20+ Best Productivity Techniques For The Workplace

 

The top five workplace attention destroyers (according to a 2015 survey by CareerBuilder): Cell phones/texting/Internet-Social media/Gossip/Email

 

1. Time Box: Schedule your activities. Set time bands for different activities.

 

2. Minimize all distraction during any activity: Get rid of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out); It is a huge time waster, logging into social media to see what others are doing.Only Respond to Emergency Emails during productive hours

 

3. Maximize your working hours: It starts with getting up early.

 

4. Work smart: Use cheatsheets, checklists, playbookss etc . But no 'real cheating'.

 

5. Schedule for regular breaks: Use these to stretch your body, play games, chat, reflection, etc

 

6. Have a 'Can do' attitude: Be helpful to others and they will help you Also, bad attitude is contagious.

 

7. Get new skills daily: Any small new learning will do. Get help from experts when you don't know something.

 

8. Make meeting work by having an agenda (at least be clear about your agenda), keep notes and ask for follow-up tasks, and most importantly, stick to a fixed time. Some companies follow the 45 minute rule, everyone just walks out the moment 45 minutes are up, so people hurry to make their points without rambling on and on.

 

9. Back up your work: Do daily online/offline backups of important files that were worked on that day.

 

10. Keep your computers and smartphones safe: Use anti-virus software. Use hard-to-break passwords.

 

11. Do less: Focus on the most important tasks, without getting lost in the jungle of small stuff all time.

 

12. Delegate all the non-important stuff: As well as the potentially tricky ones which will not bring any glory to you.

 

13. Get the important stuff done early: Before you get tired and/or distracted, do the top 2-3 things on your list first.

 

14. Batch tasks: Group similar tasks and do them in one go. It also helps deal with our tendency to multitask when pressed for time, which is very draining.

 

15. Focus on one big task at a time.

 

16. Learn to say no. This is crucial if you want to have a simplified schedule.

 

17. Get your '20% time' everyday: Whatever you do during the day, have just 90 minutes, 20% of an eight-hour day, for your most important tasks.

 

18. Schedule 5-15 minutes daily (with no fixed time of day, whenever you are free) to work housekeeping/administrative stuff (anything that doesn't directly affect your bottom line, but has to be done) - answering less important emails, booking for travel etc, lining up details about coming events etc. Some bunch up the non-important/but still 'doworthy' tasks for 20-30 minutes at the end of the week.

 

19. De-clutter your desk and get more work done: Researchers say a cluttered desk may cause your mind to wander, for example, you look at a document lying around and start thinking about another project. Of course, others say that chaos breeds creativity. Do what works best for you.

 

20. If you have to do work through the night (all-nighter), eat well (proteins, not carbohydrates) and do regular breaks and stretch your body.

 

 

Working from home productivity techniques (what this writer learned)

 

21. Be in a working mood by adopting a 'going to office' mindset: Dress for office if you want to (it does wonders for your self esteem if you have to go outside for a bit), or take walks around the locality, doing some chore while you are out.

 

22. Keep distractions away while you are working: Low-noise place to sit and work, working it out with family on times when you will be available, saying 'no' to any errand other than your 'going to office' routine and other walks.

 

23. Take regular breaks: Working alone, with just the silence or whirr of a fan for company, can be a killer. I try to follow the 51-17 rule, 50+ minutes of work followed by 10-15 minutes of rest, mild exercises, or just lying on the sofa, getting the sub conscious to work on a problem, or a quick nap, and then back at the seat.

 

24. Call someone, or just email or text during your free time. It will ease off the loneliness if it bothers too much.

 

Thank you for reading.
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