Are you productive enough?
Do you feel like you are running as fast as you can, but you are still not
accomplishing the goals you set for yourself each day?
Do you often find yourself complaining to your friends or colleagues about not
getting enough done?
What’s holding you back from meeting your goals?
Does your productivity ever get hampered by your desire to find the best
possible solution?
As you seek the easiest or fastest route to your goal, you may find yourself
stopped entirely.
Sometimes you may even do this on purpose, to keep from having to make a decision.
However, there’s a work-around.
Maybe you’ve heard of the term, “heuristic.”
Heuristics are rules that allow a solution to be found more quickly.
With a heuristic, a resolution can be found even when the entire path isn’t clear from the onset.
For example, if there were no roads, but you lived in New York and wanted to make your way
to California, a heuristic might be:
1. Walk west as far as you can.
2. Walk around any obstacle, if possible.
3. If faced with a mountain range, walk toward the space between 2 small peaks.
4. Repeat until reaching California.
Does this heuristic give you the most efficient solution?
No; however, it will get you where you want to go, and you won’t waste a lot of time trying
to make up your mind.
12 Ways to Increase Your Productivity
Try these behavioral heuristics to increase your productivity:
1. Choose the right time.
Nearly everyone has times of the day when they are most effective and times when they
tend to drag.
It’s smart to schedule the most critical tasks for your most effective time of the day.
2. Toss it
If a task doesn’t really need to be done, just get rid of it altogether.
3. Get the bad stuff out of the way
Do the unpleasant items quickly and as early in the day as possible.
4. Set a goal each day (or night)
In the morning, decide what you want to accomplish that day.
This can be even more effective when planned the night before.
Once you have a sense of direction, you can spend all your time getting things done!
5. Eliminate all communication
While you’re working, turn off the phone / cell phone, and don’t check your email.
Hang a sign that says, “Do not disturb,” if necessary.
You don’t have to do this for all your tasks, but at least do it during the more difficult items.
6. Batch similar tasks together
Do all your emailing at one time.
Make all your phone calls at another.
Open your snail mail during a set block of time.
You’ll waste less time by doing your work in this fashion.
7. Set a timer
Even if a task might take hours, starting will seem easier if you simply give yourself 30 minutes
to get as much done as you can.
A time limit seems to help many people concentrate and work better, too.
8. Set targets
For example, if you have to make cold-calls for your sales job, tell yourself that you’re not
getting up for any reason until you’ve made at least 100 calls.
Regardless of what happens, refuse to stop until you hit your target.
9. Use the Pareto Principle
This principle states that 20% of the actions you could take will provide you with 80% of
the benefits.
So focus on the tasks that will accomplish the most.
Unfortunately, these are frequently the tasks that are not enjoyable.
You might be surprised how little you really have to do if you focus on the critical 20%.
10. Delegate some of your work
Is there anyone else who can help you?
The people around you are resources.
When appropriate, use their time and talents wisely to get things done more quickly.
11. Set a deadline
Having a specific endpoint will really help to focus your time and energy.
If a task doesn’t feel necessary, chances are that it won’t get done.
12. Increase your speed
It may sound silly, but this can really help.
Try doing everything a little faster. Walk faster, talk faster, type faster, and read faster.
Implement these heuristics into your life and you’ll find yourself getting more done in
less time.
The ultimate secret is to stay on task and not waste any time.
Apply these tips in your life and see if they help!
I am happy to say that following these tips really helped me to become much more
productive.
And that feeling of accomplishment is such a great high!
What about you–are you getting enough done?
What productivity tips and suggestions work best
for you?
Share your thoughts and comments with us.
These were really handy tips! I work from home so definitely need to put some of these into practice 🙂
Hi Deborah! I’m actually pretty productive and disciplined already but I wanted to check these out to see how I stacked up–and YaY! I already do most of them. Still, I like being reminded all the time! Thanks for keeping us all on track! ~Kathy
Great tips! I’m a professional procrastinator so I need to start incorporating some of these into my routine. Thanks for sharing!
So am I, that’s why I enjoyed working on this post! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me. I appreciate it.
What a great list! I know that after 3 PM I accomplish very little… but my favorite tip is “TOSS IT!” 😉