If you are busier than you would like to be, but also less productive, then read on.

I have a question for you: How busy are you these days? Now, here's another question: How productive are you? As most of us know, the two just aren't the same. All too often, being busy may have nothing at all to do with the results we get and what we achieve.

We spend our days, often very long days, in a flurry of activity. But, when the day or week is over, we're disappointed at the level of our accomplishment. Our disappointment creates stress and we push ourselves even harder to "get more done." However, pushing hard isn't the answer.

What is? Well, in my experience a sense of priorities based on a clear purpose and well-defined short- and long-term goals are what's needed. The world is full of folks who are definitely in motion, but they're not exactly sure where they're going and they don't know why, either. Maybe they get going so fast that they never take the time to figure it out. If that's your situation, I strongly urge you to set aside some time for personal reflection, some values clarification and goal-setting.

There's nothing like a strong sense of purpose based on clearly spelled out values to keep you moving. But more than that, it keeps you moving in the right direction. Without it, you can climb the ladder of success all right, but when you get to the top, you may find that it's leaning against the wrong building!