Huge deals fall through the cracks, and what you believed to be months (maybe years) of planning, strategy, and execution - in hindsight can seem like nothing more than time wasted. Sometimes the best we can do is to learn from our mistakes and move forward.

So how do successful people define Productivity for themselves? What metrics are involved in prioritizing what needs to get done first on any given day?

Businessdictionary.com defines productivity as a measure of the efficiency of a person, machine, factory, system, etc., in converting inputs into useful outputs. Productivity is computed by dividing average output per period by the total costs incurred or resources (capital, energy, material, personnel) consumed in that period. Productivity is a critical determinant of cost efficiency. 

But productivity involves so much more than a simple cost vs return formula. Productivity is also a sub-category of phone or computer apps as well as a list of goals and objectives that need to be accomplished by day's end. It involves discipline, lifestyle, and methodology. Some would argue you can't be productive if you're unhealthy.

Well, you definitely won't appreciate the fruits of your labor if you're sick.

Most working professionals have been in a situation where they were let go from an employer because they ended up costing them more to "keep them around" than the revenue they were producing.

The very best of us have made irreversible oversights in business, and I'd venture to say that many of us have been through this type of rigmarole before. If you've experienced the scenario more than once, we probably have ended up feeling more like a number or algorithm than a human being when it was all said and done.

Now it's obviously more than simply crossing off daily or yearly achievements and benchmarks, and more than answering a few simple questions about yourself such as, "how bad do I want this thing or situation?" But we must start somewhere.

In the song, "A Matter of Trust," by Billy Joel, he goes on to sing:

You can't go the distance with too much resistance ...

This is undeniable true from a personal as well as a business standpoint.

In my opinion, the "resistance" component in achieving financial freedom is not desire, but impulse - or purchasing goods and services that have very little to any benefit with developing our bottom line.

Is the new car or leather jacket you just bought hurting or helping growth?

The best way to mitigate these impulse purchases (despite economic class) is to block out your daily schedule on paper. Be able to record, follow, and execute the most important things today that are going to serve you best tomorrow.

If you're in the process of reevaluating how you can best use your time, money, and resources to build a better life for yourself and family, consider the following typical day that has been written down and executed from a top producer in a Fortune 500 health and wellness company. He didn't just find the time. He created it.

Shower/Pre-Workout..............................4:45 AM - 5:15 AM
Lifting (half hour lower, half hour upper) 5:20 AM - 6:20 AM
Shower................................................. 6:25 AM to 6:45 AM
Mayor Prayer Breakfast .........................7:00 AM - 8:30 AM
Finance/Budget Meeting w/CPA.......... 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Lunch with Genevieve...................... 11:15 AM to 12:10 PM
Measuring at Brooks Brothers............. 12:25 PM - 2:00 PM
Cardio.................................................... 2:30 PM - 4:15 PM
Zoning-Board Mixer............................... 4:45 PM - 6:00 PM
City Council Dinner................................ 6:05 PM - 8:00 PM 
Basketball w/ new law-firm.................. 9:30 PM - 10:30 PM
Shower............................................... 11:10 PM - 11:30 PM
Bed/Lights Out..................................................... 11:45 PM

Sound challenging? Great. It should. Anything worth doing at all requires dedication like this. My hat goes off to him.

Some Key Considerations for Individual or Group Study

• What is my revised daily schedule?

• What one person deems a productive use of time, another will view as counter-productive. Jot down how this is so in your own experience. 

• Who's bottom line are we talking about here? Does this benefit me personally or my organization? Both? 

• Five ways that working-out is increasing personal productivity