Increasing Productivity 101
This site is about increasing productivity. In today's busy and competitive world, it's not about who's smarter or more talented, it's about who is more productive. It's about who can get things done quicker without sacrificing quality.
The importance of improving on this skill is critical especially in this kind of economy where layoffs are increasingly common. When you are able to produce more, you become indespensable. On a personal level, you will gain more out of everday.
Let's face it, we all have things that needs to get done in a timely matter. Whether the task at hand has to deal with business or whether it's personal errands, there good ways to be productive, greats ways, and of course, really bad ways. If your productivity stinks, don't worry, you will get better.
If you want to stay in control of your life or career, then you need to constantly focus on increasing productivity. Whether you're an employee and want to increase your personal productivity to stand out and get that raise or promotion or a business owner or manager who knows the importance of getting the results your customers want in a timely manner, this site will provide the strategies and tools for increasing productivity.
When you take control of the demands in your life by increasing productivity, you will find life to be less cluttered and a lot more enjoyable. Guess what that will lead to? Less stress! I'm sure we all have stress we can certainly spare.
You will find a whole list of ways to increase productivity from organizational skills, fitness recommendations to have more energy, to learning the best ways to juggle multiple tasks at the same time. You will also find resources on improving your mental and physical being in order for you to become more focused.
If you really want to be more efficient at getting a ton of things done without burning out, then follow the simple tips and strategies provided to you on this site. Keep in mind that some things will work better than others. We all operate a little bit differently. The important thing is that you experiment different techniques. Find one that works best for you and stick with it.
Ultimately, the goal is to help you achieve more, do more, and to live more. All the goals and dreams that you have, will eventually become a reality when you focus on ever increasing productivity.
Increasing Productivity Tips Part 3
This is Part 3 of the Increasing Productivity Series.
11. Avoid drainers.
These are the people in your life that always somehow bring your energy down. They could be people who are just negative in general or who always has some depressing matters to tell you about. It's okay to lend an ear but there are some people who will make a habit out of this and will just kill your productivity.
Another type of people you want to avoid are time drainers. These are people who don't really have any purpose and will get you to engage in pointless conversations that will drag on and on. If you know someone who whenever you two talk, you barely say a word, then that person is a time drainer. Time drainers are also people who just want to hang out and not do anything. It's fine to relax of course but it's hard to be productive when your friend keeps telling you to not work so hard but at the same time they are going nowhere with their life.
12. Associate with positive people
The opposite of the previous tip to increase productivity is to associate with positive people. These are the type of people who will support and encourage you with your goals. They normal get a lot done themselves and that will help you stay focused. Your goal of increasing productivity is a whole lot easier when you're surrounded by people who themselves are highly productive.
Let's face it, no matter how good things get, there will be a time when it will all seem to crash down. These are the times when you won't feel like doing a single thing. These are the times when your positivity, goal-oriented friends can help you out the most. Seeing that you're reading a blog about productivity, you're a type that will not want to fall behind. So seeing them continue to pursue their goals will make you want to get back in the game sooner rather than later.
13. Wake up earlier.
If you can wake up earlier than you normally do, you can have extra time in your day to do more things. For many people, early morning is a pretty peaceful time where their productivity is through the rough. Their mind is working brilliantly after a refreshing night's sleep. Does this work for everyone? No. Some people just aren't morning people. But if you are, waking up a bit earlier will help increase your productivity.
14. Get plenty of sleep.
When you are sleep deprived, your mind won't work as well as it should be. You will actually be less productive. So even though the previous tip is to get up earlier, that doesn't necessarily mean you sleep less unless if you are part of the few who can function well with 4-6 hours of sleep. If you're like most of us, you will need 7-8 hours of sleep a night to function properly.
15. Work late at night.
This depends if you can actually work at night of course. Just people a lot of productivity sites say to wake up early, it doesn't mean that it will work for you. If you're a night person and are more productive during that time, work at night. There's nothing wrong with it. I actually work better at night. Of course, it only makes sense if you don't have a job you have to wake up early to go to.
People who are early risers say that there's a calm peaceful feeling when you wake up before most people do. Well, at night, there's also a calm feeling because most people are already asleep. You won't get the morning sun rise or hear the birds chirping, but you will see the moonlight and and stars shining down and occasionally a cricket or two.
More increasing productivity tips in the next part.
11. Avoid drainers.
These are the people in your life that always somehow bring your energy down. They could be people who are just negative in general or who always has some depressing matters to tell you about. It's okay to lend an ear but there are some people who will make a habit out of this and will just kill your productivity.
Another type of people you want to avoid are time drainers. These are people who don't really have any purpose and will get you to engage in pointless conversations that will drag on and on. If you know someone who whenever you two talk, you barely say a word, then that person is a time drainer. Time drainers are also people who just want to hang out and not do anything. It's fine to relax of course but it's hard to be productive when your friend keeps telling you to not work so hard but at the same time they are going nowhere with their life.
12. Associate with positive people
The opposite of the previous tip to increase productivity is to associate with positive people. These are the type of people who will support and encourage you with your goals. They normal get a lot done themselves and that will help you stay focused. Your goal of increasing productivity is a whole lot easier when you're surrounded by people who themselves are highly productive.
Let's face it, no matter how good things get, there will be a time when it will all seem to crash down. These are the times when you won't feel like doing a single thing. These are the times when your positivity, goal-oriented friends can help you out the most. Seeing that you're reading a blog about productivity, you're a type that will not want to fall behind. So seeing them continue to pursue their goals will make you want to get back in the game sooner rather than later.
13. Wake up earlier.
If you can wake up earlier than you normally do, you can have extra time in your day to do more things. For many people, early morning is a pretty peaceful time where their productivity is through the rough. Their mind is working brilliantly after a refreshing night's sleep. Does this work for everyone? No. Some people just aren't morning people. But if you are, waking up a bit earlier will help increase your productivity.
14. Get plenty of sleep.
When you are sleep deprived, your mind won't work as well as it should be. You will actually be less productive. So even though the previous tip is to get up earlier, that doesn't necessarily mean you sleep less unless if you are part of the few who can function well with 4-6 hours of sleep. If you're like most of us, you will need 7-8 hours of sleep a night to function properly.
15. Work late at night.
This depends if you can actually work at night of course. Just people a lot of productivity sites say to wake up early, it doesn't mean that it will work for you. If you're a night person and are more productive during that time, work at night. There's nothing wrong with it. I actually work better at night. Of course, it only makes sense if you don't have a job you have to wake up early to go to.
People who are early risers say that there's a calm peaceful feeling when you wake up before most people do. Well, at night, there's also a calm feeling because most people are already asleep. You won't get the morning sun rise or hear the birds chirping, but you will see the moonlight and and stars shining down and occasionally a cricket or two.
More increasing productivity tips in the next part.
Productivity Tips Part 2
This is Part 2 of the Increasing Productivity Series.
6. Do the 20% that matters most
In almost everything you do, there will be a few tasks that will account for the majority of your results. This is commonly known as the 80/20 rule where 20% of what you do will account for 80% of your outcome. By identifying which of the things you do give you the most boost towards your goals, you will be able to spend more time doing those things and will therefore achieve your goals faster.
Many times, the things we spend most of our time on is the 80% that doesn't matter all that much. You can "work hard" and still not see the results you were aiming for simply because you were working hard on the wrong things. These things may be even fun to do but if they aren't part of the 20%, limit your time with them.
7. Speed it up
If you want to increase your productivity, just do things faster. There are always tasks that are sort of mundane and routine but are necessary. With these brainless type of tasks, just start doing them faster than you normally do it. What you can do to motivate yourself to do these tasks a bit faster is time yourself doing it. You goal is to beat the time it took you to do the task the last time you did it.
When I was in sales and did the dreaded cold calls, I tried to see how many I could make in an hour. Then, I'd try to beat that number the next hour and so on. It kept me from taking too long to make the next call. Of course, once I got a potential client on the phone, I talked normally. The speed was in making the calls.
So think of some things you do on a regular basis that you can set up little games like this to get you to just do it faster. Keep in mind that this technique is best used on things that don't require a lot of your focus and concentration.
8. Relax
Every now and then, you need to take some time to just settle down and relax a little. Working non-stop will actually decrease you productivity because you will start to wear you mind out. You'll be able to think better and feel better and will therefore be able to work more efficiently since your creative juices will flow out more easily.
This will also help you reduce stress. As you know, stress is a major reason for many illnesses and other problems. Taking some time off to relax will help reduce that. You can either see this as a 30 minute break once or twice a day or you can see it as a week vacation every couple of months. Whichever way works best and makes sense for you.
9. Exercise
This has similar benefits to the relaxing. When you exercise, you will give your mind and body an energy boost which will allow you to concentrate better as well as help you be more creative. You'll be less tired during the afternoons as well. This is one of those things that everyone knows they should be doing but not everyone does.
When you are fit, your body will be able to take on more demands. When you do that, you will get more done. On the other hand, if you don't get any exercise, your productivity level won't be nearly as high. Let's not forget about the other health benefits like, oh , I don't know, LIVING LONGER!
If you haven't made exercise one of your habits, something you do on a routine basis, then you're missing out big time. You can start off slow, maybe 10 minutes a day, everyday for 30 days or how ever long it takes you to make this a habit. Just keep doing it until you don't have to force yourself to exercise. You don't force yourself to brush your teeth right? Get to that point and exercising will be as easy as taking candy from a baby. They shouldn't be eating candy anyway.
10. Learn to type faster
Obviously, this is if you use the computer a lot. If you still type with your two index fingers, then shame on you. I always wondered why actors/actresses in movies always use two fingers whenever they type. Can't they at least pretend they know how to type correctly?
Anyway, if you aren't typing at least 30 wpm, then you need to take some typing lessons. There are a bunch of free typing tutorials out there that can help you speed up your typing speed. You ideally want to be able to type around 50wpm or more. This will help increase productivity tremendously.
6. Do the 20% that matters most
In almost everything you do, there will be a few tasks that will account for the majority of your results. This is commonly known as the 80/20 rule where 20% of what you do will account for 80% of your outcome. By identifying which of the things you do give you the most boost towards your goals, you will be able to spend more time doing those things and will therefore achieve your goals faster.
Many times, the things we spend most of our time on is the 80% that doesn't matter all that much. You can "work hard" and still not see the results you were aiming for simply because you were working hard on the wrong things. These things may be even fun to do but if they aren't part of the 20%, limit your time with them.
7. Speed it up
If you want to increase your productivity, just do things faster. There are always tasks that are sort of mundane and routine but are necessary. With these brainless type of tasks, just start doing them faster than you normally do it. What you can do to motivate yourself to do these tasks a bit faster is time yourself doing it. You goal is to beat the time it took you to do the task the last time you did it.
When I was in sales and did the dreaded cold calls, I tried to see how many I could make in an hour. Then, I'd try to beat that number the next hour and so on. It kept me from taking too long to make the next call. Of course, once I got a potential client on the phone, I talked normally. The speed was in making the calls.
So think of some things you do on a regular basis that you can set up little games like this to get you to just do it faster. Keep in mind that this technique is best used on things that don't require a lot of your focus and concentration.
8. Relax
Every now and then, you need to take some time to just settle down and relax a little. Working non-stop will actually decrease you productivity because you will start to wear you mind out. You'll be able to think better and feel better and will therefore be able to work more efficiently since your creative juices will flow out more easily.
This will also help you reduce stress. As you know, stress is a major reason for many illnesses and other problems. Taking some time off to relax will help reduce that. You can either see this as a 30 minute break once or twice a day or you can see it as a week vacation every couple of months. Whichever way works best and makes sense for you.
9. Exercise
This has similar benefits to the relaxing. When you exercise, you will give your mind and body an energy boost which will allow you to concentrate better as well as help you be more creative. You'll be less tired during the afternoons as well. This is one of those things that everyone knows they should be doing but not everyone does.
When you are fit, your body will be able to take on more demands. When you do that, you will get more done. On the other hand, if you don't get any exercise, your productivity level won't be nearly as high. Let's not forget about the other health benefits like, oh , I don't know, LIVING LONGER!
If you haven't made exercise one of your habits, something you do on a routine basis, then you're missing out big time. You can start off slow, maybe 10 minutes a day, everyday for 30 days or how ever long it takes you to make this a habit. Just keep doing it until you don't have to force yourself to exercise. You don't force yourself to brush your teeth right? Get to that point and exercising will be as easy as taking candy from a baby. They shouldn't be eating candy anyway.
10. Learn to type faster
Obviously, this is if you use the computer a lot. If you still type with your two index fingers, then shame on you. I always wondered why actors/actresses in movies always use two fingers whenever they type. Can't they at least pretend they know how to type correctly?
Anyway, if you aren't typing at least 30 wpm, then you need to take some typing lessons. There are a bunch of free typing tutorials out there that can help you speed up your typing speed. You ideally want to be able to type around 50wpm or more. This will help increase productivity tremendously.
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