How To Improve Efficiency And Productivity, Or How To Organize Yourself?

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

If you look at a modern person, it is easy to see that the speed and complexity of things that now need to be dealt with in life has multiplied with the volume of things that had to be done 50 years ago.

People are in a hurry, but not in time. The life of the average person is filled with various messengers, social media. networks, email, and dozens of other distractions that hit efficiency and productivity every day. Meanwhile, personal efficiency and productivity are the key to success, the level and quality of your life depends on them.

There are only 24 hours in a day. Success is the equivalent of what you accomplish in that time. Therefore, many people dream of the 25th and 26th hours of the day. But in order to be successful, it is not necessary to change the natural chronometer. It is enough to reconsider your approach to work, and this is what we will do in this article:

- The game should be worth the candle … You should not be wasted on meaningless and unimportant things. Imagine how much time you will have if you eliminate routine and unnecessary tasks from your schedule.

- Work for results … What's your goal? What would you like to achieve by the end of the year? Surprisingly, few people can clearly answer these questions. Decide what you want (launch a startup, get a promotion, increase earnings, etc.) and confidently go towards your goal, devoting at least three hours a day to work on it.

- Cleanliness of the workspace. Organize your workplace. A cluttered desktop makes it difficult for you to focus, because in an atmosphere of chaos, it is difficult to focus your attention on the details of the work ahead. Tidy up the papers and archive unneeded folders. This will help you organize your thoughts and effectively complete the task at hand.

- Stream status. The flow concept was developed by Professor of Psychology Mihai Csikszentmihalyi. According to his research, a state of flow occurs when a problem is both difficult, but solvable and interesting. If the task that you have to do is too difficult, you do not know how to approach it, then you are seized by anxiety. If, on the contrary, the task is too easy, you get bored, you don't even want to take it.

To work the state of flow, find a secluded place (an office or a cafe near the office - it does not matter) and immerse yourself in the process. In this case, tasks of the same type should be grouped together and solved in blocks.

- Single-tasking … Multitasking does not increase, but decreases personal performance. On the contrary:

1 She's exhausting. When you grab on to one thing or another all day, but you don't see the result, you feel completely overwhelmed. Instead of satisfaction from the completed tasks - frustration and stress.

2 It hits the quality. Doing several things at the same time, there is a high probability of making a mistake in one of them (or in each). As a result, you will have to redo and incur losses (temporary, financial, etc.).

3 She destroys social ties. The more information flows, the more difficult it is to manage them. If you are writing a letter to your partner and at the same time talking to your wife on the phone, then do not be surprised when you hear from both that you are insincere or inattentive.

To be more efficient, switch to single-tasking mode.

- Daily planning … Working without a specific goal is meaningless, so before starting it, make a plan of action for the day. Take 15 minutes to jot down your current tasks and then rank them. After that, you can safely get down to business, your tasks will be systematized, and your actions will be ordered. Many people perceive planning as a waste of time, but those who use it know how much it increases professional productivity.

- The two minute rule … If the task takes less than 2 minutes, just do it! We put off dozens of things that can be done in literally 2 minutes for later, inflating a whole problem out of them. Take out the trash, reply to a message, call the help desk - the list of two-minute to-do items can be continued indefinitely. Yes, not all seemingly simple tasks end up taking exactly 2 minutes. But the less you “get together with the spirit”, the more time will be left directly for the activity.

- Priority … There is not so much time in the day to keep up with everything, so it is important to set the right priorities in your work. Try to complete the most urgent and important tasks first.

- Information vacuum … Unplug your phone and don't check your email inbox. If you are planning to start a difficult task, try to focus on it as much as possible. Protect yourself from distracting phone calls, SMS messages, and emails. It seems that each of these actions will take only minutes, but your train of thought will be disrupted. Therefore, you will have to spend more time and effort to complete the main task.

- Deadlines … Many people perceive deadlines as horrible, because if they are not met, they will be in trouble. In fact, deadlines are great discipline, which means they help you achieve your goals. When taking on a particular case, be sure to indicate the time of its beginning and end. Knowing the deadline for the end of the work, it will be easier for you to plan and allocate your efforts and time. But be careful - don't set “oversized” deadlines. Remember: work fills all the time allotted for it (Parkinson's Law).

- Rest is above all. Only robots can work without interruption, and even those fail over time. However, many of us feel guilty if, for example, we drink coffee for too long at lunch. A person cannot be 100% productive all day long. Concentration is like a muscle - you need rest to work effectively. A 15 minute break will "reboot" your brain, and you will be ready to perform tasks again with the proper concentration and dedication.

- Fine slicing … Divide a large task into several smaller ones. A difficult task usually takes a lot of time and effort. To make it easier to cope with the task at hand, divide it into several intermediate ones. This will help to evenly distribute your strengths and at each of these stages to see the results from the work done. This will make the process go faster!

- Use technology. Technological breakthroughs in the last century have made it much easier to complete more tasks in less time. Therefore, be receptive to emerging new trends, devices and programs. Why not take advantage of a source of productivity gains.

- The magic of numbers. You can better influence the situation when you understand it through numbers. Keep track of all the indicators that matter to you. For example, from the number of hours worked and the reports prepared to the productivity per hour of working time. Use a reporting system, project management software, SharePoint, Google Docs sharing sheets, a planner, or just a whiteboard to track important team metrics.

By following these simple guidelines, you can increase your efficiency and productivity by working less - achieving more.

If you want to form your own self-organization system that allows you to be lazy and does not require violence against yourself, the program will help you in this: SELF-ORGANIZATION FOR TAPES WITHOUT VIOLENCE.

Well, if you decide to pump in self-organization to the maximum, then get acquainted with this program: ADVANCED SELF-ORGANIZATION.

That's all. Until next time. Sincerely Dmitry Poteev.