10 Simple Ways to be More Productive at Work

Here are 10 of the most popular tips from this session, with feedback from our last group on what they implemented:

1. Cut one-hour meetings to 45 minutes: “Just because Outlook defaults to one hour doesn’t mean we have to. Our standard meeting time is now 45 minutes. An added benefit is I get 15 minutes to deal with any actions, saving me an hour or two later in the day.”
2. Make something positive the first item on the agenda for team meetings: A round of “new and goods” or “what’s going well” as the first item on the agenda starts each session in a positive way.
3. Cut one-to-ones to 45 minutes too: “I’ve reduced my standard time for 1-to-1s with my people. We seem to get through as much and leave as satisfied.”
4. 321zero: This is the system I used to solve my email overload and have described it here. Open your inbox only three times a day, set a timer for 21 minutes and reduce your inbox to zero emails. Not everybody used the system exactly like that but the core points (only checking your inbox a handful of times a day and dealing with emails promptly) enabled some to say “I’ve got my email cracked.”
5. Turn the email alert off: This is basic. “It’s amazing the effect it’s had, just not being continually distracted.”
6. No emails until 11 am: Instead of checking email first thing, work on your most important tasks. “I’ve got a lot more done.” This can be formalised with “Eat 4 frogs.”
7. Eat 4 frogs: This is the old Ivy Lee method. At the end of each day, write down the four most important tasks to complete the next day. And do those before you do anything else, including email. (Frogs because they are chewy tasks that you tend to avoid “eating”.)
8. 10 at 10: “Once a week we hold a ten-minute catch-up at ten o’clock. It’s a great way to check in and know what’s going on.” (Of course, in Agile environments this is often done daily.)
9. Don’t send that email: On the first day of the Programme, we covered the Chimp Paradox and how our initial emotional reaction doesn’t get the best results. “A couple of times this week I’ve written an email response and then thought ‘hang on, that’s my Chimp talking’. I haven’t sent it, and so have avoided escalating an issue.”
10. Time for me: Each participant chooses a buddy to work with throughout the programme. “That meeting with my buddy is the one time I get to put myself first, talk openly and build each other’s confidence.”

Other points included using Skype for meetings (to cut travel time), replacing minutes with action points, giving people equal time to speak at meetings (and don’t allow interruptions), sharing the chairing of meetings around to different staff members each time, and focusing on creating a happier team.

What I like is not that these revolutionary ideas, but are simple practical steps that have freed up time and enabled people to be more effective.

Are you productive or just busy? What can you do to take control of your time and create some slack?

Related blogs

• Five Day Productivity Blitz - Sign up for our five-day productivity blitz course here and learn tried and tested techniques to save you time and increase your productivity.
• Improve your Productivity with these Five Apps - There are so many handy, and free, apps available to help save you time, we've listed 5 of them here.
• How Microsoft Excel can Increase Your Productivity - Excel is a super helpful but widely underused piece of software. If you want to learn more with Happy then just click the link! 

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