Productivity is simply about measuring efficiency. When it comes to business success, the people who are typically more successful find systems and strategies to become more efficient at getting things done so they can experience better results. Bottom line, the millionaires and “most successful people” are arguably more productive than those who are not. One could argue that successful people may have teams that assist them in being more productive and contrastly those who are “striving for success” or trying to get to the “next level” often operate with little to no help. Yet there are still simple strategies that anyone can use to become more productive in life and business.
Admittedly, there are times when I’d say that I am more productive than others. But one thing is for sure, whenever I have been the most productive, I have implemented a few “best practices” that enabled me to get the best results. So let’s look at a few time-tested strategies for business productivity.
1. Plan Your Day
This simple step may seem obvious but you’d be surprised by the number of people who enter each work day without a plan. If you are a one-man-shop, you undoubetedy have to organize many items in one day. However, whether you’re the manager or owner within the company, it’s important to always include marketing and revenue generating activities in your day. Setting aside time to plan what you want to accomplish on any given day will help you to organize your time, prioritize important tasks and accomplish more. Eliminating time wasters is an important way to carve out more time to get all of your daily and weekly goals met. A great tool for managing your day is to keep a list of items that you want to accomplish during the week with certain items specifically focused on specific days.
2. Set Priorities.
Taking the time to determine the goals and activities that are most important on any given day or week is critical. I am a big proponent of making lists. I like to classify lists into two section, primary and secondary. The primary list contains things that are non-negotiable and must get done and the secondary lists contains things that may be put off for the next day if necessary.
3. Use the Power of Deadlines.
It’s safe to say that you can make all of the plans you want and prioritize until you’re blue in the face but without setting deadlines, you run the risk of projects carrying over for weeks, months or even years. Setting deadlines for yourself or your team is a powerful strategy for ensuring that your goals and activities remain on schedule and on track.
I like to refer to the “Parkinson Law” a principle which states that “work tends to fit the amount of time allotted to it.” This is a powerful principle because if you give yourself a short amount of time to get something done, your mind will undoubtedly make adjustments that forces your body to take action. Whereas if you are consistently giving yourself long term deadlines, you may be tempted to procrastinate and ulitmately be derailed from accomplishing your given goal.
Being more productive is something even the most successful people have probably dealt with. However, the above tips definitely would be right at the top of the list for anyone who has mastered the art of becoming more productive.
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Lori A. Manns is an award-winning, marketing, sales coach and business strategist who works with small business owners to help them elevate their brand, get more clients and grow revenue. Lori A. Manns is CEO of Quality Media Consultant Group and founder of the Trailblazer Business Academy™ where advancing entrepreneurs go to learn business growth strategies the soulful way. Lori is also the creator of Sponsorship Sales Secrets System;™ that shows you how to get more sponsors and sales for your business, guaranteed. To purchase consulting services on marketing, advertising or sales and, learn how to increase your revenue and grow your business; please visit the start here page on www.qualitymediaconsultants.com.
Lori, I’ve found all of these to be really powerful – especially #3. The typical challenge about deadlines, in my opinion, is the fact that too many of us are prone to ignoring self-imposed deadlines. That’s why I have accountability buddies myself and why I offer that service to my clients. If I know I’d have to tell my partner that I missed a deadline because of laziness or unwillingness to do something that makes me uncomfortable, that’s a BIG incentive to suck it up and get the job done!
Thanks for the positive feedback Kathleen. I agree #3 is probably the most powerful.
I love Parkinson’s Law! Or at least using it! As a matter of fact I used it today! While faced with a large list of “things” that were really important to get done today, I set a 30 minute timer for each piece and stuck to it… Funny how the thing that sometimes takes you 2 hrs can magically be done in 28 minutes when you set that timer!
Kelly, I agree. So funny how we get more productive when we only allow a certain amount of time for a specific task.
Lori, these are great tips on getting “it” done. I’ve found that planning my day is really important to me. If I do not plan to do the things that need to be, I fritter my time away. And, I do know that Parky’s Law works as well. Deadlines are most effective for getting all tasks done. I use #3 often.
Thanks Lillia. Yes planning is so critical in productivity.