The number of hours you work is NOT directly proportional to your productivity. You might be very successful but still you may not be as productive as you could be. On the other hand, lack of productivity may be the hurdle in your success. Productivity depends on many factors and maybe you have to do a few things differently to increase your productivity. You may be an employee or a business owner but if you’re not productive enough, it may lead to a lot of stress. Check out a few ways you can increase your productivity at work drastically:
Be prepared
The process of being productive starts before you sit at your desk. It starts with a plan, planning what exactly you want to accomplish in a given period of time. Most people do not have a plan which leads to them being less productive.
Switch off all distractions
You might think that checking your mail, attending to every call and chatting with people does not affect your ability to be productive, but you’d be very wrong. We can do only one thing at a time effectively, and when you start doing this, you’ll see that you are finishing your projects on or before time.
Brainstorm
Productivity does not always mean to finish on time; rather a correct result is more important. To achieve this, you may have to “waste” an afternoon brainstorming, throwing about ideas, till you hit on the one which is the best suited for your work. This will ultimately save you time and give you the results you want, thus making you more productive.
Your calendar is an important tool
Treating your calendar to just remember important occasions is doing it a great injustice. Use your calendar to your advantage and strategize and schedule your day, or the entire week. In this way, you would know when you’re falling behind. Try doing this and you’ll notice the difference it makes to your productivity levels.
Have a morning routine
You must make an effort to perfect your morning routine and our ancestors knew what they talking about while coining the phrase “Morning shows the day”. This still holds true and most productive people have a routine which energizes them throughout the day. Maybe exercise, breakfast, reflection and checking your yearly and daily goals can help you start the day in a positive manner.
Don’t put off things
A laid back approach towards life can be great but it doesn’t lead you to accomplish your pet projects on time. You must have a desire to realize your dreams NOW, and not put off working till tomorrow. Procrastination may have many hidden reasons behind it, and unless you get down to it, you’ll never get rid of your fears. Maybe you fear that you will not be able to deliver the required result, but who knows, maybe you can!
Take short breaks
Taking short breaks doesn’t mean you take so many that your work is affected. Treat breaks like rewards that you give yourself, when you complete your goal. And a shot of caffeine may help you become more focused.
Ask for feedback
You may not be used to asking for feedback thinking that it would take you out of your flow, but actually, you may save a lot of time by a even a single feedback which makes you realize that something is just not working. Sometimes we get too involved and thus lose perspective, but an objective viewpoint and lead us in the right direction.
Measure your work
The measurement we’re talking about doesn’t mean any physical measurement such as money or time. It means to measure your work and reflect on whether there is any improvement in your work or not. Work out ways in which you could do better and become more efficient.
Get public opinion
Getting some public opinion is also important. You can do this by sharing some part of your work on a digital platform, such as social media, and the feedback you receive will enhance your development process.
Productivity is about flow, it’s about how organically and naturally you’re able to come up with effective and efficient solutions, without feeling any stress or strain.
