What does productivity means?
Productivity at work, here is an expression that has become so important that it is found almost behind each of the dissatisfactions in the relationship to work or time.
To quote Dan S. Kennedy, author of No B.S Time Management for Entrepreneurs :
“Productivity is a deliberate strategic investment of your time, talents, intelligence, energy, resources and opportunities, in a way calculated to get you measurably closer to meaningful goals. "
In other words, productivity would involve two things:
- Productivity as you've probably always imagined it - that is, the maximum results you can achieve from one time interval to another;
- Efficiency, which reveals the quality of the results obtained, that is, to check whether the cumulative efforts that you have expended over this given time interval have made it possible to obtain the expected results and which are meaningful to you.
This is to say that the level of your productivity at work is what will determine your success in life and your well-being at the same time.
Would you like to be more productive in your work in 2021? We share with you some very simple methods and tips for getting from point A to point B.
8 productivity tips for 2021
Here are 8 tips to improve your productivity. What could be more exciting to start a new year in the current context!
1. Avoid doing multiple tasks at the same time
It is scientifically shown that the human brain is not multitasking. Except in the case of tasks made automatic by learning, our brains actually alternate from one task to another.
You must have read several success stories from entrepreneurs who testify that it is by learning to do one thing at a time that they have become more productive.
You can do this using the 2-minute working method of David Allen, the author of the bestseller Getting Things Done.
What Allen recommends is to spontaneously complete any task that takes you less than 2 minutes. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time to plan it or re-read it over and over in your to do list or to do map. The benefit to you is getting more done than you ever imagined and finding yourself breaking down even the longest tasks into smaller ones!
2. Take the time to take a break
Do you know the 52/17 rule? Yes ? It's perfect. Take action, then, and if you are already doing it, persevere!
If you weren't aware, it's just the work-to-rest ratio proven to be the secret of the 10% most productive people. In a study conducted by DeskTime, this Latvian firm has closely observed and analyzed the data of the most productive people. It turns out that the ideal work pace is a 52-minute work sequence followed by a 17-minute break.
In the same register, you will find the pomodoro technique developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s. It is a time management solution that involves dividing the day into 25-minute work periods, then taking a short break.
Thus, you optimize your time by not constantly switching from one task to another. And because you finish your tasks from one time slot to the next, you get them done faster too.
3. Learn to delegate
Delegation of tasks. Who or what entrepreneur in the 21st century would not know the benefits. However, it is not that simple.
Usually, as an entrepreneur or professional or manager, you feel that things can only be done well on your own. But do not fall into this trap at the risk of not achieving the desired results.
The solution: train, delegate and supervise to be more productive! You can use Kanban-type work software such as Trello.
4. Don't hesitate to say "no"
This links with the previous paragraph. Already by delegating tasks, you are saying NO to the need to perform them yourself. So, the more you learn to delegate tasks, the more you need to know how to say a categorical NO to others. For example, when you know what makes you 1 hour of time invested in your business, you should consider the delegation or the refusal of several tasks which would not bring you as much turnover in 1 hour.
Difficult to do?
So think of the Ivy Lee Method, named after the author who invented it in 1918, which is over 100 years old. However, it remains a simple and effective technique that will help you be or remain efficient and productive every day. It comes in 5 cyclic steps overnight:
- Step 1: When your day is done, write down the 6 most important tasks you will accomplish the next day.
- Step 2: Prioritize these 6 tasks according to their importance (from most important to least).
- Step 3: when you start the day, focus only on the first task; and only process the second after completing the first.
Or as the 25-5 method of Warren Buffet would recommend, for 25 career or life goals, you need an A list of 5 priority goals, and a B list of 20 secondary goals. The secondary list is the one to avoid at all costs until you have achieved the objectives on List A.
- Step 4: Continue doing this until the end of the day, then create a new list for the day after, inserting any unfinished or unfinished tasks for the day.
- Step 5: repeat every next day!
5. Define goals and deadlines
Setting goals for your business is an essential element that will help its development. Yet if you don't set definitive deadlines for these goals, it's too easy to let them slip away and they may never get completed.
Deadlines are a simple yet powerful time management technique that can help you become much more productive if you know how to implement them correctly. Being able to set and stick to deadlines is what sets regular entrepreneurs apart from truly exceptional entrepreneurs.
6. Define working hours
Scientists generally agree that the ideal daily working time is around 6 hours, and more concentrated in the morning. Studies indicate that companies that impose high daily hours worked on their employees are also less productive.
If you need to work 8 hours a day or your teams are filling that hourly volume, then calculate the time that large work tasks will take. You can track and invoice your working time with very useful apps Toggl, Clockify, etc. Then plan the rest of the day with things that require less attention. You'll achieve maximum productivity while having time to do less important work.
7. Tidy up your workspace
This one goes without saying. Having a good workspace is something a lot of people don't think about, but it has a huge effect on the way we do things. In addition, it is the right of each employee to benefit from a suitable working environment. But in terms of productivity, it goes beyond providing a space, desk, chair, and maybe a computer.
Be creative, for example with color! It is a well-known fact that the colors around us influence our mood and reactions. Also, think about the right ventilation, the right lighting, the right tools (Lastpass, Slack, etc.) and the right technology to achieve the results.
For example, Lastpass a synchronized and secure password management platform can save you considerable time. Some of our 8P Design collaborators use it. No more wasted minutes trying to remember a password, or even a whole day for some accounts, trying to recover a forgotten password in vain.
8. Have a healthy lifestyle
Finding your work-life balance is a work-life adaptation strategy that makes you or your team feel like responsibilities are under control.
Many organizations are now investing in employee engagement, development and well-being programs, implementing good occupational health practices and initiatives, and generally providing support and guidance to all employees who do so. make the request. But you also need to know how to take charge of your own physical and mental well-being and work-life balance.
Remember that:
So it's not enough to keep your teams busy 35-40 hours per week with a series of tasks. It is even less relevant to say that you are productive because you are busy 300-400 hours per month in several roles as an entrepreneur. It is also necessary that these hourly volumes be invested to develop what has meaning for you professionally as well as for your private life.
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