Work productivity is something at which any workforce individual strives to be better. With little time outside the typical work tasks for learning strategies for improvement, it can be difficult; however, building strategies and integrated technology usage into your workflow that help aid in organization and efficiency will lead to a high level of productivity in the long term.
One of the best ways to do this is through evaluating your email inbox. Email is one of the main locations where workers get bogged down and frustrated. The time starts wasting away, frustrations start to increase, and before you know it it’s time to punch out for the day and nothing actually got done. Looking at your inbox with a strategy rather than with the shotgun spray thought process will greatly increase your chances of getting out and actually doing other productive things with your day. Michael Hyatt provides the method of using a few different answers to handle email: do, delegate, defer, delete and file. This gives you objectives to complete while sifting through the emails rather than just letting them pile up. You can read further about his email approach here. If you are feeling unproductive at work, this may be your best chance at alleviating some of the stress you are feeling.
Another method of opening up the productivity spigot is to sit down and audit where your time is going and how you can adjust the direction of each day. An audit will allow you a few moments to see where time is wasted and where you can be making leaps and bounds in office productivity. When you are doing this audit, start with looking at a day or even a week and ask yourself these questions:
1. What do I spend the majority of the day doing?
2. What items am I getting behind on?
3. What things can I delegate to someone else?
4. What things can I get rid of completely?
There are other questions you will want to ask yourself as well, but these will get you off to a good start. If it is hard to pinpoint what you spend your time on, make a week-long log and write down what you do in blocks of time. Being aware of these blocks and how they are spent will help you make course adjustments to keep you on track. Remember, productivity isn’t a 360 turn-around. It is an art form that takes time to develop.
Our last suggestion for helping to bring about productivity improvements is to use technology well. Many add-ons exist in the technology world that you can use to help eliminate time wasting and improve productivity. Our suggestion is to evaluate each with a fine-toothed comb. While the features of each may be attractive, you want to be sure you don’t go overboard with too many options. Here at FACS we provide software technology to our construction clients that help bring about more productivity in the workplace. For example, our software automatically creates logs, allows our customers to set due date reminders, provides easy archive searches, and creates a high amount of easy integration. Essentially, we have developed a tool that aids in individuals managing themselves better. We would certainly suggest finding an applicable tool in your area of expertise that can provide a holistic level of assistance in bettering your productivity.
We’d be happy to connect with you about your construction project management needs. Our desire is to help you become more successful and more productive by providing excellent technology for day-in-day-out use that eliminates the clutter and the unimportant items that stack up.