Career Cube Blog

Successful people are very productive people. They get a lot more done than the average person because they consider their time to be very valuable and they know how to manage it well. As a result, they get promoted faster, rise to the top of their fields, and get paid more than others. What they do is not rocket science. If you implement the following productivity techniques into your daily routine, you will notice a remarkable change in a very short period of time.

Take Control Over The Telephone

The telephone is the number one cause of disruptions and distractions. Resist the temptation to answer the phone every time it rings unless you are waiting an extremely important call. And no, not every call is extremely important. Let the red voicemail light go, finish what you were working on, and return your calls at your convenience. My clients have told me that this technique alone has made a major difference in their productivity almost from Day 1.

Don’t Let Other People Steal Your Time

The second major cause of reduced productivity is other people. You know, people who stick their head into your cubicle and say “Hey, have you got a minute?” They leave 30-40 minutes later, after having completely wasted your time.

You don’t have to be rude to get rid of or discourage these people. Just say something like “I’d love to talk to you but I’m working on xx right now. Why don’t you schedule 15 minutes on my calendar at 4:30 today and then we can cover all of your questions/items at one time?” Guess what? They’ll go away and they won’t come back! That’s because they were just shooting the breeze and didn’t have anything really serious to discuss in the first place. Besides, guess where they’ll be at 4:30? Trying to wrap up and leave. By the way, use 4:30 instead of 5:00 or 5:30; otherwise, they’ll think you’re trying to get rid of them. Which you are, but you don’t have to come right out and say it.

Minimize Meetings

If you can get something accomplished by picking up the phone and speaking with someone one-on-one, do it instead of scheduling a meeting. If you must have a meeting, schedule it right before lunch or at the end of the day so that people have an incentive to finish on time and leave.

Make And Use Lists

People who are extremely busy simply cannot carry everything around in their heads. Write your to-do’s down in the order in which they need to be accomplished, even if it’s a short list. Something amazing happens when you write things down: more work gets done in a shorter period of time. The reason is that writing things down sends a signal to your subconscious mind which then gets to work on accomplishing what you’ve told it to do. It’s almost like being on autopilot.

by Arcadia Communications

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