Of recent I hear this statement a lot, “ I have so much to do, I’m under a lot of pressure.”
Most times the person saying this is simply saying to you, “please don’t bother me, I can’t take any more tasks.”
Some people go through this sort of pressure day in day out, in order to improve productivity.
The question is, “is it really necessary to be under this sort of pressure for productivity improvement?”
There are definitely better ways to get things done without risking your health, mortgaging the quality of time you spend with your family and your happiness.
What makes you productive is not the amount of work you labour to do, but the strategies you employ and the results you have to show for it.
I guess you do not want to be working so hard all the time and have little to show for it.
You’d rather choose to work less, smarter, and become more productive, Right?
In this article, we shall be talking about nine productivity improvement strategies to help you yield higher results.
1. Get yourself out of the multitasking epidermic
We have trained ourselves to multitask in the World of “instant living.” Many of us are guilty of this: we cook while doing the laundering,
listen to music while creating content (though some find this stimulating), listen to the news while running around dressing up the children
for school, texting while eating…
Multitasking has become an integral part of us, and we think we are more productive and getting more done, but in a way, we are actually getting less done in the process.
The best productivity improvement strategy at this point is to streamline your work style.
Multitasking is actually a time waster. It’s being scientifically proven that the brain cannot effectively switch between tasks. It takes four times longer to recognize new things, so you’re not saving time.
Not only that, multitasking not only leads to loss of focus but it’s also stressful.
Multitasking leads to drop in productivity and it’s a no, no for anyone aiming for improvement in productivity.
How many things can you do effectively at the same time?
Take one task at a time.
2. Give yourself a positive work space
Creating a conducive environment is critical if you are aiming for improvement in productivity.
But many people underestimate the power their workplace has on their level of productivity.
A positive workplace brings about an improvement in productivity. Investing in your workspace is worth more than you can ever imagine.
Here are 3 ways an improvement in your workplace leads to higher productivity.
It enhances your professionalism and focus
If you are working from home, carve out a workspace in your home exclusively for your work. Make this area distinct from the rest of your home. Anytime you are there to work, it gives you a sense of purpose, professionalism and focus.
Similarly, if you work in an office, you may be lucky to get an isolated place, however, this isn’t the case for everyone. Maybe you work in an office that’s both noisy and distracting. In such a case, negativity in productivity is expected.
Regardless, you can adopt a productivity improvement strategy by wearing an earphone to shut out the noise. and also tell others, you are not available for impromptu conversation. This can go a long way to enhance your output.
It also boosts your creativity and inspiration
The right environment will boost your mood and generate happier moments.
Something as simple as the colour of your office could inspire the next big idea in you.
When next you’re thinking about your office makeover, consider these colours.
YELLOW: Increases energy flow
RED: Enhances attention to detail (good for solving analytic problems
BLUE: Promotes openness and thinking outside the box
PURPLE: Encourages fresh perspectives
ORANGE: Helps improve concentration
GREEN (especially nature’s hues): Refreshes body, mind and spirit
Imbue your office with things that inspire you; your family picture, the poster of your favourite inspirational quotes, display your valuables – your awards or favourite ornaments- All these help to make you happy, and in return boost your creativity.
A positive space can also relieve you of stress
Make an effort to create a relaxing environment. But not too relaxing that it becomes unproductive.
There are many things that can stress you in an environment. For example, the people you share your workspace with. If they are the troublesome types, you’ll get stressed and become less productive.
Therefore, if you need to share a workspace, my recommendation is to look for someone you can flow with, whether you’re working from home or you are in the office.
Also, consider changing your furniture if they are not comfortable for you, and Light up your office space with good lightings.
Doing all these, no doubt will lead to improvement in productivity.
3. Get rid of motivational killers
Find and eradicate any motivational killer in your work or life. Better still, take a proactive stance against motivational killers.
It could be a negative workplace, lack of goals, negative people- that are have nothing positive to contribute to your progress-, fear of failure or not having the right skills.
Get all these out of the way and you will; see a great improvement in your productivity
4. Embrace technology and Automate your work
I really don’t know how much work you can get done if you refuse to leverage technology. There are many tools on the market that will significantly lead to productivity improvement in any industry you are in.
For example, it’s too expensive and time-consuming to pin all day on Pinterest when there is an easy tool –tailwind– that does it while you go about your other task or sleep
In addition, ensure your working tools are in top form. Many of you use tools that require updates, for example, if you are a blogger, update your WordPress, your theme and your plugins for best performance.
5. Outsourcing
Outsourcing is an aspect of productivity improvement that enables you to concentrate on your area of core competence.
It also helps you to maintain a low asset profile. For example, if you are a blogger, you may decide to outsource some of your task instead of employing staff. By doing this, you reduce your overhead cost.
6. Take a daytime nap and sleep more
Is this your routine? Wake up tired in the morning? check your email while still in bed? Have a hurried shower? Skip breakfast or grab one on the run? Rarely getting off your desk all day? Come home to more work? Yet, feel compelled to do more with little consideration for sleep.
This is the work pattern of many of us.
Unfortunately, in our present world, those that can push the hardest and continuously over a period of time are judged more productive. On the contrary, this isn’t true.
Your sleep cannot be compromised, you need 7-8 hours of sleep every day.
With 7- 8 hours of night sleep, you should be refresh enough to power up your day with revitalized memory and attention span.
Daytime nap or power nap (as it’s called in the workplace) also has a great effect on improvement of productivity. Because overusing the brain is counterproductive, and the way to recharge the brain is through napping.
While a nap does not necessarily make up for inadequate or poor quality nighttime sleep, a short nap of 20-30 minutes can help to improve mood, alertness and performance, according to sleep foundation
However, because of the fear of downtime, many people are inclined to think a day nap is a complete waste of time.
Similarly, while some people agreed that a nap will make you more productive, it’s a leisure one can enjoy only if you are self-employed.
Fortunately, there is good news for employees as many companies are changing their policies to allow daily nap.
Anthony, a clinical psychologist and director of Boston University’s Center for Psychological Rehabilitation.
Found out that as many as 70% of Americans are sleep deprived and thus sleep on the job.
Take a short nap between work for improvement in productivity.
7. Have a healthy breakfast
I’m sure this does not sound new to you, “ breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you must definitely have a hearty breakfast before you do anything.”
A healthy breakfast fuels your body and helps you perform at your peak.
Research shows that eating a healthy breakfast improves attention, mental alertness, academic performance, and provide energy for physical activities and improve the overall well being of the body.
A good breakfast will help improve your alertness, improve your blood sugar, and make you more productive.
Many people ignorantly underestimate the power of breakfast and so, bypass it.
Statistics show 50% of Britons, that is 25 million are regularly missing breakfast. Similarly, 31 million Americans are skipping breakfast. This habit is blamed on hectic lifestyles, work pressure and lack of time.
Here are some saying to inspire a good breakfast habit in you.
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!”
“Eat breakfast like a king!”
“Eat diamonds for breakfast and shine the whole day!”
A hearty breakfast creates positive energy and momentum, making it more likely you’ll do what you need to do and do it well.
So, If you are not a breakfast person, rather than seeing it as a chore, see it as a time to set yourself up to shine the whole day.
8. Spend your weekend doing the big picture thinking and strategizing
When business day interviewed New York City-based execs to find out how they become productive on weekends, The answer that kept recurring was that they spend their weekends thinking big and strategizing.
It should not come as a surprise to anyone – they built their company and the responsibility to keep it alive rest heavily on them. What was most intriguing is the kind of work they dedicate the weekend to.
According to business insider, Nadia Boujarwah, the co-founder and CEO of clothing subscription service Dia&Co and her co-founder spends most of her weekends on “strategy walk” together for a couple of hours to think about “bigger picture questions.”
In order words, it’s when creative thinking takes place.
Similarly, Scott Britton, the co-founder of Troops, which creates Slackbots for sales teams, takes himself out for coffee on weekends morning where he engages in deep thinking that gets “More high-level, strategy, project-type work” done.
According to him, he barely has 2-3 hours of uninterrupted time by customers or phone calls during the week to concentrate on such strategic works.
Meanwhile, Kenny Dichter, the founder and CEO of private aviation company Wheels Up, said he generally spends the weekend relaxing with his family and thinking about “big, long-term things in the business.”
Ilir Sela, the founder and CEO of Slice, a mobile app that lets you order from local pizzerias on weekends, visits his different pizzerias. His motive is to stay in touch with their problems and know how well Slice is solving these problems.
In addition, Sela is not willing to “rest on his laurels,” so he also finds out how Slice is faring with the hope to improve.
What I’ve learnt from these execs are their productivity improvement strategies.
Like these productive execs, spend your weekend morning – especially Saturday- away from your normal routine, to think deeply and solve big problems.
You may not have time for deep concentration during the week with so much lined up to do: push your creative thinking and strategizing for big pictures during the weekends.
9. Be more productive, work from home
This certainly sounds weird, and not convincing enough to some readers.
With so many things clamouring for your attention at home; The chatter of the children! the temptation to leave the work half done when not under the watchful eyes of management!
The discipline to allocate an uninterrupted time to work, and having to convince all – neighbours, friends and family- you are working for real and not “playing work”! And now, working at home is more productive!
This sounds like a big talk, eeeh…?
How does working from home lead to improvement in productivity?
In recent times, working at home is fast becoming a trend, and Geoffrey James of Inc has a few points to convince you If you’re still in doubt.
Geoffrey drew inferences from Bloom’s TED talk. Bloom explained that work from home is potentially as powerful and innovative as the driverless car.
He went further to cite the case of a Singapore company that carried out a study on its work from home workers and those that reported to the office every day for work.
The result was that the work from home employee had a massive increase in productivity, they were happier and healthier, and remained on the jobs longer, thereby decreasing employee turnover.
Consequently, the company experienced an increase in productivity due to low staff turnover which drains management productivity; reduction in sick days and absenteeism; fewer distractions and pointless conversations.So, as much as you may think working from home is distracting, studies have shown that going to the office to work is much more distracting, and makes you less productive.What’s more, you may not be able to create an exclusive right working environment for yourself, which you can achieve in your home.
An Extra Strategy
10. Improve your productivity by reading every day
Reading has a great benefit of productivity and creativity, and if you’re not reading every day, you are missing out on these benefits.
Reading impacts positively on our emotional wellbeing.
Usually, after a heavy day’s and I pick a book, newspaper or magazine to read on the bed I always find out I’m relaxed and I easily fall asleep.
Have you also experienced this?
This should not be mistaken for laziness to read
No, that’s not the case.
Generally speaking there are two purposes for reading – leisure and learning
This sort of reading is leisure reading, and create room for you to unwind and recharge after another stressful day.
Unfortunately, factors such as the need to focus on achieving your goals, and the desire to use precious time for other activities has posed a barrier to reading.
Regardless of this, reading is the best way to relax and even six minutes is enough to reduce stress level by two third, that is 68% according to the university of sussex
Reading works best, outshining other stress-reduction techniques like listening to music, taking a walk or having a cup of tea.
Reading also improves your productivity because it exposes you to different ways of doing things. The more you read, the more background information you store, which you can use to work better.
As a blogger that creates content, reading will ever trigger ideas for your writing, and you can easily pick up styles to use for your writing. Reading is what you’d call “learning by example.” if you read an article, you are likely to get a seed idea to develop your article.
Read more to dramatically improve your writing skills. Or better still, it improves your skills in any area you’re engaged in.
In addition, read something motivational or inspirational.
For example, positive quotes and good stories to make you feel good. This can do a great wonder to your mood and pump you to perform excellently.
Unfortunately, many of us have fallen in love with our smartphone and have replaced reading with it, even making working on it the last thing we do before bedtime.
It’s not advisable to swap reading for a smartphone.
Do you know that the light emitted from smartphone actually reduces the production of melatonin – which is responsible for sleep?
And lack of sleep can be an impediment to productivity.
On the other hand, when you read your mind is distracted from the present stressful environment – that is filled with worry and anxiety – and transported to a world of relaxation. This, in turn, enhances focus leading to being more productive.
The other purpose of reading is to acquire knowledge.
If indeed being more productive is a priority to you, then you should deepen your knowledge in your chosen profession.
There you have it, nine productivity improvement strategies that are guaranteed to increase your performance. I hope you consider putting these to work.
But how do you enable improvement in productivity for your business?
We’ll love to read your contributions in the comment section below.
