How To Increase Productivity In The Workplace
When trying to run a business successfully, productivity is one of the most crucial factors. Productivity becomes even more important when operating a small business. Every employee, including managers and owners, will need to keep their productivity levels as high as possible in order to maximize their work efficiently. Procrastination, fatigue, downtime...you'll never utter these words again as an SMB.
There are plenty of different techniques and tips that can be used to create realistic goals and to increase workplace productivity. There is even an app that can be very helpful for organization and eliminating distractions, but more on that later.
You will have to determine which options will work best for you and your specific workplace, but this is a list of productivity tips to help you take your business to the next level.
Delegate Work And Manage Projects
Productivity is often measured on an individual basis, but it should be measured as a team. In order to succeed, every member of the team will need to do their important tasks to the best of their abilities and be able to count on their coworkers to do the same.
Delegation can be a little tricky and fairly risky sometimes and will require you to know the potential productivity of each of your team members. However, having an increased amount of responsibility can often be very beneficial for employee morale, creating a sense of pride and satisfaction with their work. There are a few potential downsides to delegating work.
The more people that are involved with a project or daily tasks, the more difficult it can be to manage them. Using software such as Trello can help you manage projects in effective ways and improve team productivity. Trello allows its users to create virtual Kanban boards that can help with visualizing projects. This leads to better workflow, time management, and personal productivity.
Having all necessary tasks pinned to the board will help you and your team know what tasks need to be done and to whom they’ve been assigned. Collaboration is a very critical element of team-based productivity.
Eliminate Distractions and Interruptions
Distractions are probably the biggest threat overall to work productivity. There are just so many distractions in the world today that it can be pretty difficult to stay focused and engaged in completing work-related tasks.
Cell phones are an essential part of daily life, so instituting a “no phone” policy might be impractical. However, by using an app like Dialed, you can reduce distractions and stay focused on tasks. The primary feature of Dialed is to block incoming spam calls and robocalls that will keep your phone clear of these annoying disruptions.
However, the app will also provide the option to mute calls and texts that come from individual contacts or groups. What makes this app a better option than simply ignoring these notifications is that you can send auto-reply texts and messages.
Instead of potentially important people thinking you are ignoring them, you can simply reply with an automated message stating you will respond as soon as you can. By using the various features of Dialed, you will be able to keep your phone down and your mind on your work.
Take Short Breaks Occasionally
Although taking a minute-long break sounds like the worst thing you can do when trying to increase your productivity, they can actually improve your overall focus. The human mind can only stay focused and engaged for so long.
Just like how your body needs to sleep every night to rest physically, your mind will need the chance to rest mentally with regular breaks from focusing. It’s important to remember that there is a key difference between taking scheduled time for breaks and getting distracted.
You should encourage your team to plan break intervals ahead of time and incorporate them into their schedule. One of the most popular methods of break planning is known as the Pomodoro Technique. This method suggests that you should take five minutes off for every 25 minutes of intense focus to let your mind rest and wander.
By providing your mind a chance to “catch its breath,” so to speak, your focus should be recharged and you can enter into the next work block with renewed energy. Since some people can focus for longer periods, you can alter the work block time to higher or lower increments.
A larger work block may mean a higher level of productivity, but too large of a block could result in severely diminished focus. Take some time to experiment and see what works best for you and your team.
Positive Reinforcement Is Important
As you continue to tinker with and implement new ways to increase your team’s productivity, remember that positive reinforcement can go a long way. Employees are much more likely to work hard and become invested with their work whenever they are told that they are doing a good job and receiving compliments.
The way that you talk to employees can play a significant role in their overall morale and motivation. Instead of criticizing poor performance, find ways to to focus on the positives while making suggestions that can help improve shortcomings.
When an employee is trying to avoid getting reprimanded or scolded for poor performance, they will often do just enough to avoid the confrontation. However, when the potential for recognition and appreciation comes with a job well performed, they are much more likely to work harder and try their best.
The easiest way to think of it is to use the “Golden Rule” mentality and treat your employees the way that you would want to be treated.
Implement The Two Minute Rule
This tip can be used in the workplace and in life in order to help develop more positive habits. The two-minute rule is pretty simple: if it takes you under two minutes to complete a task, just do it.
It’s a very common tendency for people to procrastinate on smaller tasks. These tiny tasks can accumulate throughout the day and eventually become quite a long list by brushing them off. By taking care of these tasks when they are quick and simple, you can end up saving a lot of time at the end of the day.
There are tons of examples of things that you can accomplish in just two minutes that can save you some time later.
Washing a dish after you use it will help to prevent them from piling up in your sink.
Deleting junk emails will help to clear out your inbox.
Making your bed will prevent you from having to do it when you’re ready for sleep.
Putting away your folded laundry will help you know where your clothes are when you need to get ready for work.
Taking the trash to the curb will prevent you from chasing down the garbage truck on trash day.
The point is that you should aim to complete any task that requires two minutes or less in order to save time later and make your future life easier.
The Takeaway
The key to running a successful business is to maximize the overall productivity in the workplace. There are quite a lot of factors involved with productivity, so it might take some time and experimentation. Luckily, there are different techniques and a few apps that can help you to accomplish this goal.
Positive reinforcement, work delegation, and the two-minute rule are great concepts that can help increase productivity, but the key focus should be to eliminate distractions. Using the Pomodoro Technique in combination with an app like Dialed can be a very effective way to reduce distractions and increase productivity.
SOURCES
The Top 8 Methods for Accurately Measuring Employee Productivity | universalclass.com
How To Delegate Tasks in the Workplace | indeed.com
10 Distractions That Kill Workplace Productivity - businessnewsdaily.com | businessnewsdaily.com
