Creating the time, space and energy for what really matters

The 'essentialist' knows that the discipline currency is limited so they use it to build a routine, a way of operating. That means they don’t have to make the decision again and again”, said Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.

Greg McKeown was explaining how we all wake up every day with a limited amount of what he refers to as “discipline currency” – the ability to get things done. He suggested that we use up this limited currency by spending our time making and remaking the same decisions. We should rather, he says, be ‘saving’ it for the most critical decisions and tasks. To do this, we need to create a system that makes executing what is essential as easy as possible. 

Now, think about how the businesses you work with every day are actively putting this principle to work, successfully. Businesses and organizations of all types can build and automate their daily routines (the processes) that are the foundation of their businesses, through workflow and document automation. 

Automating these processes saves time and money directly via the documents and processes that were automated. And it makes available the time, space and energy required for the more important activities of the day - the activities that require creative thought, deep work, or valuable communication with clients. These are the crucial activities that have the bigger payoff but that are often left undone.

Automating reporting process, for instance, frees up time, space and energy for you to devote to more essential matters, resulting in higher levels of both employee and customer satisfaction. 

So, where can you free up time, space and energy?

In your personal and professional life, take time to ask yourself, “what am I doing (what are we doing) over and over again that could become an automated routine or process?” Automating such a process could have a better payoff than you can imagine.

Automate!

By Larry Nordlinger, on Qodus.

Edited by ‘Dele Dele-Olukoju, Marketing Communication strategist and publisher of the online Marketing Communication Digest. He writes from Lagos, Nigeria. @deleolukoju +234 807 481 2389.