In This Episode…
In today’s episode I reflect on a principle of productivity I heard Tony Robbins talk about recently.
It is a simple concept but one that is very powerful, especially as it has sneaked up on me and slapped me around the face with the damp cloth of reality a couple of times recently.
This episode will be particularly useful for you if you are a detail person or have a tendency to over complicate things.
Episode Transcript (Edited)…
Hi and welcome to today’s episode of the Profit Productivity Podcast. It’s your host, Michael Tipper. Who else would it be?
Now today’s episode is going to be called “Outcome Or Output? More Genius From That Robbins Fella”.
So I listen to a lot of Tony Robbins. I have him on in the background when I’m working out, when I’m going for a walk and sometimes in the car. It’s not just him, I do listen to many other people as well.
But I do like listening to his philosophies, his ideas, his techniques. I find him very inspirational and very practical. And as someone who has helped millions of people, literally millions of people worldwide, both through his live workshops and his huge body of work, he is, I believe, someone worth listening to.
And just recently something pricked my ears when he was talking about his own approach to personal productivity.
He has a system called RPM, the rapid planning method, I think it stands for, and it is a powerful system. I’m familiar with it. I’ve gone through the program a few years ago, so I have an idea of how it works.
But one of the things that struck me when he was talking about it was the P in the RPM. It stands for purpose and getting very clear on what your purpose is, for what you’re trying to do is really important.
What is the outcome that you want and why do you want it?
The reason why that’s important is because sometimes we can get very, very focused on being busy with the busy-ness of what we’re trying to do. We can lay out all the activities that we need to do in order to try and achieve something.
However, often the achievement that we’re looking for can be done with fewer activities if we focus on what the outcome is of our activities rather than the output of our activities.
I just find that really powerful.
The reason why I think it’s powerful is because I’ve had a couple of instances recently where I’ve set out a result I’m looking to do and I’ve outlined all the steps that I believe are necessary for it.
Because I’m a detailed person and I have a tendency to overcomplicate things, I often find myself creating this massive mountain of activity in order to achieve what I want. I also have it a perfectionist streak, and this is typical of me doing that.
What I started to notice as I’ve been creating the plans is that actually I’m able to achieve what I intend to achieve when I focus on the purpose and the outcome and do so in fewer steps than when I start looking on what the output of my activities are.
It’s been really powerful for me to see that.
What I’ve started to do,, is shift to now looking at my activities through a lens of purpose, and outcome as opposed a lens of process and output.
And it’s working really, really well for me.
So it’s something I would encourage you to think about when you are outlining what it is you are looking to do and to start to focus more on what you’re looking to achieve.
That’s today’s episode.
Until tomorrow…
