Ways to Increase Your Productivity

It is a common mistake to think that spending long hours at work means being productive. Interestingly, a lot of people think that such is the case already. However, very few people realize that long hours at work do not always equate to effectiveness. It is a given that there are always times when one has to stay long in the office, but if this is happening to you every day, there is an area opportunity there to improve performance and increase your productivity.First off, you need to know yourself. Ask yourself what makes you tick. Sometimes, this may take a simple identification of a suitable environment for working. Or probably, a day in a week. In many cases, productivity may increase if the person knows the best time for him to work. Some people can work faster in the morning, some evening. Other individuals find it easier to work, if there is music or if they are isolated. Some people also want to work weekends instead of weekdays. Once you get to know yourself and when you can work faster, this will certainly make you more effective at work.Second, maximize your time. Many people tend to abuse break schedules, especially employees who can go in and about anytime. There are some employees whose break schedules are not monitored because they have gone to a point in which the management has placed enough trust on them. What some employees do, though, is to spend long hours at lunch and this obviously translates to long hours gone. Break schedules should be followed strictly to avoid having to spend extra hours just to complete a task.Another great tip is to set a goal for every task. Some people do not set a timeframe as to when they intend to finish a task. If all employees will set a time to complete a particular report or task allocation, this should serve as a goal. The only risk here is that employees may rush their output and this will result to substandard work.Another thing that should be considered is the usage of the Urgency Quadrant. This is a tool that anyone can use. All that one has to do is draw four squares together and label these squares. The first square on the top left should be a place where one should type the important and urgent matters that he has to attend to. The second quadrant is the top right square and this is where important but not urgent matters fall. On the bottom right square, this is the category for the urgent but not important issues, such as meetings. The last square contains things one should greatly minimize since this is the quadrant for matters not important and not urgent. Once this quadrant is used, one can greatly become effective in managing his priorities and tasks.Of course, becoming efficient is not an overnight triumph; this will require strict discipline. Without a resolution to get more productive, there is actually no chance you can increase your productivity.