How to Increase Productivity at The Workplace & At Home
Productivity is an integral element of business success, enabling companies to sell more goods, generate additional revenues and cut expenses.
Productivity and employee happiness go hand-in-hand, so here are three strategies for increasing productivity and improving work efficiency: 1. Set Goals. Setting achievable goals will keep you focused and motivated throughout the day.
1. Create a To-Do List
An effective to-do list helps us prioritize and organize our tasks while giving us clear visibility into deadlines – helping to plan accordingly and avoid procrastination.
As for productivity, some individuals sabotage themselves with to-do lists that consist of mundane or pointless activities such as “take out trash” or “watch TV.” Giving each task meaning can help motivate you and boost confidence when undertaking them.
Break large tasks down into smaller, manageable components to help understand how much time each task will require and when is best to complete them. With this knowledge in hand, it can motivate you to get more things accomplished during the day. Another approach would be making your list public so others can hold you accountable.
2. Prioritize Your Tasks
Prioritization is essential when managing multiple projects at once; hiring managers often ask candidates during interviews how they prioritize their work; you want to be prepared with an answer such as, “I consider the stakes and urgency of each task before prioritizing them.”
As a way of prioritizing tasks, try using a matrix such as Eisenhower Matrix or ABCDE method to assess their importance. Doing so quickly and easily allows you to prioritize which tasks need to be completed first; further consider what potential rewards will come from doing each task like new clients or revenue and make plans to accomplish each one successfully.
3. Turn Off Your Email Notifications
Email has become an unavoidable part of modern workplace culture, yet it can also be a major productivity killer. Every time we check email or open new notifications we lose focus and move backwards in our work. Studies have also shown that it takes 23 minutes to regain focus after being distracted.
Switch off email notifications to break the cycle and stop spending so much time checking your inboxes. Instead, use Inbox Pause or Boomerang to timebox emails so they come at specific intervals during the day, so you can dedicate large chunks of uninterrupted work time without distraction. This will give you greater control over your email habits and boost productivity.
4. Keep a Journal
One effective way to increase productivity is keeping a journal. Journaling allows you to focus on your goals, track your progress and remain motivated throughout the day.
Writing down your ideas and thoughts helps gain clarity and calms the mind, as well as being an excellent way to work through negative emotions and reduce stress levels.
There are many different kinds of journals, so find one that works for you. Learning journals (sometimes referred to as curiosity journals) are great for keeping track of new skills or knowledge you want to acquire; these may include videos, books or podcasts as resources to read or listen to; they’re also excellent tools for tracking accomplishments and successes.
5. Set Goals
Goals help employees remain motivated and on track during the workday, by setting out clear milestones they are able to break big goals into smaller tasks that can be completed within their set timelines.
One common error when setting goals is setting too many at once. While reaching for a 4.0 GPA or becoming a professional hockey player may sound appealing, setting two distinct goals would likely prove more fruitful: product and process goals.
Setting goals that are measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound can have a dramatic effect on productivity. Setting a goal to reduce manual onboarding errors by the end of Q4 as part of your project deliverable and key result can help teams keep tabs on their progress and ensure all goals are reached on schedule.
Jane has worked with world-renowned plastic surgeons and dermatologists in the development of her line and lectures all over the world on its benefits.