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n an earlier post, I intimated that [ictt-tweet-inline]effectiveness is inextricably linked to a life of purpose[/ictt-tweet-inline]. It is ingrained in all of us to such an extent that when we are not effective in life, we are unhappy and disillusioned. Once again, to be effective simply means to deploy yourself the way you were intended in the first place. It makes no sense for instance to use a laptop as a table mat. That is not the reason why it was manufactured. If you do so, the laptop is not being effective. A table mat costs much less than a laptop as you know.

In our existence on earth one of the major questions we must keep answering is this:

How will I be more effective in my life today?

You see, that question opens up great possibilities for you and I to gravitate towards our purpose. It goes without saying, to be effective, we must be living a life of purpose. To be ineffective therefore is to live a life without purpose. All the world changers that you and I know might be deemed effective to the degree that they served a particular purpose pursuit.

What I have realized though is that effectiveness in life is not for a selected few. No one creates anything to be substandard and not to fulfill its potential. Therefore, we as the crown of creation were created by God specifically so we can be effective in fulfilling our mandates here on earth. As a matter of fact, the very first command man was given was “be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it”. How about that for effectiveness and productivity? Anything short of that did not even cross the mind of the Creator. So you and I cannot continue leading a life that lacks direction and impact.

We need to wake up to this call that we are solutions, problem solvers, and blessings to this world. If we have this deeply embedded in our psyche, the outlook of life changes drastically. However, if we appear in life as those who need help, handouts, pity and perpetual favor, the outlook of our effectiveness tilts drastically towards being ineffective. Productivity is first of all a matter of Divine intention. This means that we can have the wherewithal to be productive and effective if we dare the Divine to give us the “tools of trade” needed.

3 Things About Effectiveness

There are four pillars of effectiveness in just about any area of life. We shall discuss the first two in this article and then share the rest in the succeeding one. All in all, there are three major aspects of effectiveness that will never go unmentioned:

1. What it Looks Like? This speaks of vision that is derived from purpose. At the end of the day, what does it look like? Being effective is striving to get the exact picture that you had in your mind before you started as the result of your efforts. If we miss the picture, how will we even know that we have been effective?
2. What Must Be Done? Effectiveness is hinged on non-negotiable actions that lead towards a desired end. In other words, before we talk about effectiveness and productivity, we already have a clear picture of what the end result must be. It therefore follows that we then know that a set of actions or instructions must be undertaken in order to bring the desired result. This is the crux of effectiveness. If you do not identify the path to the picture, you will have trouble getting there. We need to spend the minimum amount of time here and we do so by knowing what must be done.
3. What are the Benefits?At times, passion is infused with the knowledge of what we are working towards. If it is a benefit, it redoubles our effort. If for example you know that in building your own house you will be contributing towards financial stability, that anticipated reward infuses you with energy and passion to keep going. Therefore, you become more effective and productive with your time.

Enhancing Your Productivity

1. Competence

The whole wide world always looks out for competence. Millions of children world-wide are being trained to be competent at working at jobs as we speak. Competence is simply the ability to do what is required of you. In my work as a consultant, I have raised teams in 3 African countries that I have deployed for different clients. The most strenuous face of raising a team is selection. Interviews are always nightmarish.

What I look for under competence though is not necessarily skills and abilities. I look for a good attitude and the spirit of excellence. You know, you could have a highly skilled person who has a poor attitude. I personally do not consider that person to be competent. I actually deem them incompetent. On the other hand, you might have a lowly skilled person with an incredible attitude. That is a person that can learn, be equipped and up-skilled. You might need to spend time and resources, but competence will increase.

The same applies to you as an individual. Competence is something that can always be improved. I always look for ways that I can improve my competence capacity because I am thoroughly committed to being an effective person on earth. The good news is that I can always get better.

2. Planning

There is no being effective without infusing your life with planning. An effective pursuant of purpose is an incessant and consummate planner. In fact, planning feeds right into competence. Did you know that you can get a lowly skilled person who is a major planner and that increases their competence? Did you know also that you can get a highly skilled person who does not plan and they end up being the most incompetent person? In other words, planning is so key that it trumps many academic qualifications. Planning is also a skill that is learnable. The seeds of planning are within us all at birth. They come in the form of desires, wishes and dreams. Planners are those to take the step to seriously consider bringing the object of their desire to fruition.

Inherently, you plan towards a particular objective. This means that by the time you are planning, you already know either purpose or vision. Therefore in your plan, you mind map the full extent of the purpose or the vision. This phase is always laborious but also very glorious. It unearths incredible information that I dare say is even much more important than any academic paper you will obtain. Why? Because it is intimate and speaks to your current need as well as blueprints your activation of your plan.

So being effective is partly a matter of competence as well as a matter of planning. Looking at these two aspects of effectiveness and productivity, one cannot fail to see that they do not discriminate on anyone. Virtually anybody anywhere can be effective and productive if they so wish to be. So the question to ask you today is this: Are you being productive where you are with what you have?