5 First-Hand Tips
To Become A Productivity Star
By: Nadina Lupu
From: Talent Development Resources
1. “Frogs for
breakfast” Do you know Mark Twain’s notorious quote that says: “eat a live
frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest
of the day”? It inspired Brian Tracy to name his legendary personal
productivity book.
The whole meaning
of this unappetizing advice is that we should start our day by dealing
with the tasks we feel like postponing. They are the most difficult and
important, and this is the very reason for our hesitation.
On the other
side, once you’ve solved them, you will feel free and rather enthusiastic for
any other assignment.
Let’s say there
are mornings in which there are one too many “frogs” for your taste. My advice
for you is to cut your day in a couple of chunks, each of them with its own
frog – it works perfectly for me. Taking a break after each part will make this
technique easy and rewarding.
2. Manage your
energy, not your time
Productivity is
about doing the best job and still have energy and room left for other
activities. There are numerous techniques that promote dividing your workday
into sprint-break cycles. Some people find it efficient to work for an hour and
then take a 5-minute break.
Others are more
loose, they work 45 minutes and go outside for a 15-minute break. You’ll have
to experiment until you find a technique that suits you best. The moment
you’ll realize that you have to be productive in the long run, you will find
ways to prevent burnout.
3. Healthy
self-analysis
Don’t be afraid
to look in the mirror and see your productivity flaws:
Do you have
problems prioritizing your tasks?
Do you start the
day already stressed out by the full amount of work you are dealing with? Do
you head to the pit stops too frequently – texting, tweeting, sending e-mails
or socializing on Facebook? Try to brainstorm a little about this and mind map your productivity habits. It’s
very important to be completely honest in the process. Once you have the
big picture, you can start setting deadlines for the changes you want to make.
Mapping your progress and rewarding yourself can also be very stimulating.
4. Anchor
yourself in the present Pay attention to the way you connect with people,
the way food tastes, how you feel about different matters you come across, and
how you are influenced by the outside world. It will uplift your
awareness, and you will pay more attention to details.Eventually, details will
turn into original ideas. And you need creativity in order to be productive.
5. Make the best
out of your resources Productivity is about being efficient while using
your resources. You have to plan carefully all your work,set deadlines to speed
up the rhythm, find people who can add value to your projects, and objectively
assess your actions according to the achievements. Whenever you skip planning,
you eventually find yourself reacting to the day’s events as they occur, rather
than being proactive about your objectives.
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