Productivity Isn't Just Doing More In Less Time

About 96.7% of all business women have added productivity to their new year’s resolution, and rightly so. The problem is, most people make the mistake of assuming productivity is reserved by the notion you need to get more done in less time. That is pretty much the overarching observation that everyone believes. But this isn’t necessarily the case. Yes, if you were blessed with the productive gene then you probably get things done in days that others spend weeks doing, but it goes way beyond that. It sort of steps into the realm of being a way of life. It is about being deliberate in how you manage your time.

With that in mind, we have come up with some top tips that will help you actually succeed in your new year’s resolution (we know, right!) and become the most productive person in your team/your department/your company/the world (delete according to your ambition).

It’s time to clean out your office, your desk, your drawers and your computer because all that clutter is affecting your productivity. To put it simply, mess creates stress and no one can work well under stress.
There are reasons why your energy gets sapped mid-afternoon. It is partly to do with fatigue, but it is mainly to do with screens. All that blue light is like kryptonite to your energy. So counter it. Make sure you step away from your screen every twenty-minutes. Use a notepad instead of the notes app. Whatever suits you.
The most successful people that have ever lived ran lives full of routine. We’re talking Stephen King, John Grisham, Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison – those kind of world-famous talents. They all had a specific time they would get up, a specific time they would start work, when they would take a walk, or exercise, when they would relax, where they would go to think, and what order they would approach things. Productivity is not about luck, it is about boosting your motivation through attitude and devotion.
Multitasking is a myth that will set you back by around 40%. That’s a fact. All this chit-chat about how multitasking is a gift to humankind only for it to be an old wives tale. The truth is, multitasking negatively affects your ability to get stuff done. Juggling plates just doesn’t work. Instead, you should complete tasks before you move onto the next one. The sense of accomplishment will really spur you on to achieve more.
Meetings are the biggest waste of time out there, so the fewer meetings you can be in the better. The reason being, productivity almost always gets left at the door. Now, we know that you can’t just stop having brainstorming sessions or internal meetings, but you can do more to make them better. Have a strict agenda, have a time limit, make all meetings standing only – you’ll be amazed at how effectively these little tweaks work.