What techniques do you implement to stay more productive?
I have used pomodoro method to keep my priorities straight & focus on the things that matter most. What small yet impactful lifestyle changes have you made to be more efficient or to simplify your life by staying productive with the right things each day. How do you determine what becomes your highest priority especially with equally important tasks. Please share with others your tips and tricks to make our mosaicHub community more effective.
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Apr 8, 2014
Of course each is going to be different depending onthe business and one's relation to it or position in it but on general principles i have maintained the following policies.
1. Always exceed customer expectations even when the customer is not there to see it. In my case it would be doing thorough research before writing something for the client. Making sure that the client gets more than they expect. Being generous with my expertise and time. It always comes back to me eventually.
2. Discipline is a tool to be used, not a bore to put up with. Setting up a plan for the day and adhering to it. Discipline is not giving up but being responsible for doing something and doing it anyway.
3. I keep my eyes on the goals and purposes I have, not on the stops that get in the way. The more I do this the more the stops fall away and the closer to my goal I get.
With priorities, especially where there are those of apparent equal value I look at each and decide on the basis of, 'which one furthers me towards my stated goal or purpose the most?
I wrote some articles on these for Mosaic Hub and these are listed on there. They are also on my website.
Apr 8, 2014
A big part of it is understanding the difference between prioritizing your schedule and scheduling your priorities. If you don't clearly understand what your priorities are no amount of time management or organization is going to help you succeed.
Apr 9, 2014
Delegate what I can.
Delegate what I can't do - To the people who can and have the skills.
Deal with the rest.
Allow for DND (Do Not Disturb) time slabs during the day. usually 2 x 30 min each day.
Do not answer emails straight away.
(it's amazing how many emails resolve themselves with an hour or 2 )
Spend an extra 1/2 hr at the start and end of the day.
Do not spend more than 1/2 hr on any one task.- Come back to it later if you have to.
That way you are fresher, plus you have allowed your sub consensus a little time to work on it.
Apr 8, 2014
The simplest tool I have ever seen and that I use to stay on track and get things done is the old fashioned TO DO list. These days the list can be automated and "pop up" on your phone, pad, or PC periodically during the day. Obviously, the list needs to be prioritized from high-to-low with the next to do rising to the top once you have completed what is currently number one. It really bugs me when something stays at number one for more than a day. Try it - it works, and it's simple.
Apr 8, 2014
Some people have interesting ways of creating and managing to do lists. They force only 3-5 items max per day on a to do list and if something has to be added, they remove another from the list. Others have so many to do lists they write them and never look at them again. Maintaining to do lists is another "to do" for many to be disciplined with so am curious if there's someone with a process they stick to no matter what that keeps them at their optimal productivity. Thank you Robert for contributing
Jun 25, 2014
To me, TO DO maintained on a sheet of paper has been effective. The electronic ones, not so much.
Apr 8, 2014
I use my white board to keep track of what I need to that's high priority. I meditate each day to keep myself focused. I check my business plan every 3 months and update it accordingly in terms of knowing what projects are done.
Apr 8, 2014
I use Time management techniques, I do the planning of the activities establishing which are the priorities, divid them into steps and I keep focused on each step.
I take the issues on the previous step and how may I construct a strategy to optimize the time/results.
Apr 8, 2014
The top priority of each day should be to achieve a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly objective that gets you closer to your "wildly important goal". The Pomodoro is effective, just get the task that has the largest impact completed first.
Apr 8, 2014
I jot down the goals that are SMART and work according to those timelines - but from the desired end result to the start of the idea. I find it easier then to prioritise want needs to be done first, second and so on. So if I want to get a better paying job, for example, I select the type of job I want and tailor my skills to suit that space by obtaining the qualification or experience I need to suit the job spec. Is this too simplistic?
Apr 8, 2014
Priorities for a person can only be set by that person based on the need of the activity to move a project towards it completion.A business plan and a progress report are two things that keeps the focus.
The change that is needed to keep one focus is Mental Toughness and critical thinking that is outline and defined by by Steve Siebold in his book....'177 Mental Toughness Secrets Of The World Class'
Stay Focused!
Apr 8, 2014
Planning.
I set aside 30 minutes on a Sunday to plan for the week ahead.
I use a Weekly Action Plan to list the projects I'm working on (including kids, home and health and well as work) and have just 5 things I will achieve.
We tend to overestimate what we can achieve in the short term and underestimate what we can achieve in the long term!
Apr 8, 2014
Deal with all of the negatives on your desk, first thing in the morning. Then focus on income producing activity. Take care of your best assets - the people who work for you and make sure that all of them are singing from the same hymn sheet. These things alone will keep you focused on whats important in your life and business.
Apr 9, 2014
Great response Roy and well done to put your 'life' importance ahead of 'business'!
I recall Brian Tracy quoting Mark Twain “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” Brian updated his book on this a few years back.
Paul
Apr 8, 2014
The first thing is to narrow down what is the biggest obstacle to productivity. One of the top obstacles for people is EMAIL. The average person receives 110 emails a day not including spam. For people like me it can be over 150! If you are able to better manage your email, I believe many will be more productive. I have an article posted below since it would take awhile to explain what I did to help me overcome email burying me or having to declare email bankruptcy!
http://artofthinkingsmart.com/top-email-organization-tips-avoid-email-overload-email-bankruptcy/
Apr 7, 2014
The first thing I would say is to learn how to delegate. When you are the CEO of a company or companies in my case you must be able to keep your eye on the big picture all the time.
Therefore you can't afford to be micromanaging anything and expect to be as productive. So I should say simply to stay in control you have to learn what you must trust other to control for you.
Apr 8, 2014
Very good point! Someone once said that it's not about hiring people who need direction and the daily push but those who are motivated naturally and good at what they do. Small business owners many times can't afford experts who don't need to be told what to do. What resources out there are great teaching someone how to delegate well for those who are curious?
Apr 7, 2014
Goals & organization go a long way. Many people skimp on it or avoid it all together. Beyond that, find that thing that motivates you the most and you will have nothing to stop you.
Apr 8, 2014
Joseph, we are discussing actual process, practical actions, not just 'focus'. Some people are better at staying organized and focused on daily priorities than others. They get up at certain times, work out or read emails first thing in the morning etc... and they create their own ways or learn ways to do it well. That's what this question is about not stating the obvious ;) if you want to take another go at it.
Apr 8, 2014
Everything depends on your passion the difference between a business owner and a employee is that being a business owner is a calling if you are a small company the only way to grow is to be out of the building meeting customers or helping your employees get their job done and being with them and helping them shows you care and that makes people work harder
Apr 8, 2014
I like to make a combination of: Lean Thinking Philosophy, Theory of Constraints, Balance Score Cards and Six Sigma.
Apr 8, 2014
I think TIME MANAGEMENT is an ongoing challenge to productivity. Until you learn a process to live by and how to ever avoid traps all the Goals or Delegating will fall into the same challenges for attention.
Apr 8, 2014
It is a constant process and one must keep up the market conditions and keep developing and doing r&d and innovation. There is no end to this process in the global economy. Price structure, market share, diversification and updating the knowledge is a must. Pradeep Berry
Apr 8, 2014
Hi,
all good answers, but some talk about quite complex tools and methods like Kaplans BSC f.ex.
U want easy and simple priorisation and time management?
Lookup the 'Eisenhower matrix' :-)
all u need :-)
my 2 cents
ooooo I like that ;)