Productivity has become a matter of great concern. Employers are concerned. Employees are worried about their downward spiral. Consultants like us are waxing and waning about ways and means of increasing them. Workshops and Seminars are pouring out reams of advice. Gadgets aimed at making life easier – productivity aids – are at times hailed as the new breakthrough that will act as a game changer, while at others are blamed for the fall.
Suffice to say, productivity, or its fall is something that is concerning us all. While I am no Doremon and therefore have no miraculous solution like a “productivity enhancing cap”, here are a few suggestions that I have found to have worked for me. Try them and see the difference within two weeks. If they work for you embrace them, if they don’t, just discard. And oh, by the way, they have no adverse side effects and are completely devoid of steroids.
* Turn off all technology for 60 minutes a day and focus on doing your most important work.
* Work in 90 minute cycles (tons of science is now confirming that this is the optimal work to rest ratio – and when you take breaks don’t make them into coffee binge-ing sessions, drink lots of water instead).
* Start your day with at least 30 minutes of exercise (I must admit, I failed this one, my body is just not suited for early morning calisthenics).
* Don’t check your email first thing in the morning (think about the day ahead, plan – even read the news paper. Avoid the telly first thing in the morning though).
* Turn all your electronic notifications off till an hour after you reach office (settle, and then shoot).
* Take one day a week as a complete recovery day, to refuel and regenerate (that means no email, no phone calls and zero work).
* Official data (no, i didn’t make that up) says workers are interrupted every 11 minutes. Distractions destroy productivity. Learn to protect your time and say no to interruptions – especially those irritating phone calls.
* Schedule every day of your week every Sunday morning. A plan relieves you of the torment of choice. It restores focus and provides energy.
* Work in blocks of time. Creative geniuses all had 2 things in common: when they worked they were fully engaged and when they worked, they worked with this deep concentration for reasonably long periods of time. (short sporadic bursts? They work best in advertising agencies and off course if you happen to be the owner’s son in law)
* Drink a liter of water early every morning. We wake up dehydrated. The most precious asset of a super worker isn’t time – it’s energy. Water restores it.
* Don’t answer your phone every time it rings. Activate the caller name option and switch to silent when the pests call.
* Invest in your professional development so you bring more value to the hours you work. Read. Retool. Re-skill.
* Avoid gossip and time vampires. Ditto for chain mails.
* Touch paper just once (remember the green thing?).
* Keep a “Stop Doing List”( bad habits are just that bad habits. Identify them and if you can’t send in the seals, exterminate them using the drones).
* Get up at 5 am (it’s really, really refreshing and helps impart that dream flower freshness the whole day which has been known to do wonders to productivity).
* Have at least a couple of meetings standing up (sitting at the desk for long periods of time is perhaps one of the biggest productivity busters, take a stroll, stand up as much as you can.
* Keep a pet rock – they are a great stress reliever which in turn enhances productivity.
* keep your desk as clutter free as possible. Chaotic workstations attracts the scourge of the world and are known productivity busters.