Looking to easily improve your productivity levels so you can get more done in a day?

Are you looking to finally remove a proverbial thorn from your side?

You’ve been meaning to repair a broken dresser handle for the past three months.

It’s not like you don’t want to do the work; you’d love to have the handle back on the drawer.

The problem? Your trusty screwdriver has broken in two, making a repair almost impossible.

Sometimes, we end up being unproductive because we don’t consciously recognize there is an issue with our tools.

Tools may be broken, damaged, or outdated. And that means we cannot do our work.

In this post, you’ll find a couple of pointers to help you find the broken tools in your life, fix them, and then get on with your busy day.

Find a sticky spot in your to-do list.

Have you been avoiding a task or series of tasks for the past few days, weeks, months, or years?

This might be an office task, such as running a report, or a home task, such as hanging a painting on the wall.

Go ahead and flip through your current to-do list and find three tasks you’d love to cross off your list.

Ideally, the task should be something that can be completed in a relatively short period of time.

Identify the broken tool.

Now that you’ve got a few tasks in mind, it’s time to find the broken tool for each task.

All you have to do is identify a specific item in your home or office that will help you complete a particular task.

The tool needs to broken, worn-out, outdated, rusted, dull, or outmoded.

A tool needn’t be a piece of hardware.

You just have to think creatively, and outside of the box.

Can you identify possible broken tools in the following scenarios?

1. You’re having trouble running a report at work. It used to take a few minutes, now it takes twenty minutes. It turns out, the software version you’ve been using is two versions behind.
2. You haven’t been cooking much at home because it’s more difficult to use your kitchen knives. They were a breeze to use, now, they are dull, and can’t cut through food very well.
3. You haven’t been feeling well at the office. Your feet hurt, your legs are tired, and you want to sit.

Fix or replace the tool.

Once you’ve identified the broken tool, you can take steps to either fix, update, or replace it.

In the scenarios above, you’d update your software, sharpen your kitchen knives, and resole or buy a new pair of work shoes.

Ask yourself the following:

• How can I fix this tool? Can it be sharpened, updated, resoled, reassembled, etc.?
• If the tool can’t be fixed, is it time to buy or rent a new one for my needs?
• Since I’m reviewing tools right now, is there another tool out there that would be a better fit for my needs?

Fixing a broken tool can be extremely satisfying.

Attend to the task at hand, get work done, and feel accomplished!

How about you? Which tool are you going to fix or replace? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!