Productivity is defined as the rate of output per unit of input; in other words, you get out of it what you put in. If only it was that simple….
Here are seven tips to improve your productivity at work:
Create Processes Instead of Goals – Rather than setting targets such as landing two new clients per month or improving customer service; consider how you will achieve those goals. In order to land two new clients per month; you may increase the number of daily outbound sales calls or introduce monthly email campaigns. To improve customer service, you could obtain some customer feedback regarding any areas for improvement and revise your processes accordingly.
Realistic To-do Lists – You may ask yourself sometimes, ‘why have I only completed seven tasks out of twenty on my daily to-do list?’ The problem could well be the list! When creating a to-do list, you should start small, select three or four activities which must be completed before the end of the day. Secondly, estimate how much time each task is likely to take and lastly, rank the activities by order of importance or level of difficulty. Once the tasks have been ticked off, add some more. Never-ending to-do lists are demoralising, don’t fall into the trap!
Stop Multitasking and Schedule ‘Niggling’ Tasks – When you are performing several tasks at once, none of them have your full attention and that’s how mistakes happen! Stick to the old, tried and trusted principle of ‘taking one thing at a time’. Another productivity killer is the spreading of small or menial tasks throughout the day around more pressing matters. It is good practice to chunk all those niggling tasks together and allocate a specific time of the day or week to complete them.
Eat a Healthy Lunch – What we have for lunch can be crucial to our afternoon productivity. Healthy lunches keep us sufficiently fuelled for the rest of the working day, heavy lunches have the opposite effect. Who else just wants to fall asleep after a big meal?
Drink Water – Probably the oldest trick in the book, but it works! Drinking water boosts your metabolism, provides energy and makes you feel less hungry. I feel more motivated already!
Avoid Perfectionism – While there’s nothing wrong with setting high standards, striving for perfection can be a real productivity killer. Very few things in life are perfect; all you can do is work hard, try your best and get it done.
Track Your Time – Knowing how much time it takes you to complete specific tasks can be invaluable. Not only can you manage your time more effectively, you will also be able to identify non-productive or wasted time.
ELF Productivity is a leading provider of workplace time management solutions. Our award-winning Ceequel® Time and Attendance systems significantly enhance the accuracy and efficiency of an organisation’s administrative processes. For a free-of-charge consultation, please contact ELF Productivity.