10 Effective Strategies for Boosting Your Efficiency and Productivity | Thai Nguyen. Image Credit: Pixabay. Whether you're in Australia, England, or America; blue-collared, white, or pink, we've all got 24 hours to work with. Success comes down to what we're able to do in those hours. While every entrepreneur would love to keep the sun from setting and adding hours to their day, there are strategies that will help maximize work habits and productivity.
Here are 10 strategies for efficiency and effectiveness: 1. The law provides great leverage for efficiency: imposing shorter deadlines for a task, or scheduling an earlier meeting. 2. Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi's research is focused on these flow states that optimize our performance. Image Credit: pbs.org It's finding that balance between challenge and skill. 3. Telling an entrepreneur not to multi-task however, is like telling a pig to stay out of mud. 4. A major cause of procrastination lies in overthinking the next step, Allen says it takes less time to do the action than the time spent thinking about it. 5. 6. 7. 9. 10. Increase Productivity at Work: 25 Easy Tips. How to Put an End to Workload Paralysis. We’re all busy. But sometimes we go through periods where the work piles up and it seems like it might never end.
With the waxing and waning of my freelance work, a startup to manage, and side projects always on the go, this seems to happen to me all too often. So why is it that the busier I get, the less work I seem to do? There seems to be a tipping point for me when I go from being really busy to so-busy-I’m-paralyzed-and-can’t-do-anything. When I have too much on my plate my reaction is usually to just shut down and avoid work altogether (this is when Settlers of Catan gets a heavy workout on my iPad). In the past I’ve been prone to other distractors like TV binging, but each of these amounts to the same unconscious purpose: to occupy my mind so I don’t have to face the reality of my workload.
To top it off, all this does is add to your workload, increasing the likelihood that you’ll do the exact same thing tomorrow and the day after. 1. Author Scott Berkun does this too: 2. 3. 4. Productivity boosts from TED talks. Ever get to the end of the workday and wonder where the time went? At 4:54 p.m., I’m having that experience myself right now. It turns out that the way our workplaces and work lives are structured saps our creativity, energy, efficiency, and even our health. To help us all fight back, the folks at TED have assembled a playlist on life hacks, offering a number of clever ways we can help both ourselves and the people who work for us get more done in a day.
In our chronically time-pressed lives, it’s worth taking the time for these talks, most of which take less than 10 minutes to watch, says inc. Together, they teach some simple but powerful lessons about how to take back your time: 1. No one needs a TED talk to understand what a time suck most meetings are. But if we can all agree that meetings are a massive time suck on a global scale, what can we do about them? 2. This may not help boost efficiency but it definitely can increase effectiveness and make you more successful. 3. 4. 5.
Empowerment. Personal growth through risk taking: Arik Zeevi at TEDxIDC. The Secret to Improving Accountability | Inc.com. Nothing is more frustrating in a work environment then when things fall through the cracks. Most of the time, it's not intentional. At the rate that business moves today, people are often overloaded with responsibilities that go beyond their capacity. And when things get missed the complaining and blame throwing begins. "Why can't these people do what they say? The answer is actually pretty simple. It's an issue of prioritization. 1. People mostly do what they want to do. Resolution: Whether the task is yours or belongs to someone else, establish a clear, compelling reason for why it should be done. 2. The world functions on the basis of cause and effect. Resolution: Make sure that every assigned task has a clear, stated result both for completion and for leaving it undone. 3.
One of the biggest reasons things don't get done is that the person responsible doesn't actually know how to proceed. Resolution: Develop an easy one-page plan for dealing with any task. Like this post? Rita McGrath's Big Idea - Intelligent Failure. The 4 Disciplines of Business Execution. Productivity 101: A Primer to the Getting Things Done (GTD) Philosophy. No Excuses: Being Accountable for Your Own Success. How much of your success would you say is up to you—your choices, your actions, your behaviors—versus outside conditions?
If your mind-set is that you’re at least 85% responsible for your success—and that just 15% depends on the way the wind blows—you’ll likely be successful. If you blame your problems and failures—big or small, personal or professional—on other people, circumstances beyond your control, or just plain bad luck, you may be doomed to fail. The good news? Accountability is not just a mind-set—it’s also a skill-set that everyone can learn. It may not be as easy as one-two-three, but it is a three-step process: 1. Getting started:—Be responsible “either way.” —Deal with what is. 2. —Manage expectations. —Take back your time. —Sing your own praises. 3. Getting started:—Tell the truth. —Police yourself. —Look to yourself—first. Personal accountability is sorely lacking—and urgently needed—in business and across society as a whole. 10 Books to Boost Your Productivity. Productivity is something that every writer wants to achieve when trying to churn out content.
Whether you are doing it as a full time job or part time you want to be at your best when you start creating your content. There are a number of tools available both on-line and off-line that can help an individual increase their productivity. Besides the tools, you can also read these books which will most definitely boost your productivity. With that said, it’s important to note that success is not just about getting more stuff done, you need to get quality stuff done. Here is a list of 10 books you can read to boost your productivity: 1. When it comes to the productivity genre, this book can be used as an out-liner. 2. The Pomodoro Technique is essential as far as productivity is concerned. 3. In as much as most of the examples provided in this book are more inclined towards the writing craft, you can actually use it on any other projects that you might have. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
5 Ways to Keep Productivity from Taking Over Your Life. Productivity is one of the biggest buzzwords in recent memory: everyone wants to know how to do more in less time. But where has it gotten us? Are we, as a society, significantly more productive? And if we are, are we happier? Productivity is important, but it needs to be put in its place. Here are 5 ways to keep productivity from taking over your life. Keep the Bigger Picture in Mind Productivity isn’t everything. Instead, make an effort to remember that living a full, satisfying, and meaningful life is your ultimate goal (if indeed it is; whatever your ultimate goal is, it’s probably not to be efficient). All of these things will help keep you focused on what you really want to do. Make an Effort to be Grateful Being grateful is hugely under-appreciated. Even scientists are starting to recognize the power of gratitude in living a healthier, fuller life. “Have a gratitude practice in which you take time each day to consider what you are grateful for Remember What Productivity is For.
How Successful People Work Less and Get More Done - 10-habits-successful-people-give-increase-their-productivity. What are you willing to do in order to reach success? It is common among people these days to be average and not stand out too much. But those who are successful do not fall under this category. In order to stay on top of your game and reach the level of success you want, you need to follow a certain set of self-induced rules. Success is not something that happens by accident; if you want it bad enough, you will get it. Learn the habits that successful people have given up in order to reach their own success. 1. What is your comfort zone? The reason we are comfortable in our comfort zone is because we are not taking risks when we are in this state.
Famous motivational speaker, Les Brown, said it best with, “If you put yourself in a position where you have to stretch outside your comfort zone, then you are forced to expand your consciousness.” 2. Learning is what we do best. Imagine what would have happened if Bill Gates stopped learning and growing. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 9 Powerful Habits for Getting Important Things Done. We all know that sinking feeling. A deadline is drawing closer and you haven't even started yet. You begin to panic and a dull nausea sets in. There is nothing worse than having two hours remaining to complete a project that you know will take more like five.
You sit there saying to yourself, "Why didn't I get this started yesterday? " or "What the heck happened to the time? " Wouldn't it be great to build the habits that will get you working on that project well before it is due so this never happens again? 1. Do you have a long laundry list of things you have to accomplish? 2. Sometimes, taking the opposite approach works best: Take on all the easy and smaller things on your list and save that huge project for last. 3.
When we constantly bash ourselves for not living up to our own high expectations, we make ourselves feel even more defeated and less likely to produce anything at all. 4. 5. 6. It's true: People who exercise regularly have greater willpower and are more effective. 7. 8. The Mistake Smart People Make: Being In Motion Vs. Taking Action. How Do I Make My Team More Accountable - Start Here | David Dye. Is That So Hard? The CEO had caught me in the hallway, looked around to make sure she wasn't overheard, and nearly shouted, "I'm so tired of this - people need to be more accountable!
" As we talked, it became clear that the CEO's notion of accountability was very different from what effective leaders do. She continued, "They need to do what they're told to do, when they're told to do it. Is that so hard? " Well no...that is, not if you've hired robots. Maybe you can identify with this CEO? I know I've been there myself, just wanting team members to do what I expected. And he wasn't joking... How Do I Make My Team More Accountable? This is one of the most common questions I'm asked by leaders at every level.
If you're like most leaders, you instinctively understand this, but... You do accountability wrong. What goes through your mind when you think of your boss "holding you accountable? " For most people, this isn't a pleasant thought. But that's not accountability. The Foundation of Accountability. Take Ownership of Your Actions by Taking Responsibility. Are you stalled in a project at work, waiting on someone else to take initiative to get things moving? Are you in a broken professional relationship — with a manager, coworker, or employee — hoping the other person assumes blame and fixes the issue?
Are you looking for an easy way to get focused or improve your productivity — a silver bullet from an unexpected source? One of the most common momentum killers I’ve seen in my professional life is our propensity to wait for someone else to act, take initiative, assume blame, or take charge. But very often, no help comes. One year ago, I heard Tal Ben-Shahar speak about this concept; he learned it from Nathaniel Branden, the father of the self-esteem movement. It’s a liberating concept. This may be particularly important for young leaders, often characterized as a coddled generation. But leaders of all ages could afford to act as if help is not coming more often. Often, we have to deal with situations for which we’re not at fault.
The Science of Productivity. In today’s busy world, we’ve become a people obsessed with productivity and “work hacks.” Getting more done in less time allows us to get ahead, and even gives us more availability to do the things we love outside of work. The problem we run into is that it is easy to get motivated, but hard to stay disciplined. Most of us look at productivity in the wrong way: task management tools are shiny at first and then go unused.
Being chained to your desk is as unhealthy as it is unproductive. At Help Scout we hold the belief that “achievement isn’t about doing everything, it’s about doing the right things.” Focus and consistency are the bread-and-butter of being truly productive. Productivity in a 3 Minute Video I collaborated with Mitchell Moffit of the ASAPscience team to create the above video. Click play to learn… Watch and enjoy. Once you’ve done that, if you’re still itching to know more just scroll down: a dozen studies and far more explanation await. Abandon All Willpower, Ye Who Enter Here. Driving Accountability to Maximize Results Using the Plus-Delta Tool - GoLeanSixSigma.com. It’s one of the easiest tools to use yet one of the often most underutilized ones in the Lean Six Sigma tool belt. It’s the Plus‐Delta. A very simple‐to‐use brainstorming tool most commonly employed at the end of business or project meetings as a means of evaluating how well things are going.
How Does a Plus-Delta Tool Work? It works like this: A facilitator or team lead frames the subject we want to know a little more about. Typical, Often Ineffective Use of the Plus-Delta Tool Here’s a typical Plus-Delta done at the end of a project meeting: The idea now is for the project lead and team to incorporate the above feedback into the next meeting or round of project activities. Maximizing the Effectiveness of the Plus-Delta Tool A Real-World Example Here’s a way of taking the Plus-Delta and up‐leveling it. “But how do we do it in such a way that it doesn’t become a complaint session?” “This will help the teams come together on a positive note and emphasize what is working,” I said.
Productivity. Org. Effectiveness Simulator | Strategy& Watch These YouTube Videos To Be More Productive At Work. This was not supposed to be the study that validated your cubicle YouTube habit. Australian researchers, whose paper was just published on the open-access journal PLOS ONE, set out to test the efficacy of "brain training" software that purported to enhance memory, attention, language, executive function and visuospatial abilities. They had the employees of a national service organization play the brain games for 20 minute sessions, three times per week, for four months. The brain training software was a goose egg in terms of cognitive benefits, mood, stress, or anything else. But luckily for you and cute cats everywhere, the researchers included an "Active Control" condition where subjects, instead of playing games, watched National Geographic nature documentaries similar to the ones you see here.
Watching videos that feature content that has nothing to do with your work, just for fun, the authors say, is a great way to have a "respite" from your workday. [Image: Flickr user Jeff Kubina] Top bosses reveal their secrets for getting things done. Getting things done can be hard for anyone. However, when you're at the very top of an organisation and juggling multiple demands it's even tougher. To drive their organisations to success, chief executives need to be crystal clear about their goals.
They also need to not get distracted when carrying them out. The key to keeping on top of your workload and not getting overwhelmed includes: Delegating work, keeping meetings fairly short and working intensely in only short bursts. You should also remember to stay focussed, and keep a decent work-life balance otherwise you will risk burning out. Here some of the world's top business leaders share their secrets to not getting bogged down by the details. Jeff Immelt, chief executive, General Electric "You really have to evolve into a headset where you're only going to hold yourself accountable for the things you can control. "If you're going to say, 'Oh my god, what am I going to do about the French economy?
"It's a really good policy. Snowball of Accountability (Leadership Transformation) How To Perform Better: It's Not What You Think. Rita McGrath's Big Idea - Intelligent Failure. Personal growth through risk taking: Arik Zeevi at TEDxIDC.