~by Kara Masterson~.
In today’s workplace, it is essential to always be productive. Nowadays we live in a fast-paced world and everyone wants everything now. That means that there will be high expectations of immediate response within your business from your clients. That is just one reason why you need to make sure that you and your employees are always as productive as possible.
With an array of distractions facing workers, productivity often falls by the wayside. So organizations are continuously looking for ways to improve productivity and eliminate distractions. One of the best ways to do this is to first figure out the cause of the distractions. Once you know where the problem is coming from, you’ll have a better idea of how to fix it.
While there are numerous ways to fix these kinds of problems, here are some of the most effective ways currently in use to improve business productivity.
Stick to a Schedule
One of the biggest problems facing businesses today is creating a regular schedule and sticking to it. With all of your spontaneous meetings and sudden emergencies it can seem almost impossible to stick to any type of schedule. However, sticking to a solid schedule each day can help keep you and your employees as productive as possible without distractions.
In many organizations, some of the biggest detriments are meetings. While a necessary part of most companies, all it takes is one meeting running too long to throw off the rest of the workday for all of your employees. To keep this from happening, be sure to stick to an agenda so employees can meet pressing deadlines. As far as last minute or unplanned meetings go, try to schedule them in instead of allowing them to happen spontaneously. That way you can make sure that you plan time for them without allowing them to take time away from your other work.
Take Advantage of Technology
If you want to be more productive and save time during the workday, try using a variety of technology tools that are available in most offices. For example, using Skype for video conferencing and calendar planning tools to align schedules with co-workers can help you get a lot more work done each day. For workers who are enrolled in an online MBA degree program, learning how to implement these and other technology tools into their day-to-day routine can lead to much better overall productivity. These days it seems there is a helpful app or tool for just about everything you could need. All you have to do is a little bit of research to find the best tool for your needs.
Eliminate Social Media
While it’s always fun to look on Facebook and Twitter to see what your friends and family have been doing, chances are it’s also keeping you from getting your work done. To solve this problem, more and more companies and organizations are banning employees from social media sites during the workday.
If you happen to work for a company that has not banned social media from the office, be sure to limit yourself to looking at it only during authorized breaks to ensure that you get your work done. If you find yourself regularly being distracted by your phone, it may be a good idea to put it away while you are working. You may even want to put it in a desk drawer or on the other side of your office. You can leave the sound on in case of an emergency, but having your phone regularly in an area that you don’t have easy access to can help get rid of some of the temptation. Even if you regularly listen to music during work, you can still set your phone aside in an area that is less accessible. Then instead of listening to music on your phone, plug your headphones into your computer. That way you can still enjoy your tunes, but without the distractions that come with your phone.
Learn To Say No
While many workers think that they increase their productivity by doing as many tasks as possible, they may actually be significantly decreasing productivity. By never turning down an assignment, workers may get in over their heads and stress themselves out. That can cause them to be frantic and end up doing a less than stellar job on almost all of their assignments.
By learning to decline a project now and then, you can increase your productivity by creating a clearer mind and better focus on what you have to do. You definitely need to make sure that you aren’t overwhelming yourself at work so that you can get as much done as possible every single day. When you aren’t overwhelmed, you can better plan out your days and set a schedule to stick with. Take the time to put all of your assignments in a planner in advance and schedule out when you plan to work on them. That way you can make sure you get all of your work done without having to cram it all in at the last minute in a panic. When you plan out day by day when you are going to work on a task, you can ease stress and make your time effective and efficient.
Overall, by following these tips, organizations big and small can help the workday go much smoother and faster for everyone. When you focus your business on being as effective and efficient as possible, you can help put out a great product fast. That is definitely something that people look for in a new business. If you make productivity a priority in your workplace, your clients will definitely see it. Whether it’s resisting the urge to look at Facebook or wrapping up a meeting on time, these tips are sure to make any workday much easier and more efficient.
Meet the Author: Kara Masterson
Kara Masterson is a freelance writer from West Jordan, Utah. She graduated from the University of Utah and enjoys writing and spending time with her dog, Max.
