8 Ways Your Business Can Master Productivity

Productivity refers to how well an organization converts labor, materials, machines, and capital into goods and services.  Growth within your business essentially means that you can provide more products and services to your customers that translate into more profit.  The more your productivity increases, the more you are able to turn all your resources into revenues. However, this is only possible with employee productivity.  At the end of your work day, you want to confidently know that you’ve completed what needed to be done while being on top of your creative game.

All businesses have established procedures and workflows for collecting, analyzing, and reporting their productivity data.  Most people aren’t naturally productive for two main reasons; they have bad work habits or they’re reactive. In that case, be more proactive! Simple changes to operation methods or processes can increase productivity.  Be open minded when it comes to learning and adopting new strategies,  tools, and technology.  Keep in mind that highly productive people don’t get more done in less time.  Instead, they focus their attention on the things that matter the most, contribute high value, and result in the highest impact.  Here are some habits and resources you can look to to increase your productivity rate:

  1. Eliminate distractions
  2. Eat your frog
  3. Stop multitasking
  4. Learn how to say ‘no’
  5. Prioritize your tasks
  6. Take part in team building activities
  7. Get rest
  8. Look into coaching and training

Eliminate distractions

First thing’s first, get rid of all the possible distractions that may get in your way.  To really maximize your productivity and time, you need to keep your focus.  Distraction is one of the biggest barriers to meaningful progress.  Try putting your phone on “Do not disturb” mode or airplane mode, clear your workspace,  or play your ‘focus’ music playlist! Whatever helps you stay focused, do it!

Eat your frog

Here’s something you may have heard being said within the business industry.  Famously said by Mark Twain and popularized by productivity master Brian Tracy, the frog is simply the one thing you have zero motivation to do or most likely will procrastinate doing.  Eating the frog means to just do it.  Otherwise, the frog will eat you and you’ll end up with a bunch of stuff on your plate along with being overwhelmed and stressed.

Stop multitasking

With everything in life being so busy and fast-paced, you may feel that you don’t have enough time during the day to complete all your work.  Naturally, you think that consolidating your tasks into one may help or working on bigger projects and tasks little by little, at the same time will maximize your time.  This is false! Studies show that multitasking kills productivity by at least 40%.  How do you fix this? Stop doing everything at once.  Increase your productivity by giving your full attention to one task at a time.

Learn how to say ‘no’

It’s extremely tempting to say yes. Knowing how and when to say no is a skill.  Why? Because you’re intentionally setting aside things you have time to work on to focus more on your priorities.   There are always new projects and opportunities that present themselves to you and it’s exciting to take on; however, you end up with too many commitments in the end and eventually burn out trying to keep or catch up.

Prioritize your tasks

When starting your day, it’s helpful to make a list of tasks to complete.  Take it a step further by ordering your tasks by number.  Narrowing down your to-do list for the day helps you clearly focus on what needs to be done.  The more specific you are with your tasks, the more productive you’ll be.

Take part in team building activities

How does team building affect your productivity you ask? If you and your colleagues find ways to build your relationship with each other, stay creative, and have fun, the more likely they’ll be motivated and perform better while at work.  Have weekly lunch meetings, do something fun together, or join personal or team development training sessions or classes.  Overall, just find ways to keep the enthusiasm alive to promote a fun, safe, and positive work environment.

Get rest

One of the key strategies to master productivity is to know when to turn the switch off and rest.  Although it may feel like you don’t have enough time to do so, being in an overwhelmed state can eventually lead you to burning out which can  potentially hurt your productivity when you do need it the most.  Remember, if you don’t pick a day to relax, your body will pick it for you.

Look into coaching and training sessions

With coaching, you provide your team with the opportunity to grow and achieve optimal performance through consistent feedback, mentoring, and counselling.  It’s also a great way for each of your team members to get to know each other and learn about each other’s learning and working styles.  According to the 2021 Employee productivity statistics, 46% of people find working in a team incredibly tricky due to different working styles.  Rather than relying solely on a review schedule or business plan, you can support employees along the path to meeting their goals.

Operating a business can be challenging and distractions as well as lack of focus and guidance can really hurt your productivity and overall workflow.  It’s important to take a step back and  look at the overall picture once in a while as  you may get too caught up in the little details that are actually holding you back unknowingly.  The good news is that there are always tools and resources available to help you, your team, and your business grow successfully.  Growth is the key to any business’s success.  It’s important to have a plan in place to help maximize your productivity time while keeping your team motivated and happy.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to improve your productivity or grow as a business and team, I offer customized training programs to my clients.  Schedule a free consultation with me here: https://calendly.com/jasonballard  to learn more about how to improve your business or contact me with any questions.