects. At www.tomcuthbert.com/talk I open 26 slots for a 20 minute call. I generally set these for 8:10 am and 5:10 pm when I am driving to my first meeting or home at the end of the day. These are set up as recurring and when one is taken, it blocks the opening on my calendar. I open 121 slots for members who need to reschedule. Once it is rescheduled I delete the previous slot and it opens it up for someone else. This enables me to work within my scheduling boundaries.

5) How do I cut email time in half?

I hate email! Email can be a huge time waster and pull you away from more important activities. I manage email in three ways; first, I use Spark. Spark is an app and desktop product that allows me to send email to the future. I use the phrase “send things where they go and when they go'“. Using this approach, I read email three times per day; when I wake up, mid day and end of work day.

Secondly, I have developed an Email Protocol. I add this to the end of my email signature so people will have an expectation of when I will respond. I do not treat email as urgent and let members know this. They can text or call me when urgent. I change my voicemail daily as well, (learned from Jack Daly). This adds to the expectations around communication and is valuable as a marketing impression.

JOIN THE FIGHT TO STOP REPLY-ALL ABUSE!

Finally, I have a mindset of “Inbox Zero”, meaning I do not allow email to interfere with my focus and build up in my inbox. To model this for members, I do not email over the weekend or reply-all. Following this processed has dramatically reduced the volume of email I receive, allowed me to be more focused and helped members get control of their email.

6) How do I stop doing what others should or could be doing?

Start by asking the question, “What am I doing that someone else could or should be doing?”. Add to this by identifying your “three things”, the most important activities you should be focused on. Eliminate everything else. Use the most important word for achieving people, “NO””!

7) How do I create boundaries to guard my time?

Establish communication, email and scheduling boundaries. Put these in writing and share them with others. Recognize that they are boundaries and barriers. They will flex, give yourself some grace!

8) How do I build the habits and routines to keep me on track?

James Clear, author of the book Atomic Habits, recommends “Identity Based Habits”. These are habits we build by answering the question, Who do you want to become?”. This simple approach allows us to focus on our aspirational self in order to make better decisions today. Learn to set routines and build habits around them. Identify “Anchor Habits” that impact your behavior. My example is going to the gym each morning. This activity sets the day ahead on a solid course. Disfluency is interrupting a norm, routine or habit. An example is to move your watch from one wrist to the other during the day to remind you of something.

9) How do I leverage tools and technology to be more productive?
Spark
Voxer
Evernote
FollowUpThen.com
ScheduleOnce
Bullet Journal
Auto Sleep

10) How do I apply what I’ve learned to recapture 5 hours a week?

Keep your goals visible and make them known to others. Finding an accountability partner will help you stay on track. Use FollowUpThen.com to send your goals to the future to remind you to check in frequently.

Resources
Books - 2019 Book of the Year
Essentialism, Greg McKeown
Getting Things Done, David Allen
Indistractable, Nir Eyal
Smarter, Faster, Better, Charles Duhigg
Atomic Habits, James Clear
Hyper Sales Growth, Jack Daly
The Power of a Positive No, William Ury
The One Thing, Gary Keller

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About Tom Cuthbert
Tom Cuthbert serves as a Vistage Master Chair and CEO Coach in San Antonio. He has had an extensive, 35-year career of building, buying and selling businesses across multiple industries. The most recent company, Adometry, was acquired by Google.

Today Tom chairs six Vistage groups made up of 100 CEOs and business leaders from diverse industries in San Antonio. He’s been recognized with the Vistage Chair Excellence Award, STAR Award and consistently ranks in the top 10 nationally. Tom was named “Vistage Chair of the Year” for the Southern region. In 2019, Tom was honored to receive the Pat Hyndman Award for his commitment to service to the Vistage community.