how to be more productive
Be more productive
Holding her laptop, diary, and pen, and paper calendar, Janice (not her real name) stopped long enough to answer a question from one of her teammates. With one eye on the clock and her body positioned to move quickly away from their next meeting, Janice seemed exhausted. Her interminable meetings and a list of ideas and tasks pending in her head not only distracted her but overwhelmed her.
Being productive at work requires as much effort as doing the job. Janice, like many other employees, strives to find moments of time to make meaningful progress in her tasks. In one study, 57 percent of employees and managers had difficulty managing information, schedules, and expectations. This does not optimize companies and their people to achieve high levels of success or progress. What's worse, employees overwhelmed they are more likely to run out.
While a change in organizational culture is key to solving the growing problem of overwhelmed and underperforming employees, you can take action today. To be more productive in 2018, you can take advantage of the following tips. The tips are categorized by productivity activities and activities that help you develop a disciplined approach to getting the job done.
Always keep a wellness focus
Doing things does not only depend on productivity habits, such as the preparation of lists and planning. If you do not take care of your mind and body, overcoming the feeling of overwhelm will help you to have a lower performance.
Instead, develop some habits that help you recharge during the day. Here are some high-value suggestions:
Sleep what enough: Arianna Huffington argues that "the myth of running out is the price necessary for success and success" is dangerous. In the Huffington press kit for his recent book, The Sleep Revolution, he cites an investigation by the Great British Sleep Survey that shows that "people with lack of sleep are seven times more likely to experience helplessness and five times more likely to feeling alone.”
Meditate during the day: applications like Headspace or 10% Happier can be used for quick meditation sessions that can last two minutes, five minutes or more. Meditation helps you recharge and return to work with higher levels of energy.
Constantly create and seek clarity
Reduce confusion or indecision about what to work on by ruthlessly creating clarity. I define clarity as knowing what are the main priorities of the company, what it means for your team and for you. It also includes understanding and setting objectives, clarifying expectations and creating small loops of performance feedback throughout the month.
Minimizes cognitive distractions by not knowing what is most important. Also, manage the frustrations that come from different understandings about priorities, objectives, and expectations by continually reviewing them. You can do this for yourself and your team.
Develop and follow daily rituals
Teachers of productivity such as Tim Ferris and Michael Hyatt believe that daily rituals are crucial to progress and success. The rituals are composed of daily activities that keep you focused on what matters most. They help you maintain a clear focus on the activities that will help you achieve your goals. Without daily rituals, you may be more susceptible to distractions. Here are four ritual categories that I build each day. I included some sample tasks, too.
Morning ritual: This is my "I time". I meditate for 20 minutes. I wrote a diary for 10 minutes, reflecting on ideas and listing people and things for which I am grateful.
Work initiation ritual: this ritual allows me to make intelligent decisions for the day. It includes writing my three main priorities for the day, reviewing my calendar, reading (again) my main goal and the reason why it is important to me. I also spend time updating my progress on personal and professional goals.
End of work ritual: end the day, in the same way, every time. End of work rituals are designed to prepare you for the next day and to reduce surprises. My ritual for the end of the day includes rereading my master goal and the reasons to achieve it. I also plan the next day.
Night ritual: I start the day focusing on myself and end the day in the same way. I write, again, three things for which I am grateful. I take my night medicine. I read a fiction book to help me relax before going to bed.
Plan for all the roles in your life
Plan and integrate into your activities and tasks of the week and month in the various roles in your life. Wharton professor Stewart Friedman identifies three skill categories in his book, leading the life you want, that helps you integrate work and the rest of life into a satisfying one.
Skills to be complete: these are skills that support acting with integrity.
Skills to be innovative: these are skills to help you "act with creativity and courage to continuously experience how things are done".
Before reading an article on how to be more productive, remember this: Be nice to yourself and your mistakes.
You cannot expect to be more productive overnight.
It is likely that you have spent years cultivating your work habits, both good and bad, consciously or unconsciously, and that will not change immediately.
