5 Steps to Greater Workplace Productivity.
Last month I attended a seminar on improving individual productivity- it was fantastic. The presenter had five different strategies designed to help people get more done simultaneously or do more in less time. We'll review these five strategies below, but first, let's talk about what causes low workplace productivity in the first place.
Several things can cause workplace distractions and lead to low productivity, such as excessive meetings, phone calls, tasks assigned outside someone's job description, an abundance of emails from colleagues and clients, intense deadlines where there is inadequate support for getting work done on time-- the list goes on and on.
Certain personality traits can affect your productivity, such as low self-esteem, lack of confidence, and the inability to say "no" to requests (in other words, yes, people). These personality traits and workplace distractions will inevitably lead you to poor productivity.
So what can you do about it? Here are five strategies I learned at the seminar:
1. Delegate tasks outside your job description.
Everyone has particular skills that they are very good at (or should be), so it makes sense for you to focus on doing just those things well rather than trying to do everything in your job description. For example, if you know that people are always asking for a copy of a particular report, ask someone else in the office to mail or fax the information. If there is something that you feel like doing very often but is outside of your job description, ask someone else in the office to do it for you.
2. Establish clear work/life boundaries.
It can be challenging to say "no" when other people request you, but if you establish boundaries with these requests and limit their number, it will go a long way towards improving productivity. You can also let others know that you are not available for tasks or requests during certain hours and that you must be left alone to focus on getting work done.
3. Get out of your office and away from distractions.
If you're having trouble concentrating on your work, get up, walk around the office and chat with co-workers but don't stay in your office because people will keep dropping by to talk to you. It is also a good idea to work in a different location in the office (perhaps another room or the library) if you have an open working environment-- if it's possible for people to walk by easily and distract you all day long, change your location.
4. Get on top of your email inbox.
If you have an overflowing email inbox, your organization will suffer from low productivity, and you'll have trouble getting anything done. Compose a weekly schedule for when you will check your inbox, when you will answer emails and how long it takes for the messages to be processed by your IT department and forwarded to the appropriate person.
According to some surveys, people expect an average of four emails from a boss daily, which is too many! To help stave off stress during email overload times, write out a list of responses to send back when someone requests something of you-- this will keep the emails flowing nicely and prevent you from spending too much time on them.
5. Pick up the phone, take notes, pause when you're in the middle of an email and don't feel obligated to respond.
These are all signs that your brain is overloaded and that you're not giving yourself enough time to think, leading to unproductive and inefficient work. If you can't say anything more than "yes" or "no" on the phone, don't say anything at all-- if you've already responded to this person.
They keep coming back with more requests and start getting frustrated with the interruptions (and they will continue) until you finally say "no" for good. Another tip for staying on task is to check your email at certain times of the day-- you might only check it at 6 AM and 6 PM and respond immediately to messages, or schedule a time for email checking every hour (at:15 after each hour).
A lot of what we touched upon here is common sense. When you delegate tasks outside your job description, decide how much time you're willing to spend on charges outside of your job description, establish boundaries with co-workers who make requests of you or manage your inbox effectively, people will quickly realize that they can't impose upon you as much as they used to--. You'll be able to work more efficiently.