It’s that time of year when we all focus on goal setting and begin planning for the year ahead. Whether you are a freelancer or work as part of a wider team, productivity is key to achieving your goals. Big businesses spend hours on research looking into methods to improve performance. Companies spend lots of time refining systems and processes to improve productivity. It’s essential that performance and productivity are considered and maintained to keep up momentum in any project. As any big company would, we should all take time to evaluate our own productivity methods and think about how they can be improved or refined for the year ahead. Here are a few tips for how to be your most productive self…
Productivity
Use A Planner
Invest in a planner, journal or a diary, for daily productivity make sure you write down all the tasks you need to achieve the night before. Making a list the night before means you wake up with a clear game plan. It also helps to have ongoing lists in your phone, so that when you’re out and about or away from your planner you are able to make quick notes to refer back to your notes later on. Making lists and having a daily plan will help you to achieve more each day. Setting yourself a few bigger goals each month is also a great way to keep up momentum, they could be work goals or personal ones like DIY projects.
Lights, Camera, Laptop…
One major consideration for any freelancer or business is the equipment you are using. Perhaps the company has expanded, and the original software can no longer cope with the workload. Maybe you never expected to have such a thriving business, and your existing laptop or camera are no longer up to the job. If you’re running a business, hours of staff time could be being wasted in finding workarounds and patches and sorting out endless glitches. You could look into investing in a new system, and reap the benefits. This also goes for all the other types of tools too, such as cars, or drills, etc. Take a good look at your inventory and compare it against the work. Is your equipment still up to the job?
Flexible-Working Hours
Flexible working hours can be a great way to improve productivity. If you are self-employed you can dedicate certain times of the day to certain tasks and ensure you complete each one in the allotted time. Some people are far more productive in the evening as opposed to the day. Creating a flexible day for the yourself or staff could help with productivity, as you allowing for more independent working and freedom.
Outsource
When it comes to productivity, there is a lot to be said for outsourcing various tasks. Outsourcing can streamline your workload and make you much more effective. Take a really good analytical look at the expertise you have in-house and think about how it could benefit you to invest in some outside help. There are some great companies out there that are happy to provide you with their skills and knowledge. If you’re running a company, one area is a procurement outsourcing service, which can save you time and money. Outsourcing doesn’t only apply to business, you might like to outsource your cleaning or ironing to allow you to focus on areas that you are more passionate about.
Well-Earned Rewards
Everyone works better with a little incentive, right? If you set yourself tasks throughout the day, you could also reward yourself after the completion of every task. Having a small reward, like a nice cup of tea or a short break will help you to see each task through to fruition. If you run a company, you could recognise excellent performance and introduce incentivisation schemes, such as performance-related pay or free shares. The excellent staff will be motivated to succeed.
Productivity is not a mystery, it is a series of habits that are set up over time and repeated. If you have lots of goals you are hoping to achieve this year, first try to analyse your processes and streamline where you can. Make small changes and you will start to see the rewards.
“Focus on being productive, instead of busy”
Christine
The Fabulous Times