I write to you from Amalfi, the beautiful azure Italian riviera of expansive sapphire ocean and emerald green hills.
The British Chancellor has announced a slew of spending to improve productivity in the UK which famously lags behind the Germans and the Americans. So what can we do to make sure we get more work done in less time – that is, be more productive.
These are my 7 lessons – which have nothing to do with working more, but still are about being productive.
One: Do Less – Holiday
I remember being shocked that Richard Branson suggested holidays were a good thing to get a productive workforce. And then he even had limitless holidays for staff – they could take as much as they wanted. A break from work stops you getting into a rut. Stopping work, allows you to get more done when you return, then just ‘ploughing’ through.
As an Indian – I didn’t believe in holidays. I never knew Indians who took them –except to back to India – and that really as a child was not a holiday – not 9 hours in economy on Air India in the 1980s with a bunch of male passengers who had not experienced ‘free alcohol’ on flights – and then would hit everything in the lavatory except the bowl.
But ‘holidays’ might even just be a weekend without the phone and laptop. It may be that after 5pm – that’s it, you are out. And this applies to the self-employed too – like me.
Chancellor – our schools need to have breaks at different times so their parents are not priced out of breaks. And the higher living wage certainly helps for affordability – full marks on that one!
Two: Sleep More
Again, as an Indian – sleeping was just illegal. If you were sleeping you were lazy or underemployed – both things were strictly forbidden as a child. And how many Indian families put their children to bed before midnight? Let alone the mandatory 12 hours for under 8s? Apparently every study of the past two decades now shows sleep is the answer to everything. Want to avoid cancer? Sleep more. Want to be thinner? Sleep more. Want to be better looking, younger looking? Sleep more. Want to reduce blood pressure? Sleep more. Want to be more productive? Sleep more.
Chancellor – affordable childcare please!
Three: Meditation
The calming effects of meditation are well known. And nothing is more Indian. We wrote the book on it. Even MRI scans prove it. They even teach it in business schools. Meditation helps you be more productive. Got a business problem? Meditate. Clear your mind. Want to be more productive – do it. Meditation can be even as you walk. Just clear your mind and internal chatter. If you manage it for more than ten seconds – tell me how.
The Chancellor will note some schools are teaching this now. Good.
Four: Yoga
Again, like meditation, this boosts productivity. And again Indians wrote the book on it. There are studies upon studies to prove it. The Japanese know – their corporations used to have mass morning classes for such gentle exercise. Yoga is meditation – your mind is cleared and focussed on something other than chattering head voices. More companies need to practice this.
Five: Exercise
Again, nothing to do with work. Not sure about an Indian angle here, but health is wealth, and a healthy body is a happy body is a more productive worker. There is a reason corporations have gyms. And in India the boom in fitness is not just for the body beautiful, but because competition in the workplace means you have to be fitter to handle stress and be more productive.
Six: Do as I say, not as I Do
The clever ones will have realised I said I am writing from Amalfi. Like most people I am good at advising, but poor at practicing. This is not just an Indian trait, but we do have more Gurus than most countries! So stop just reading about self-help and productivity, and spend more time doing it, being it. That too in itself will allow you to be more productive! Alpesh Patel
Ps. I said ‘7’ in the title and only have you ‘6’. The last one is – when the work is done, stop. So I have. Now back to the sea.
