Improve productivity: 15 ideas to make it possible
Since ancient times, one of the greatest human concerns has been to increase the work performance. Therefore, since the old times different techniques were put in place in order to improve productivity of the workers. Have you ever heard of the Industrial Revolution? Going further back in time, do you think that the Egyptian pyramids were built by themselves?
Calm down, we’re not going to propose you to be tied to your desk, nor will we encourage you to buy a whip as a stimulating tool. Moreover, it has already been proved that such old-fashioned and cruel practices were unproductive. Nowadays we have much better ways to make working a more rewarding and more humane experience. Let’s look at some ideas to improve productivity. No chains or whips, I promised.
1. Your workplace should be organised….
It doesn’t matter where do you work, take care of it and avoid it looking like a mess. Keeping things tidy and in place will save you time and reduce your stress. We know that you love your Aunt Antonia very much and that you do not mean to keep in a drawer the collection of jíbaras heads that she gave you on your last birthday, but your desk is not the best place to display them.
2. … And also have it clean.
Whether it’s in the office, at home, or wherever you work, try not to be a messy head. Clean and throw away that box of cookies that has been on the table since 2007. The cloths are your friends: please use them.
3. Plan your homework.
Tidiness should not be only physical, but also mental. If you have well structured what you need to do, you will do it more easily. Set yourself short-term (for the day), medium-term and even long-term goals; It will help you feel that you are moving forward in your work.
4. Identify your best time of the day.
Each person has their own rhythm and their moments in which they can perform better. There are people who take them hours after breakfast to get ready to work. Others start the day on the top of their energy and then they get tired throughout the day. Identify what are the moments of the day in which you are at the peak of energy and use them to do the hardest tasks. Leave the easiest tasks for those times when you find yourself weaker. This way, you will improve productivity.
5. Eliminate distractions.
Going through those photos of your mate on the beach or enjoying the last video of that dancing parrot can be very entertaining, but that is exactly the problem: that you are going to distract yourself.
You’ll have time to see all that later. Now you’re at work, so leave Facebook and Youtube for later.
6. Do things one at a time.
Remember this phrase: problems, one at a time. To solve a mess or just to carry out a task, you need to focus on it. If you try to do many things at once you will probably end up doing none at all. Focus.
7. Avoid procrastination
Procrastination is not only a rather ugly word. It is also one of the worst enemies to improve productivity. The good news is that there are some good effective techniques to fight it. For example, you can gain the good habit of solving as soon as possible the most committed work you have to do in the day. Thus you will achieve a double effect; You will not postpone that task indefinitely and you will avoid wasting your time thinking about the massive work you still have to solve.
8. Exercise.
In addition to the well-known health benefits, exercising will help you improve your productivity. Exercise increases the release of serotonin, a substance present in neurons that influences the regulation of anger, mood or sleep, among other things. By exercising you will feel better and more focused, and you will improve productivity.
9. Rest well.
When not working, try to rest your best. Night-time sleep should be healing and is your best help so that the next day you can perform to the fullest. If you do not get a good night’s sleep, you’re likely to have some underlying problem. Try to figure out what it is and fix it.
10. Take a break from time to time.
We are human beings, not machines, and human beings have to rest. If you have been working non-stop for a while and want to continue working, take a break. Get up from the chair and stretch your legs; take a look through the window; drink a coffee; have a little walk. When you return to work you will do it with renewed energies.
11. Change environment.
Sometimes staying too long in the same place can get you stuck and make your performance stop. Leave for a while your place of work and change the surroundings. Do you know what is smart working? Forget the printing and the looms; Today there are technological tools that will allow you to work from a park or in a coffee shop.
12. Take advantage of “those little” moments.
Certain situations can be the closest thing to a complete waste of time. Has your flight been delayed and you are bored in the waiting room of an airport? Do not stand still and take advantage of that delay. As we said, there are technological tools that can help you with this.
13. Make your work more flexible and mobile.
If you work in the box of a supermarket or the box office of a parking lot you probably cannot change your environment or work from home, but if you have a job that allows you, to do this you can take advantage of the possibilities that technology offers you today in order to make your workday more flexible. For example, start working at home and go to the office when the peak traffic has passed. Or call your customers while you wait for the train. There are thousands of possibilities.
14. Remember the Pareto Principle.
No, Pareto is not the Bolivian midfielder who has just signed Manchester United. The Pareto Principle owes its name to the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, and in short, it means – when applied to the work environment – that 80% of the work is achieved with 20% of the effort (and therefore the remaining 80% Of the effort only produces 20% of the work). Learn to identify which efforts work best for you and act accordingly. Mr. Pareto will be very proud of you.
15. Analyse what works best for you.
Once you make some changes, you’ll have to figure out what works best for you and what does not fit with you. Be consistent with behaviours that improve productivity and replace what does not work well for new behaviours.
Ehorus cannot clean your table or pick up the jíbaras heads that your aunt Antonia gave you as a present, but it has functions that can help you to be more productive in your work. Do you want to know how? Know what Ehorus is and how it can help you.
