🔒Science-based strategies for a more productive workday

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“Two Awesome Hours: Science-Based Strategies to Harness Your Best Time and Get Your Most Important Work Done” by Josh Davis (HarperOne, $25.99).

Davis recognizes that packing more into an already packed day by not taking breaks and working longer hours creates the human version of the economic “law of diminishing returns.” The more one packs in, the more one feels overwhelmed and stressed; both feelings quash productivity and lead to burnout. While his goal of creating at least two awesome hours of productivity each day involves five integrated steps, the first two really make you think about what you're doing and how you do it.

1. “Recognize your decision points.” and 2. “Manage your mental energy.” All too often we run on autopilot because of pre-programmed workdays (e.g. to-do lists, meetings, phone calls, email, etc.). The same-old, same-old becomes a drone-like, no thought routine where you move from one task to the next task on the list.

Davis' advice: Identify decision points and control what you can. When you complete something, think about “what matters” before diving into “what's next.” Deciding what matters depends upon what you've just completed. If the task was mentally exhausting, choosing another such task may not be the productive choice — even though it's “what's next” on the to-do list.

Example: Your workout schedule includes running eight, 100-meter dashes each day. If you ran them consecutively, you'd be exhausted — and the time for each dash would be worse. If you ran one each hour, your body would have time to recover and times would be consistent.

The brain, like a muscle, needs time to recover. Alternating the types of tasks provides recovery time and boosts overall productivity.

The bottom line: There's a huge difference between busyness and progress. Use decision points to make choices on your path to productivity.

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“The Young Entrepreneur's Guide to Starting and Running a Business” by Steve Mariotti with Debra Desalvo (Crown Business, $25).

Mariotti, the founder of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, offers been-there-done-that advice to wannabe entrepreneurs. While he targets youth, wannabe entrepreneurs of any age will find the information and advice helpful.

“Think like an entrepreneur” tops his advice list. Business opportunities marry opportunity with passion and skill for something. An opportunity differs from an idea in four ways:

1. It fills an unmet need and/or solves a problem for customers. The smaller the need or problem, the less likely you can create a successful business.

Even though you think your idea is new or different, other people and businesses may have thought of the same thing. Use internet search capability and your social media contacts to do your homework.

2. It will work in the current business environment. Change and competition are constants. One-trick ponies can't maintain a competitive edge unless they can consistently deliver more value faster and cheaper.

3. It can be brought to market quickly. The longer it takes to ramp up, the greater the likelihood it'll be old news — especially where tech is involved.

4 You have the resources to make it happen. This doesn't just deal with your specific product/service skill. Starting and running a business requires management skills, too. You have to manage money, sales, an operating infrastructure (including HR, accounting and legal), and maintain knowledge of the target market.

Note that “manage” doesn't mean doing everything yourself. As the business grows, build a team to take the routine activities off your plate so you can concentrate on business-building.

Key takeaway: “Entrepreneurship gives you an opportunity to prove what you can accomplish.” Even if you choose to run a business as a money-making hobby, the experience will make you business savvy and financially literate — and help you get ahead in your day job.n

Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer.