Productivity: How to Get It and Keep It.
Have you ever looked up, and proclaimed “Where did this day go?” Or looked up and
wondered “I can’t believe it’s August already, it seems like we just celebrated
Christmas.”
Is time flying by more quickly than ever? Or does it just feel that way? Debate that if you
like, however, there is much work to do, so don’t dally at it too long. This is, after all, a
“productivity” blog.
The average employee clocks about eight hours a day, forty hours per week. A recent
study from VOUCHERCLOUD indicates that the same “average” hire is “productive” for
only 36% of that average workday (less than three hours). First message… DON’T BE
AVERAGE.
Distractions are Death to Productivity
There are many distractions in our workplaces that partially account for this productivity
drain, but there are proven methods to increase your business’s overall productive
work time.
Let’s start with our meetings. (Doodle) published a study that demonstrates that
woefully unproductive meetings resulted in a loss over half a trillion dollars, and 24
billion hours worldwide in the year before COVID hit. It shouldn’t be that way, and it
doesn’t have to be that way.
Below are some ideas designed to create more productivity at work, and to help ratchet
up satisfaction levels, and efficiencies as well.
Tools for Optimal Productivity
- Have well-defined values and goals
- Try different productivity methods to see what works
- Pay attention to what’s not working, and ELIMINATE
- Tiptoe at first, try smaller steps, avoid going in FULL FOOT
- Use productivity tools
- Limit distractions
- Make time for self-care
- Improve employee benefits
- Do less
- Find what works for you
All of these simple suggestions can help make our business better. But first and
foremost is establishment of universally KNOWN principles and targets within our
organizations. Doing so assists in prioritization of the most important tasks, and in
greater completion productivity.
Check out various methods to see what works best for you. Below are a few methods
that have become popular in recent years…
1) Get up, get out of bed, drag a comb across your head. With apologies to Paul
McCartney for the “borrow,” studies show that the earlier we wake up, and GET
UP, the higher is brain activity. Increased brain activity helps us to get more done,
more quickly.
2) Don’t just tackle, do some blocking. Time blocking (dividing our days into blocks
of time, and focusing on a singular task during each is better than multi-tasking.
3) Don’t forget the old 80/20 rule. Concentrate on the tasks that produce the 80%
early in the day. 20% of what we do early should focus on what results in the
80%. You know, the important stuff.
4) Simple, but keep workspaces spaces clean and tidy for mental clarity.
Are you guilty of persisting in tactics that are not improving productivity? We must
identify them, and DITCH THEM!
An audit of your working hours with a focus on time drains (and decreased productivity)
will help identify problem areas. Knowledge is power, and we cannot take positive steps
unless we can understand and see our way clear to less waste, and more productivity.
Lastly, be honest with yourself. Are you wasting your important and valuable time by
becoming mired in menial tasks (you know, the things that don’t produce the golden
80%) that you could put on others on your team with less experience, and seniority?
Most leaders are guilty of this, which is why the appropriation of Virtual
Assistants is so popular today.
We would love to have a conversation with you about utilization of one of our
experienced, U.S. -Based Virtual Assistants to help maximize your day, quarter, or year!
Contact our Director of Business Development for a no obligation phone call today. We
would love to help you with reclaiming your productivity!
