A simple productivity tip for work starts with food. If you go to a supermarket, you’ve likely had the chance to use a self-checkout machine. This process can teach you an important productivity lesson, which is all about giving feedback.
At the grocery store, when you drag your item across the scanner, you hear a beep, which tells you the item has been purchased.
This sound is important because it keeps you from unintentionally shoplifting as well as ringing up a single item multiple times.
Yes, there is an on-screen display that shows your buying history but the beep allows you to do other things, at the same time, like put the item in your bag, rather than wait for the screen to acknowledge a purchase.
In your world, do you receive beeps that are affirmations for your work? This is an important productivity tip for work.
Does a supervisor or a colleague make sure you’re following the correct processes? This is important because it’s possible to perform a task correctly and ineffectively.
Imagine if your self-checkout process saw you have a full cart but scan only one item and then pay for it. You would then repeat this process for every item. This is a big difference from putting all of your items through the scanner before paying.
In this case, you are following the instructions but are not honoring the process in the most efficient manner. No every method is correct.
Self-check sounds can also prevent other problems. As the owner of a chip enabled credit card, I hear a sound when it’s time to remove my card from the payment machine. This keeps me from walking away from the store without my card, something I could imagine happening frequently to myself and others.
By having a buzzing sound, people hold onto their cards, close the door to potential credit card fraud, and keep store employees from having to chase down forgetful customers or act like detectives in search of missing Visas and MasterCards.
What’s your sound?
Maybe it’s time to bring Ken Okel to your next meeting…
Read any good books lately?
