CEO Corner-Increasing Productivity-Part 1

Written by Soong Chong, Director

In last months article, I talked about "the best invention ever", which was basically a "count down timer" and  a "to do" list. If you don't have a "count down timer"on-hand, just google "egg timer" and you will find quite few websites which offers a free "count down timer". I find that setting a time limit to my tasks, increases my productivity by about 400%. You can use this technique on yourself and recommend this technique for your team. There is something about a "count down timer" which creates a sense of urgency.

This article will be the first of a 3 articles on how to increase your productivity. This is applicable to anyone which may include members of your team.

Discover if your office desk phone has a "Busy" function or turn on the voice mail feature. This will prevent interruption from incoming phone calls. You could always take your phone "off the hook". Nothing is more distracting than constant incoming phone calls. If you have a mobile phone, I would highly suggest that you turn it off. Having your mobile phone on vibrate is still very distracting. 

Email is another distraction. Especially if you have a sound associated with an incoming email. In our office, none of the PCs have speakers, except in the meeting room, for the sole purpose of internet conferencing. So switch off the PC speakers or do not associate sounds with any email or PC activity. Get help from your IT department if becomes too technical. If you are dedicating time to clear your email inbox, see if there is a "work offline" feature. This way new emails will distract you. For example. MS Outlook has a feature which visually informs you that new emails have arrived. Turn if off, or work offline.

Internet is another massive black hole for time. It can suck up all your time. Switch it off. You don't need to quickly google a passing thought. Have a notepad on your desk, write the passing thought down and deal with it later. All internet social networking are great and have a purpose, but you need to set yourself a time limit. 

And finally, a thought for this first article, if you do not want to be distracted, inform the people that could be disrupt you that the next 30 minutes or 60 minutes that you will not be taking any phone calls or answering questions. A visual sign is always good. This can be as simple as a "do not disturb" sign or just simply closing your door.