Increase Your Productivity

Most of us would like to find ways to become more productive and this article will show you how. Many people find that much of their time is taken up performing unnecessary work and may struggle with getting things done. This guide will help you to become more productive in everything you do. We will show you how to become more productive and increase your productivity in business and life.

The 80/20 rule

The 80/20 is a very powerful idea and was first suggested by Vilfredo Pareto in 1895. The 80/20 rule states that 80% of all your results come from just 20% of your activities. You can apply the 80/20 rule to many different situations but it has a special importance when dealing with increasing your productivity. The 80/20 rule suggests that you should focus more of your attention on the 20% of your activities that give you the most gain. In business, the 80/20 rule states that 80% of your sales will come from just 20% of all your customers. This means you should pay much more attention to the top 20% of your customers first because they will be the ones that make you the most money. Highly productive people always work on the most important activities first and you should do the same if you want to increase your productivity.

Make sure you know what you’re doing

Many people start a task without having a clear idea of what they are trying to achieve. This can be disastrous for your productivity and waste huge amounts of time. Before you start any task, make sure you write down exactly what you are trying to achieve and how you are going to achieve it. If you do not know exactly what you are doing, you will end up wasting huge amounts of precious time. Make sure you write down clear and precise goals and a plan of action before you even attempt to begin a task. Being prepared can do wonders for increasing your productivity and gives you clear and exact goals to work towards making your job much easier.

Make a list of your tasks and work on the most important ones first

You can usually break most of your tasks down into those that are very important, those that need to be done and those that are unimportant. Before you start working on your tasks for the day, make a list of all the things you need to do and work out which ones are very important, which ones need doing and which ones are probably unimportant. Make three separate lists and work hard on getting all the important tasks done first, then move on to your tasks that need to be done and finally consider whether the other tasks need to be done. Although this is a very simple idea, it can produce dramatic results. Most people tend to work on the task they want to do first rather than the ones that really need doing. By making a task list at the start of every day you will have a clear idea of the tasks you need to give the most attention.

Always complete the tasks you start

When you work on any task, a lot of time can be wasted in the initial stages of getting ready to do the work. Before you start any task there are various things you have to do. A writer for example might have to turn on the computer, find research notes, take a few minutes to refresh on the work that needs to be done and it always take time to really get in the swing of things. All of this adds up and wastes valuable time. If you concentrate on getting tasks done and complete when you start them, then you will be free to move onto the next task that needs doing with a clean head.

Get it done and get it done quickly

Do not take longer working on any task than you need to. You should aim to get your important tasks done as quickly as possible so you can get started on your other important tasks. You can waste huge amounts of time fretting over the intricacies of a given task, but the most important thing is just getting the task done. Work quickly and finish your task and if you need to review anything you can do it once the work is completed.

Avoid distractions

Make sure your working environment is free of distractions and allow yourself to focus a hundred percent on the task at hand. Before you start any task make sure you set up a comfortable working space with everything you will need around you, things such as water, food, coffee etc, and try and keep all possible distractions at bay. The idea working environment should be quite and stress free with as little possibility for distraction as possible. Unless you are expecting an urgent call, try and keep your phone on silent when you are working on important tasks. Little things like this can really have a positive impact on your overall productivity.

Work harder than everyone else

No one achieves anything worthwhile without putting in the work first. The key to getting ahead in any task is usually to work harder and smarter than the people around you. You can never work too hard on a subject if you want to get ahead of everyone else. Average people work 40 hours a week, successful people work much more. Turn up earlier, work harder and go home later than everyone else around you if you want to become more productive and successful.

Work on similar tasks one after the other

If you work on several similar task one after the other, you begin to get faster as you go along and you will find it easier to get the other tasks done quickly. Once you get into the swing of working on a particular task area, it is much easier to carry on and get other similar task done at the same time.