As an adult who has been in the workforce for many years now, there is a common theme that I have noticed. There are those who are efficient with their time and know how to get stuff done, and those who seem to always complain about not having enough hours in the day to get their work done. I am a very cool observer of life and those around me, so this situation is no different from any other. Over the duration of my career, I have worked in several offices, and I always observe the behaviors of those around me. In this time, I have come up with many methods to improve productivity each day.
Before I get into my learnings, here is a little bit about me. I am the get stuff done kind of person. I work very quickly and efficiently making sure that I focus on priorities, eliminating distractions when possible. While I firmly believe in building valuable relationships with my colleagues, I fully understand that sometimes you need to plug in your headphones, put your focus cap on, and get stuff done.
Methods to Improve Productivity
There are many different personality types in an office environment. The chatty ones, the productive ones, and the ones that make you wonder how they still have a job. For the purpose of this article, I am focusing on the socializers, and how to check yourself to become more productive if you fall into this category.
The socializers, the people who seem to have endless hours to chat about the latest happenings in their lives. These are the people who tend to do a little bit of work, take a break to talk about what they have done, and then start back working.
This method of working is highly ineffective because you often hear complaints of how late they must work, and how there are not enough hours in the day.
Does this sound like you? If so, I have some suggestions on how to break yourself out of the habit of being the “water cooler talker”, and improve your level of productivity in the workplace.
So how do you turn things around and Improve Productivity?
Minimize Distractions
We all have those chatty Kathy’s or Ken’s at work that love to talk about their weekends, kids, or spouses. While this is great for relationship building and ok during lunch hours and breaks; these people are major distractions. When you have a deadline in front of you, hearing about someone’s personal life can be a significant distraction. In cases like this, if your company has a work from home policy, try to use it to your advantage to get stuff done. Personally, working from home is super productive for me. It is quiet with zero distractions, enabling me to focus on what I need to do.
But what happens if you are the chatty Kathy or Ken? As adults, we have to learn to check ourselves and acknowledge areas of opportunity to do better in the workplace and life in general (but that’s another article for another day). If you are the overly chatty person, pay close attention to social cues to make sure you are not distracting others.
For example, if you are talking to a colleague and they seem less than engaged, or they keep looking at the time or their laptop, you may be distracting them. End the conversation, and head back to your desk to start working on your tasks.
Setting Deadlines
Setting deadlines is a way to help you work smarter and cross things off of your checklist sooner. For example, if a project or deliverable is due on Friday, challenge yourself to get it done sooner. When we have deadlines to work toward, we tend to be more laser focused on completing the task because no one wants to look bad at work.
This is especially true when you work on projects that run for a long period of time, and in some cases the deadlines are ambiguous. It is rather easy to look at the task and feel like you have a lot of time to work on it, so setting a deadline and completing the task frees you up to move on to other things.
Block time on your calendar to focus on your work
In today’s workforce, meetings drive everything. I’m sure many people can relate to days that are filled with meetings, which makes it more difficult to find the time to get your work done. I have found it useful to block two hours on my calendar each day. One hour at the beginning of the day, and one hour at the end of the day. Doing this gives me time to start my day focusing on what the hot items are, and tackling them first. Blocking off an hour closer to the end of the day ensures that I am free to complete any open tasks, and also plan for the next day.
Speaking of planning
While we are all super smart humans, I believe that it is impossible to remember every single thing that needs to get done each day. There are tasks that you can complete in a day, and tasks that you need to complete over time. I am not a pen and paper kind of person, so I keep my to-do lists electronically by creating my list as an email at the end of the day and sending it to myself.
While this works for me, I completely understand that it may not work for everyone. In that case, get a notepad that you can carry around with you to jot down tasks or to-do’s as they come up throughout the day. It does not matter what method you use to craft your list, the important thing here is taking the time to craft a list that is actionable, and helps you plan your workdays.
Plan your day
Use your to-do list to actually plan your day. Taking into consideration meetings you must attend, and priority items on your checklist. In addition to creating a checklist and blocking out time, I also create calendar invites for myself with tasks from my list. Doing this serves multiple purposes, the first is that I get a reminder that pops up to let me know that I need to complete a specific task. The second is that I have time allotted to do what I need to do, helping to keep me stay focused on getting stuff done.
If you commute to work via public transportation, use that time wisely
I once had a job that I commuted to via a train ride that took about 45 minutes each way. I would use this time to check my emails, review my to-do list and sometimes rearrange the list based on priorities that may have shifted after hours. For those of you who drive to work, I do not advise checking your emails on the road, but you can use the time when you first arrive at the office wisely to set yourself up for a productive day. Consider drinking your coffee during your commute instead of taking the first part of your day to make coffee at the office.
I currently commute to work via car, and it takes about an hour or longer to get there, so preparing for my day prior to my arrival is impossible. To make sure I properly prep, I have the first hour of my day blocked as I mentioned above.
Take Breaks
This may sound counterproductive, but it is a great method to improve productivity. We are humans, not machines, so it is not a great idea to work straight through your day. I try to keep my breaks very limited because I like to make the most of my day and get as much done as possible during working hours. Sometimes a quick break is needed; especially in times of stress.
Try taking a walk to the kitchen, or stepping away from your desk to eat your lunch. I have a terrible habit of eating my food at my desk and working. I have noticed that the I feel slightly refreshed and ready to finish the second half of my day when I take time away from my desk. Besides, looking at the computer screen all day is not great for your eyes, and your brain deserves a little bit of time off.
If you are aiming to increase your productivity at work, take a step back and evaluate your work style. Doing this will help you find areas of improvement and ways to implement some of theses methods to improve productivity into your workday. Use this list to think of ways to work smarter and be the rock star you are.
If you’re having a case of the Monday’s (even if it is not Monday) use this list to find ways to cope even if you are in a funk.
Leave a comment below and let me know about methods to improve your productivity that have been helpful for you.
