Follow 7 Steps to Increase Your Personal Productivity
I'll start with one question about your business work day, "How many hours do you work uninterrupted?"
Productivity Killers
When I mean uninterrupted, I am not just talking about people that stop by your office or desk looking to chat, collaborate, or just ask an important question.
There are other distractions or productivity killers that can cause each of us to lose our focus, distract us, drain our energy, and make us feel like we're running around in circles.
Here are a few productivity killers to watch for:
1. Email
2. Checking social media
3. Unplanned drive bys
4. Doing non important tasks
7 Steps to Increase Personal Productivity
Lets start here.
Just imagine a day with 3 hours of uninterrupted work. Just imagine the focus and progress you would make that day.
In an article by David Franzen in a previous month's Content Marketing Magazine, Franzen explains 7 steps to achieve personal productivity and high performance.
Franzen first explains three important elements that need to be present to achieve productivity.
1. Clarity
2. Organization
3. Systems
Below are Franzen's 7 steps that will help you achieve better personal productivity at work.
1. Clean Your Desk
Your desk should be reserved solely for the few items that your are currently working on. Place everything else out of your field of vision.
2. Separate Projects Into Folders
This can be physical or digital. The key is to focus on one thing at a time.
3. Keep a To-Do List
Keeping a to-do list with items prioritized based on importance keeps your brain focused. This way the next action you should take is always right in front of you.
4. Do Your Most Important Task First
Making progress or completing a high priority task is vital to productivity. It sets the stage for the rest of your day. You will also tackle it with the most clarity and energy.
5. Do Not Check Email, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter
If doing the most important thing first is setting yourself up to win, checking emails or any social media is setting yourself to lose. Don't do it. You brain will go into instant distraction mode.
A better strategy is to designate a specific period of time each day to reading and checking emails.
6. Eliminate Distractions and Interruptions
When you're working, you should shut off the sounds of email, tweets or Facebook messages. Imagine hanging a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door of your mind. Mentally you can achieve a high level of focus by setting clear start and stop times for your work sessions.
7. Eat, Move, Sleep, or Suffer the Consequences
Recent studies have shown that eating at the right times, moving (walking, running or just getting in motion), and getting enough sleep daily help to invigorate your life with energy, creativity, and clarity—which are three important things to be more productive.
Get started today and get in the productivity zone more often—get more of the right work done at the right time.