PRODUCTIVITY IS FUNDAMENTAL FOR YOUR SUCCESS
Whether you have your own business or you are an employee in a big corporation, chances are, that you are concerned about your productivity. This can result in continuous search for new ways to improve it. Working productively will most certainly improve your business operations, increase profits and boost morale.
It looks like more and more companies are embracing the motto “do more with less”, but where does that leave you? Well, in most cases you are the one pushing to complete deadlines, doing 15 different tasks at once, replying to hundreds of emails and phone calls… We believe you get the point.
The one and only purpose of this article is to help you find ways to increase your or your team productivity at the workplace. We advise not trying all of these tips at once, instead, find one or two that you can implement for at least 21 days. That’s the time it takes to form a new habit and then see where to go from there.
Technology is The Key
We live in a modern world so why not use that technology progress everybody is talking about to our advantage? There are numerous mobile apps that can help us do more things in less time, automate repetitive day-to-day tasks, organize our lives and much more. Here are just a few we especially like:
PDF to JPG Converter – If you often work with illustrative materials as we do, this app is a must. It will effortlessly extract JPGs from any PDF in no time.
Evernote – It is a digital notepad which can be synced to a cloud so you can access your notes on any device, wherever you are. It’s great when traveling and working remotely.
Dropbox – Centralized place where you can store all your documents, pictures, videos, writeups, etc, which can then be accessed on any device wherever you are. It is also great for team collaboration on the same document.
Stop Multitasking & Minimize Distractions
In today’s busy world, multitasking is used very frequently, but the truth is, only a few people can claim that they are skilled multitaskers. Human beings are capable of performing one important task at a time so this is why multitasking is generally not a great idea. Therefore, in order to work more efficiently and productively, you should reduce distractions around you which will ultimately help you focus. Try switching your phone to vibrate, turning off email notifications and reduce email checks only to specific time frames. If only the thought of going out of the grid scares you just remember that not that long ago our society functioned perfectly without email, phones and all other technology advancements.
Break Down Big Tasks Into Smaller Pieces
Every new and large project you get assigned to may seem like an impossible thing to manage or finish. You might even get scared of just thinking about it. But once you start breaking it down into smaller pieces you will realize how each part goes with the other making a perfect creation which doesn’t look so scary anymore. So how do you do that? First, you need to be aware of all of the pieces and assets needed for the project and who do you need to talk to first. Once that is out of the way, break up those pieces and then estimate how much time you are going to need to accomplish them. A clear understanding of the tasks, putting the steps in the right place and precise time estimate for their completion will do wonders for your productivity
Prioritize
This one is essential if you want to become more efficient. Not all tasks are the same and if you won’t accept it, some of your most important tasks may end up unfinished. On the other hand, by not prioritizing your workload could become unusually big. To-do lists can help you with that. Write down all the tasks you have for the following week and rank them based on their importance (based on time-sensitivity, size, personal gratification, etc.) When going through your list you have to make sure that you are not finishing the easiest tasks just to make yourself feel productive. Once your tasks are placed according to the importance it is absolutely crucial to complete them in that order.
2 Pizza Rule? Yes, It’s Real!
As we all know, meetings are big time wasters, especially if there is a huge crowd of 20-30 people on some kind of brainstorming session. We know the drill, the same people who always talk will talk while the silent ones will stay silent. So the theory is, if you have to order more than 2 pizzas to feed people at your meeting, then the meeting team is too big. There will be not enough discussion. More people won’t mean better ideas or faster action. So if you have a team with just the right people more ideas will emerge.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as we enjoyed writing it, and we truly hope that some of these tips you will find very useful and will implement in your everyday work. What are the productivity tips you swear by? Please let us know in the comments below.