Monthly Archives: October 2013

Achieve Productivity in Three Steps

productivity-signProduce, produce, produce. Your boss is happy. Your family is happy. And ultimately, you also feel quite happy at having achieved something that matter every single day. Productivity and measurable results have come to govern our lives and nothing screams productivity quite like the 21st century where every member of society has something to take care of and limited time to do so. Those without the skill set to manage with the constant demand for production suffer a less than favourable image, so we strive to do as much as possible.

However, not all know how to maintain this constant production so it doesn’t burden us and doesn’t lead to the oh-so-common burn out, which has spread like a wildfire through the ranks of several professions. What you have to understand is there are ways to achieve more and stay in tune with your life. I’ve decided to share some of my lessons with you so you understand how varied the ways to manage your time actually are.

Let me start on perfection. Yes, quality matters more than you can imagine, but you should know when to draw the line and call something finished. In the past, I have been known to spend hours upon hours to get something done to perfection. I had a certain idea of how it should look and would obsess to bring that idea to life, but alas I never did achieve the high standards I posed on myself and ended up screwing up the thing I was doing and get in trouble, because I had no time left to do other things (like homework). It’s good to learn your limitations and learn to let go of things when you can’t do more about them. This will free so much more time.

Set priorities. As you get older, you will eventually be handed many more responsibilities and errands you need to complete. This means more work and less time, which is where time management really counts. Will you do your manicure first or call end of tenancy clean London for a last minute session? The manicure can be done any time of day. The cleaning session has a deadline and it will cost you, if you don’t really prioritize for it. Choose wisely what you will pursue in your day and think about all the repercussions, if you don’t finish something on time. The worse they are, the higher up your to-do list they ought to feature.

Also, aim to do things when you’re most productive. Yes, I tend to watch movies during these periods, because I feel perfectly and a movie seems the perfect treat for when I have some time off. Nevertheless, examine your to-do list and push yourself to work when you’re most alert and you will achieve productivity like no other.