7 Ways to Put the Oomph Into Your Productivity
Organizing the online and offline “noise” in our daily work routine is a real challenge for those of us who want to stay on-task and maximize our productivity. We are regularly bombarded with emails, phone calls, and social media, which, unless managed correctly, can effectively glue our feet in the starting blocks day-after-day. What should we do?
Be present right NOW: Decide exactly what needs to be accomplished today. If you are looking over a week ahead it is a project, which will need to be broken into smaller bite sized chunks. For example, if you are looking at improving your SEO you will need to divide that goal into smaller, one week at a time, tasks.- Prioritize daily: Not all tasks are created equal so it is critical that you organize your daily to-do list and work on the most important task first, and so on down the list. Make sure that the tasks you NEED to complete today are listed first, then the tasks that you SHOULD complete today next, and lastly list the tasks that you would LIKE to complete today.
- Welcome “no” and “not now”: Put off responding to urgent tasks unless you absolutely have to. It is perfectly acceptable not to read every email as it arrives and muting the sound (ping) of its arrival. Screen your calls and only answer the important ones. Check email and phone messages at specific times that you schedule. Working on everyone else’s priorities typically results in not completing your own.
- Work on relationships: Invest the time and energy in good working relationships, as you never know when you may need “an extra pair of eyes or hands” with a task. Besides, if you experience conflict with one of your co-workers it will be much easier to work through the issue if your relationship is solid.
- Beware those who multitask: If your boss or co-worker is trying to multi-task while you’re talking, make an excuse and revisit the conversation with them when you have their full attention.
- Perfection keeps you waiting: If you are waiting for perfect to happen you will be waiting for a very long time. Sometimes our “B” grade work is sufficient. If you insist on everything being perfect then you increase your odds of failing or burning out. Know when you must give 100%, versus when it is wiser to give 85% (“B” grade work).
- Set up a production run: When I do research, make phone calls, or a dozen other tasks, I do it in batches for as long as I’m productive, as that allows me to get a rhythm going. In college I worked in a machine shop and used to get everything set up perfectly and then run 500-5,000 parts through without interruption…The boss loved the result.
If you are still struggling to increase your productivity, it might mean that you simply wear too many heads and it might be time to outsource some of your tasks.
Please share with us on Facebook and Twitter how you put the oomph back into your productivity. How did we help?