There are many things we can do to be more productive. But first we should acknowledge what makes us less productive. Because that will help us remedy it.
I like to say that the first step towards any improvement is to become aware. So the good news is that realising what makes you less productive allows you to take steps to improve those aspects.
1. Lack of clarity
You are not clear about the reason and the purpose of your tasks. Maybe you do not know a good reason to pursue a certain goal or work on a project or task. You may not have received clear guidelines. Or maybe you have put yourself a goal without reflecting on your good reason to achieve it.
If we do not know why we do something we will lack the motivation to carry it out. Then it will be harder for us to perform the task as quickly as we could. We may even postpone it again and again.
2. Not using a to-do list
Carrying your ideas, tasks and errands in your head makes you less productive. You are filling your head with issues that leave you less working memory. Like a computer when you open a couple of different applications.
Also, as I mentioned in the post about what to do when your tasks get stuck, not writing them down will make it more difficult to decide which is the most important task in each moment. So you tend to address issues as they arise. That brings us to the next point.
3. Not prioritising
Not assessing which tasks and projects bring more results and contribute most to your objectives will induce you to work on anything that arises or you come up with. That is to say that you will keep busy instead of being productive.
Only when we take the time to consider what our priorities are and according to them the most important projects and tasks will we make the best use of our time.
4. Not evaluating our progress
This point, I think is hard for many of us. Seeing as we are very busy we resist taking time to look back. But a review of our day or our week has several benefits. It allows you to remember everything you have achieved which will help your motivation.
It also helps you assess what remains undone and why. This in turn will help you to plan the following days and thus adapt your objectives and the tasks you plan. Learning from your experience will make you more productive in the future.
5. Not checking your agenda
If you do not check what awaits you in the next few days, meetings will catch you by surprise and without being prepared. So do a review to see what awaits you, what requires preparation and write down the related tasks. It will also help you to be more aware of the time windows that you have available to work on important tasks that require a bit of concentration. Which brings us to the next point.
6. Not planning
Depending on the nature of your work, its content may depend more or less on other people. But that does not mean that you should not plan your day to day if you want to be productive; only that your planning needs to be more or less flexible and adaptable.
If you want to progress with the important issues, it is essential that you write down in your agenda or list of tasks when you will work on what task. Otherwise your days will go by with the requests that arise.
7. Planning too much
Also the opposite can be the case, that is analysis paralysis. You want to plan so much and to the last detail that you spend the most productive hours on it. Ask yourself what holds you back from taking action. Remember the first point. You may lack information or a clear objective to carry out the task. Then gain clarity and get down to work.
8. Getting distracted
You already know that distractions are thieves of your time and also concentration. Letting yourself be distracted by mobile phone, environmental noise, disorder etc. means losing focus on what you were doing. Checking the email every few minutes takes away time you could spend progressing on important tasks. Every time you get distracted you will lose valuable minutes in regaining concentration. Therefore it will take longer to carry your work out.
9. Letting yourself be interrupted
You let yourself be easily interrupted and you give the interrupters your full attention. That way it will be difficult for you to concentrate on your tasks. To be more productive you need to learn to deal better with interruptions. That means learning to limit them.
10. Multitasking
Multitasking or multi-attention makes you less productive. Of course, we know how to walk and talk at the same time. Our body has many actions automated and functioning at the same time. But when it comes to concentrating well on your tasks, you will be more productive if you perform them one after the other.
How often do you answer a call while you are still working, or rather trying to work, on a report? You will perform both actions more effectively if you pay attention to the call to finish it as soon as possible and then return to your report with full focus.
11. Not keeping track of things you expect from others
You are doing your job and supplying information or making requests to other people. When it comes to knowing in what situation an issue is, do you use your memory? Most of us have multiple tasks. If we also intend to remember all the issues that we have requested from others, the status of documents that we have sent to someone and that we are waiting for them to return etc. we will fill our memory to the point of making ourselves less effective.
That is why I recommend that you create some kind of follow-up of when you have requested something from someone, in what situation for example a contract is, or who should provide you with information on what date. So when the question about the status of a certain matter arises, you can quickly check your list instead of trying to remember.
12. Not resting enough
I understand that you are very busy or that you have to finish a certain report against the clock. But we need to rest from time to time to clear our mind. Fatigue and mental exhaustion make us less productive to the point of even suffering a mental block, meaning we have a hard time to think and make decisions.
So try to rest and disconnect well outside work as well as take regular breaks at work.
13. Not wanting to learn and improve
Do you think you are doing your job well enough? Do you think that you no longer need to improve or learn anything? If this is what you think, it is very likely that there is a lot that you could improve. Our work and the technologies we use evolve. Therefore we need to adapt and keep up to date in order to continue carrying out our work in the best way.
The most productive people are interested in always looking for the most efficient and effective way to perform a task. They also try to rationalise the routine tasks to perform them as quickly as possible.
14. An inadequate workplace
This is a topic that is usually not mentioned in the posts on how to be more productive. But chair, desk, lighting, environment and the work equipment; all this influences our productivity. If your chair is uncomfortable and your desk does not have the right height you will work in a bad position. How well do you focus when your back, neck or head hurt? Our work environment also influences our ability to concentrate. Do you usually work in noisy environments? Are you able to ignore those noises and really concentrate well?
Then there is your work equipment. How well your computer, the applications you need and the internet connection work, influences how quickly you can do your job. Also, just like a comfortable desk and chair, the height of the screen and the keyboard we use will also be important to avoid tensions and contractures.
15. Ineffective meetings
Meetings are useful work tools to exchange the knowledge of different people and coordinate work. But only if they are effective. Do the meetings you attend often go over time? Are the attendees usually prepared? Do the meetings have clear objectives? All this determines whether the meeting becomes a waste of time or a useful work tool.
What makes you less productive?
What do you think is harming your productivity? Are they the points mentioned or something else? Which are hardest to remedy?
