Still Need to Improve Productivity at Work?

Do you still need to improve productivity at work as we move toward the halfway point of 2017? The new year is no longer a book waiting to be read. Much of it has been written.

It’s not uncommon for leaders to start the year with big goals for improving productivity, only to find their plans abandoned due to busy schedules or the unexpected.

It’s humbling to realize you’re failing to keep up and your goals may be unachievable. The good news is productivity can go up with some strategic adjustments and a modest investment of time. Consider these tips to improve productivity at work:

Honor Your Priorities

What are the top three to five things you must perform? Identify the tasks that are most important to your job and your business.

You may be temped to say that everything is important. Resist that urge. Trying to do everything produces mediocrity.
You may need to look at your job description to remember these duties. This isn’t your fault. You’ve been overwhelmed with changing priorities or emergencies that demanded attention.

Your top five tasks should be the things you spend most of your time performing. Many believe they should make up 80% of your workday.

While that’s a good target, it’s more important to ask, “Does this task fall in my top five?” so you can make adjustments to your schedule.

Know Why You Need to Improve Your Productivity

When you end your day, do you feel like you’ve made no progress toward your big picture goals? Identify what kept you from focusing on your top five tasks and if there’s a way to minimize its impact.

We’ve talked before about ways you can control interruptions at work. Sometimes this process can be as simple as closing your door, turning off your phone’s ringer, or not responding immediately to low priority email.

Does your coffee break turn into a social hour with your colleagues? While being social is good, understand how much time it consumes.

By knowing where you lost time, you can control these distractions. You’re taking the mystery out of your day.

Start to Delegate

Even the most effective people can find themselves doing tasks that contribute little to their productivity. Often, these are things that you used to do or know best how to do.

You need to have someone else do these tasks, especially if you’re not paid to do them. You should also consider whether you choose to perform these old assignments because they provide you an excuse for not focusing on your new and potentially challenging duties. It’s a common stall tactic, letting you avoid the uncomfortable.

Delegation gives another employee a chance to develop new skills, which in turn, increases their value to the organization. Provide support and guidance to that person with the understanding that you’re going to stop performing the task.

Final Thought

It’s easy to wait until the perfect day to improve productivity at work. By always waiting until tomorrow to make a change, you sacrifice today’s improvement.