How to Improve Your Business Productivity
Start with yourself., Set deadlines and tell people about them., Work in 90 minute intervals., Take breaks regularly., Follow the 2-minute rule., Take advantage of your commute., Commit to multiple drafts of everything., Handle your email more...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Start with yourself.
If you want to increase the productivity of your business, there is no better place to start than with your own workday.
Making yourself more productive will not only be a boost to your company, it will also teach you techniques that you can pass on to your employees. -
Step 2: Set deadlines and tell people about them.
With open-ended tasks or projects, setting a self-imposed deadline can provide motivation to work harder.
It works even better if you inform other people of your self-imposed deadline, as this will make you more accountable for sticking to it., Research shows that after 90 minutes, productivity begins to decline.
To maximize your productivity, work in four to five 90 minute sessions, with breaks inbetween., Studies show that taking short, regular breaks helps to maintain focus and to prevent a decline in performance.Even briefly switching your attention to another task for a minute or two a few times an hour can help to maintain focus over the longterm.Taking a break to exercise once a day – even if this only means a brisk walk or a couple of trips up and down the stairs – will boost your productivity even more. , If a task comes up that you can complete in 2 minutes or less, do it immediately.
It will take less time than coming back to it later, and it will provide a brief break that will make you more focused when you return to the task at hand., E-mail, to-do lists, brainstorming, and document review are great tasks to get done whenever you find yourself with “bonus” time, whether it’s during your commute or while in the waiting room at your doctor’s office., All your work product – not just writing – should be done in multiple “drafts” instead of wasting time trying to make it perfect the first time around.
Hammer out something that works and have someone else look at it, or come back to it later with a fresh mind.
You’ll find you can complete projects much more quickly if you do them in four or five “drafts” than if you try to get it just right the first time. , The average worker spends 28% of his workday managing his email.
That’s over 11 hours out of a 40 hour work week.
To win back some of that time:
Set times to check your email.
Checking email seems like work, only it’s a lot easier than a lot of other work, so much so that many people check it 10 or more times an hour.
That wastes time.
Instead, try checking your email three times a day – when you arrive, after lunch, and before you leave.
At most, check it once an hour.
Don’t use folders.
It may seem organized, but it turns out that filing your emails into folders is actually a much less efficient way to find them when you need them than simply leaving them in your inbox and remembering when you received them.
Unsubscribe from mail lists.
On average, 50% of the email workers receive is junk.
It takes only a few seconds to delete that email, but over the course of the year, those seconds can add up to hours. -
Step 3: Work in 90 minute intervals.
-
Step 4: Take breaks regularly.
-
Step 5: Follow the 2-minute rule.
-
Step 6: Take advantage of your commute.
-
Step 7: Commit to multiple drafts of everything.
-
Step 8: Handle your email more efficiently.
Detailed Guide
If you want to increase the productivity of your business, there is no better place to start than with your own workday.
Making yourself more productive will not only be a boost to your company, it will also teach you techniques that you can pass on to your employees.
With open-ended tasks or projects, setting a self-imposed deadline can provide motivation to work harder.
It works even better if you inform other people of your self-imposed deadline, as this will make you more accountable for sticking to it., Research shows that after 90 minutes, productivity begins to decline.
To maximize your productivity, work in four to five 90 minute sessions, with breaks inbetween., Studies show that taking short, regular breaks helps to maintain focus and to prevent a decline in performance.Even briefly switching your attention to another task for a minute or two a few times an hour can help to maintain focus over the longterm.Taking a break to exercise once a day – even if this only means a brisk walk or a couple of trips up and down the stairs – will boost your productivity even more. , If a task comes up that you can complete in 2 minutes or less, do it immediately.
It will take less time than coming back to it later, and it will provide a brief break that will make you more focused when you return to the task at hand., E-mail, to-do lists, brainstorming, and document review are great tasks to get done whenever you find yourself with “bonus” time, whether it’s during your commute or while in the waiting room at your doctor’s office., All your work product – not just writing – should be done in multiple “drafts” instead of wasting time trying to make it perfect the first time around.
Hammer out something that works and have someone else look at it, or come back to it later with a fresh mind.
You’ll find you can complete projects much more quickly if you do them in four or five “drafts” than if you try to get it just right the first time. , The average worker spends 28% of his workday managing his email.
That’s over 11 hours out of a 40 hour work week.
To win back some of that time:
Set times to check your email.
Checking email seems like work, only it’s a lot easier than a lot of other work, so much so that many people check it 10 or more times an hour.
That wastes time.
Instead, try checking your email three times a day – when you arrive, after lunch, and before you leave.
At most, check it once an hour.
Don’t use folders.
It may seem organized, but it turns out that filing your emails into folders is actually a much less efficient way to find them when you need them than simply leaving them in your inbox and remembering when you received them.
Unsubscribe from mail lists.
On average, 50% of the email workers receive is junk.
It takes only a few seconds to delete that email, but over the course of the year, those seconds can add up to hours.
About the Author
Isabella Ward
Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in crafts and beyond.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: