Increasing productivity continues to be a top goal in most, if not all, businesses. Fortunately, maximising productivity can be improved with a bit of determination, focus and effective time management. The key lies in making each hour of your day count.
What we don’t realise is that most of the time, focusing on what we can stop doing can be more beneficial for getting the most out of our working hours.
Here are a few ways that you can maximise productivity and make time work for you:
Reduce online distractions
Online distractions include social media, emails, and internet rabbit holes. Responding to email notifications, social media browsing, and research consumes more attention and time than the task at hand. The result…productivity reduces while time ticks on.
Online distractions can be reduced by:
- blocking social media on company PCs and laptops
- keeping mobile phones on silent
- turning off email notifications on employee PCs.
By doing this, task productivity will increase as staff are more focused on their daily tasks and less on answering email and social media notifications.
Stop multitasking
According to HubSpot, only 2% of the world population is able to multitask effectively and efficiently. The rest of the world population experience a 40% reduction in efficiency and a 50% increase in mistakes.
A common example of work multitasking occurs during business meetings. People in meetings often listen, take notes, respond to emails, read, etc… The result is a reduction in attentive listening.
So, how do you work at stopping the bad habit of multitasking? You can implement the following:
- Have a no-laptop policy during meetings
- Turn off notifications on mobile devices
- Include built-in breaks throughout your day
- Use time management to block out your day
- Invest in time-tracking software such as TallyPro
Focus on your priorities
Attending meetings is a big productivity killer since it disrupts your focus on the task at hand. According to HubSpot, people take 25 minutes to refocus their attention back onto their work.
- Start each day by prioritizing your tasks according to hardest and most urgent.
- Decide which meetings are vital for you to attend and decline those which are going to waste your time
- Arrange meetings in bulk where possible to help make the most of the interruption in your day.
Avoid procrastination
Procrastination is the biggest killer to productivity and efficiency. It rears its head whenever you begin your day with all the easy tasks, i.e., answer emails, admin, or filing. The problem with doing easy tasks first is that people are very good at finding easy tasks to do throughout the day. Those “bigger” tasks continue to approach their deadline at breaking speed while amping up the stress meter in your day.
Deal with procrastination by implementing Brian Tracy’s Eat the Frog method. This involves dedicating your attention to dealing with the “ugliest frog” on your to-do list. Once you do this (and follow through to completion) you’ll experience a high level of accomplishment and satisfaction. Plus, your productivity has now increased while reducing stress levels.
Get sufficient sleep
Not only does sleep deprivation reduce task efficiency and productivity but it also increases the number of errors people make in tasks, judgment and perception. Sleep deprivation increases poor health, disease, and accidents. As such, ensuring you get 5-7 hours of sleep every night will improve work productivity, stress management, and more positive interaction with colleagues.
