Productivity – You Have to Write a Plan

Productivity isn’t something you pull out of thin air. It happens because you have several traits – a strong work ethic, the ability to focus on tasks that need to be accomplished, and the ability to organize your work life well. Part of that organization is a consistent habit of planning each workday before it begins. Nothing is worse than sitting at your desk, contemplating all that you have to do, trying to remember all that you have to do, and wondering how to get started. The cure for that lack of productivity is to have a schedule. Every. Single. Day.
The List
Everyone talks about having a “to-do” list, and that’s a good thing. We tend to spend a lot of time making these lists as soon as we get to work, then looking down them and picking and choosing what we will do next, happily crossing items off as they are completed. While this gives us a feeling of productivity, and we certainly are getting things done, it is not the type of schedule we really should make to have the right kind of productivity. The problem is, we tend to put the most unpleasant tasks off and attack the more pleasant items on our list first. This is not ideal productivity. Ideal productivity involves scheduling your tasks, and here is how that is accomplished.

1. Planning Happens Before the Work Day Begins
There are two times when you can plan your work day schedule – the evening before or first thing in the morning before you get to work. Begin by making a list of everything that you want to accomplish during the work day. If you do this the night before, sit down, write your list, and then leave it for some other activity. It is possible that additional items will come to mind that you have forgotten and you can then add them to your list. Other people prefer to do this early in the morning, after a night’s rest. So, they spend an additional 30 minutes or so with their morning coffee, either at home or at a coffee shop (not at the office), during which they can develop theirs lists in a relaxed mode. The more relaxed, the more the thoughts will come.

2. Prioritizing
Once that list is complete, look over it quickly, and then ask yourself, “If I only had time to do one thing today, what would it be?” Once you have identified that task, put it at the top of a new list, and eliminate it from your current list. Then repeat the same activity with the remaining tasks. Do this until each task is in an order on your second list. Now, you are prioritized correctly!

3. Keep the list in front of you all day
Print it out as soon as you get to work. Put it next to you at our desk. If you move about town or your building throughout the day, keep it on your phone for easy pull up. You have to see that list at all times to continue to remind yourself of what progress you have made.

4. Don’t Ignore Voice and E-Mails – Schedule Them!
Have a pre-arranged time for checking and responding to calls and emails, preferably the same time every day. Here’s how this really helps. You need to let those people with whom you communicate frequently what that time of day is. If you do this, they don’t keep bugging you throughout the day with the same communication or question. This keeps you from having to go through 5-6 emails or voicemails from the same person on the same topic.

5. Gather Your Materials at the Beginning of the Task
When you begin a task, the first thing you do is get everything you will need. Are there files or documents you need to review for this task? Are there things in archives that you have to retrieve? Nothing is worse than getting into a task and having to stop to go get stuff you need. Every time you do this, you lose focus and have to re-direct your brain – it’s a time waster.

6. Accept that there will be Interruptions
Your boss may have an emergency need; a client may have an emergency. It happens. Put your work down and attend to these emergencies. Getting them out of the way will allow you to re-focus as you need to do.

7. Never, Never, Never Multi-Task
Research shows that you are less productive if you attempt to multi-task. Going back and forth among a few tasks during the same time period confuses your mind, and the constant interruption and re-focusing back and forth takes time. Some apps will help you to handle this.

8. Never, Never, Never Move to #2 Unless #1 is Finished
If you leave task #1, for whatever reason, and begin on #2 with the intention of coming back, you are kidding yourself. Your day will end with neither #1 nor #2 begin finished, and both will be on your planning list for the next day. You will feel as though you have accomplished nothing for your hard day of work, and that is not a good way to go to bed and get a decent night’s sleep!

Just keep in mind these little tricks and you'll enhance not only your productivity level, but your mental and physical health as well.