What's in the Well, Comes Up in the Bucket

Let’s play a word association game for a moment. I will give you a word and you think of the first thing that pops in your mind before reading any further. After a few seconds, see if you can come up with a sentence using the word. Here’s the word:

TEAR

What popped into your mind? There are at least two easy possibilities. You could have thought of pulling or ripping something apart (“Tear up those old papers and throw them away.”), or maybe if you are a Hank Williams fan you thought of a drop of salty fluid secreted by the glands of the eyes (“There’s a tear in my beer ‘cause I’m crying for you dear; you are on my lonely mind.”). I’m not as interested in what you came up with as I am in why people see the same four letters and come up with different ideas or different interpretations of the letters.

In a nutshell, here’s what happened:

• You saw four ink characters on a page or computer screen.
• These characters were immediately converted to electro-chemical impulses by the receptors in your eyes and routed to various areas of your brain for interpretation.
• As the impulses headed toward your memory storage area something unusual happened. The impulses lit up a network of neurons representing pulling or ripping something apart…or the impulses lit up a network of neurons representing drops of fluid.

Now, here’s the interesting part. I could have probably swayed your interpretation (in other words, altered the neural pathway to your memory storage area) by making a simple statement before asking you to play the word association game. For example, I could have said, “This is a word that has to do with sadness and crying” or “This is a word that has to do with destroying something.”

Here’s the point: Your current thoughts significantly influence your future thoughts and interpretations. And here’s the point related to productivity: Your current beliefs related to productivity significantly influence your future thoughts about what is a productive use of your time and what is not a productive use of your time. And here’s yet another related point: Many, perhaps most, people nowadays have some irrational and erroneous beliefs about what is and what is not a productive use of their time. Here are just a few examples:

• Consistently working more than eight hours a day is a good way to stay on top of things.
• There is no real harm in consistently overloading your day.
• Multitaskers consistently get more done than people who do not multitask.
• Being plugged in and accessible 24/7 enhances your productivity.
• Busyness is good for business.

Look around. If actions truly speak louder than words, most people these days must believe that all the above, and many other bad productivity habits, are actually productivity enhancers. As a matter of fact, these are things that you might hear smart people brag about doing.

Let’s put two and two together. How can we use these insights to alter your neural pathways when it comes to sorting good ideas from bad ideas in terms of being more productive? And how can we help you convert your productivity intentions into productive actions? Here are two simple ideas:

1. Read good books on productivity.
2. Attend good courses on productivity.

Of course, I probably just lit up the “he’s really a self-serving book author” neural network in your brain. Yes, I write books on being focused, organized and productive and work with a group of trainers who teach a course on the topic. However, I don’t really think it is wise to apologize for something I do for a living and passionately care about. On the contrary, I think it is OK to spread the word about it. My books and courses tend to focus on the human behavioral aspects of productivity…and are based on sound, proven strategies. In other words, the ideas work! However, you are not going to suddenly become the Oprah of productivity by simply reading my books or attending a course. The real value in such activities is the fact that they will serve as catalysts to begin altering your “productivity neural pathways.” Just as I can alter your interpretation of the four letters “TEAR”, I can encourage your neural impulses to go to different, more productive places in your memory storage area. Good books and good courses create new memories to draw on when you are trying to increase productivity or solve problems.

There is an old saying, “What’s in the well, comes up in the bucket.” When you are struggling with your workload and priorities, what comes up in your bucket? If, in this situation, you access thoughts that motivate or compel you to work harder or longer, maybe it’s time to upgrade your memory files. Maybe it’s time to read my new book titled Being Productive: Learning How to Get More Done With Less Effort. Maybe it’s time to attend a GO System training course. These activities will forever alter your neural pathways related to productivity and could possibly make you so happy it will bring tears to your eyes.

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Chris Crouch, president of DME Training and Consulting, has spent years researching and studying both the mental and physical aspects of being productive. His new book, Being Productive: Learning to Get More Done With Less Effort, is now available through Amazon.