CEO Corner-Increasing Productivity-Part 2

This article is part 2 of a 3 article series which looks at ways of increasing your productivity. The focus of last month's article was mainly on removing distractions. The main distractions that I referred to included the phone, email and the internet.

 

So how else can we increase our productivity? Well, we need to have a look at our processes and techniques. If we look at the science of running, there are quite a number of aspects to consider. For example how to hold your head, shoulder, arms, hands. How long the stride should be and how to land.

 

Similarly, there is a science to increasing productivity. Why do I call it science? There are many definitions of science and the one that I like best is that science describes a systematic field of study or the knowledge gained from it. Science creates useful models of reality and by using science you can create consistent reproducible outcomes. 

So, once you have a great model for producing great results, keep reproducing it! And if does not work, find one that does. I can't picture a scientist trying the same thing and expecting a different result. A scientist will usually try something else.

 

Below are 3 things techniques that you can do to increase your productivity.

 

1. Plan your work day. You need to know how and what your day is going to look like. If you are struggling with this, just write a simple to do list. Prioritise the list and pick the top 5 items to tackle. To gain momentum, you can tackle a few easy ones before you jump into the big complicated tasks. You could also categorise the tasks into "must do now" and "do later". Use words that work for you.

 

2. Keep it simple. If you have a massive task or project, break it into smaller subtasks. As the saying goes "inch by inch life is a cinch, yard by yard life is hard". If you are in an environment that is not simple, simplify it. Clean up your desk if it distracts you. 

 

3. Build an Arsenal of winning techniques. This is the most important one. Find out what works for you. Repeat the process. If it does not work, try a different technique or change your current one.