When a close or not so close friend once again tells you, full of inspiration, how pleased she is to finally do something that she has long wanted to try, but never got around to, you probably have thoughts like: “I would I could do it too,” “Pfft, great science,” and the like. But let's face the truth: partly it is envy that dictates the appearance of such thoughts.
Try to answer the question for yourself: why didn’t you do and are still not doing what you wanted for a long time? If you have difficulty finding answers, you will find them in this article.
In this article:
How to be more productiveSpecificity is keyThe skills of productive people
What does the word "productivity" mean?
And is there really unproductive work? Happens. Because working productively means fruitfully, with high productivity and good results. Only productive work allows a person to realize his ideas and achieve success.
The word “productive” itself comes from the English “productivity”. Initially, it was used in animal husbandry and agriculture to designate the best specimens of animals - fertile and giving good offspring. Over time, when industry began to develop, it began to be used to characterize production.
In Russian, the word “productivity” has a synonym – productivity. We are all familiar with the phrase “labor productivity”. Not so long ago they began to use it to characterize the activities of creative people, as if emphasizing their “fertility” and high results. Thus, we can say that productivity is the ability to create something or perform a certain number of actions in a certain time.
When talking about someone's productivity, you can measure it not only in quantity, but also give it an emotional assessment. For example, low productivity or high productivity. Productivity cannot be said to be an innate human property. Most likely, this is a skill that, if desired, can be acquired, developed and improved.
Afterword
This is how I manage my time and its quality.
For each person, the elements of the scheme may differ, but the general essence will remain the same. And this is just the tip of the iceberg, but the most necessary. It is also important how you prioritize tasks and which tasks end up on the list and which ones are deleted forever. This is what differentiates those who see critical projects through to completion and those who don't; on those who constantly grow above themselves and learn something new and those who remain in the quagmire of the same type of tasks. Let's talk about this another time, since this is a story about self-organization on a different level. PS: at the time of writing, a “podcast” had just been released about what things, in my opinion, young developers should pay attention to in order to become successful in their business.
What kind of work can be called productive?
Knowing your personal productivity and being able to manage it is important to achieve success. In business, productivity can be measured by profit growth. What criteria should we use to determine whether our work is productive? German sociologist Erich Fromm believed that personal productivity depends on the ability to use one’s strengths and realize the abilities inherent in nature.
Whatever a person does, his work can be called productive if he:
- gets satisfaction from work (it is impossible to work productively if the work is boring and uninteresting);
- does it efficiently;
- takes initiative;
- does not look at the time and does not count the hours he spends on it - as they say, he is “burning with work.”
Based on this, we can conclude that work productivity does not depend on the amount of time spent on it. And those employers who are trying to increase employee productivity and, accordingly, profits, by increasing the working hours are wrong.
Smartphone
22. Use notes on your phone. Immediately write down all new ideas in notes or speak on audio. It’s better to store them in the cloud so you can immediately work on your tablet/laptop with notes left on your smartphone.
23. Turn off Facebook (and social networks along with instant messengers) while working. Or set aside a specific time at which you will view them.
24. Always remember why you go to social networks. If that doesn't work, set an alarm to get out of there. Sometimes in the settings you can find a timer that notifies you when your time is spent. Facebook: Settings - your time on Facebook. Instagram: Account - Your actions.
25. Clear your social media feed of dubious friends. Go to everyone's profile and see if they post the information you need. If not, feel free to unsubscribe.
26. Use black and white mode on your smartphone. If your work does not involve images, this will significantly reduce your time spent on it.
27. Use speech recognition software to convert messages into text. As a last resort, use autocorrect in instant messengers and high-speed keyboards like SwiftKey and Gboard on Android. This saves a lot of typing time.
28. Learn touch typing on your smartphone. It's weird at first, but your typing speed can double.
What prevents you from being productive?
Before we get ready to work productively, we need to understand what is stopping us from doing so. After all, we often spend a lot of time on work, waste strength and energy, and the results leave much to be desired.
One of the reasons that prevents us from being productive is persistence . Perhaps sometimes this quality needs to be demonstrated. At the same time, some people often continue to move towards their goal even when it has already lost its meaning. Most likely, they do this out of inertia or without noticing the changes that have occurred. Therefore, to avoid heading down a hopeless course, it is important to reconsider your goals from time to time and ask yourself whether they are still relevant.
Another trap that reduces productivity is called amplification . It is known that every job requires a certain amount of effort, but often people spend more time and effort to achieve a goal than necessary - they waste it. Amplification is characterized by repeating the same steps to ensure that everything is done correctly over and over again.
fixation , when progress towards a goal is blocked, also prevents you from doing your work productively Instead of acting, a person plunges into a state of anticipation - inspiration, a phone call, permission, next month, vacation, etc. Fixation is a pure waste of time, in other words, killing it.
Reversion also has a negative impact on work productivity - a mental return to the past, replaying a life scenario, regret about unrealized opportunities, endless thoughts about what should have been done so that what has already happened would not happen.
Getting ahead of the curve is also a trap that reduces productivity. First, when planning for the future, we often waste time because we cannot foresee all the details in advance and rely on opportunities that may disappear in the future. Secondly, when we focus on future tasks, we forget about current ones.
Tightening . Probably everyone had to promise themselves: I will do this on Monday (after the New Year, etc.). By this we deceive ourselves, and in our hearts we understand this very well. Such constant postponement of the deadline will never allow our work to become productive.
Rule #2: Plan
The basis of all time management techniques is planning. It is known that our brain, of two paths, will always choose the one with the least resistance. That is, its task is to ensure that we spend a minimum of effort and conserve energy for the normal functioning of all life systems. And if we spend less effort watching a series than studying a new discipline, then the brain will hold the series in high esteem. He will also always give preference to immediate pleasure. Should I eat a pie now or go to the gym to lose 5 kg in a month? Of course, eat the pie. It will definitely make you feel good right now. And a month is too long.
For the brain, we are present and we are future - always two different people. And he only needs to care about the one that is here and now. And to force ourselves to be more productive and avoid brain tricks, we need strict control, which is achieved by total planning. This means that we must plan not only our working time, but also our free time. Otherwise, all the hours without work may suddenly be spent watching the same TV series. This does not mean that there will be no rest. Procrastination time is also worth planning.
Set aside an hour or two a day for freedom of action. During this time, you can do all the unproductive things, for example, sit on social networks or watch jokes on the Internet. This way, your procrastination will not take up all your free hours, and the rest of the time you can be productive, as you will be doing useful things.
How to increase your productivity at work
It would seem that it could be simpler: they come to work to work. But everyone understands that few people work productively for all 8 hours. In addition to the time allotted for lunch, breaks are taken for tea, conversations, “walks” on the Internet, etc.
In order for your working day to be productive, you need to:
Make a work plan for the whole day
If this is not done immediately after arriving at work, then there is a high chance that we will be involved in fruitless conversations or read personal email, putting things off for at least an hour.
Don't spread yourself thin
To get real results, you should not plan to complete more than three tasks per working day. But all your efforts can be directed to solving them, not forgetting to take short breaks after each of them.
Complex problems need to be solved first
Otherwise, the problem will hang like a sword of Damocles, distracting you from other tasks.
Come up with a competitor
Many people are no strangers to the desire to be the best in their profession. By choosing a person among our employees with whom we can mentally compete, we will receive an additional incentive to work more productively.
Don't go online unnecessarily
If it’s hard to resist the temptation, it’s a good idea to install an application that “throws” us out of the network.
Solve similar problems together
For example, checking email or making phone calls will take less time if you do them all at once rather than doing them periodically throughout the day.
Be punctual
To ensure that the solution to one problem does not stretch out over the whole day, it is necessary to control the time spent on solving it and adhere to the time frame.
Be able to say “no”
Without mastering this skill, we will spend our valuable time on doing other people’s business and tasks, on useless conversations. Someone said: “Our time is the most valuable gift we can give to other people.” Therefore, you shouldn’t waste them.
Don't put off the most difficult task until the last hour of work
At this time, it is better to relax and take stock. Although many, on the contrary, come to their senses and begin to work only when the working day is nearing its end.
Don't set your internal clock to winter time
Often the most productive hour is this morning, when everyone at home is still asleep.
How to be more productive when working from home
There is an opinion that working from home is much more efficient, because it frees up the time spent traveling to work and back. There are also no distractions in the form of employees wanting to share some of their impressions. But once you take the work home, you realize that doing it is not as easy as it seems.
However, here too there are rules, following which, you can work productively without staying up until midnight.
Work behind closed doors
Your family should get used to the fact that while you are busy with work, you should not come in without an invitation.
Correctly assess your strengths
As we know, there are people who work more productively in the morning, and there are also those who work better in the evenings. Therefore, everyone should organize their working time in accordance with these wishes.
Don't waste your time
Working tools: notepad, pens, phones, etc. should be in the work area, since when looking for them it is easy to get distracted and switch to other things. Also, while working, you should close all windows with social networks, chats, news, mail, etc., in order to avoid the temptation to “just for a minute” look at sites not related to work.
Do not stay at work longer than the allotted time
When planning to work from home, we shouldn’t count on the fact that now we can sit even until late at night. On the contrary, we have excellent motivation to finish work earlier in order to get more free time.
Work with headphones
Properly selected quiet music will create a working mood, distract you from your surroundings and help you concentrate.
Do not work in home clothes
It relaxes and encourages relaxation, coffee or tea, and communication with family. Comfortable business clothes discipline and set the mood for work.
Don't eat at your desk
For work to be fruitful, you need to be distracted from it from time to time. A lunch break will be a reason to take a break.
Buy a second computer or laptop
One will serve only for work and will not provide the opportunity to be distracted. The second one can only be “entertaining”.
In moments of rest, step away from the computer
At the first signs of fatigue, you should immediately leave your workplace and go get some fresh air, move around, look through a magazine, read a book, drink tea, etc., and not sit at the computer, continuing to “look” at the monitor.
Why do you need motivation?
Motivation is a certain driving force, a set of psychological and physical reactions that make us strive for something, want something, do and want to do. The motivating factor can be either something material (money and what you can buy for it) or some idea (the desire to make a scientific discovery, become popular, save the world).
Motivation can be positive or negative, and one action can indicate different types of motivating factors. So, if a person goes to his job because they won’t hire him anywhere else, otherwise he will have nothing to eat, this is negative motivation, coming, one way or another, from a feeling of fear.
If a person works to become a respected professional in his circles, to gain fame, to make a revolution in science, this is a positive motivation. If a person only needs money for food and housing, this is a negative motivation based on the fear of hunger and fear for his safety. If you need money for a trip around the world or your own creative project, this is a positive motivation. There are other gradations of motivation.
Types of motivation:
- Positive and negative.
- Internal and external.
- Stable and unstable.
Sustainable motivation is one that does not require additional reinforcement, i.e. the desire to avoid hunger and danger. It is, as a rule, negative, i.e. based on destructive emotions such as fear. Unsustainable motivation requires additional reinforcement. For example, in order for a person not to lose enthusiasm for creativity, he needs, relatively speaking, applause and positive feedback from the audience or readership. One way or another, unstable motivation is often positive.
Regarding internal and external motivation, it is worth clarifying that the same actions in different situations can be a consequence of different types of motivation. For example, entering a university may be dictated by the fear of joining the army or parental pressure, which is an external motivation. Or it may be dictated by interest in a future profession or the desire to go to study in the capital, which is an internal motivation.
How important is it to motivate yourself to achieve results and productivity? In general, positive intrinsic motivation is much more reliable than negative extrinsic motivation, because negative extrinsic motivation will end as soon as the stressor disappears. For example, your conscription age will end or you will be able to move away from your parents and live as you see fit.
Unsustainable motivation, no matter how strange it may seem to some, is more reliable than stable one. In the world of modern opportunities, earning a piece of bread and sausage is not so difficult; a used car and a vacation in Antalya are also quite affordable. If basic needs are satisfied, and the person does not care about anything else, the motivation for further development disappears.
It’s different when the goal keeps you in good shape for many years and is not calculated only by the size of your salary, the stars of the vacation hotel and the age of the purchased car. It’s especially good when you have like-minded people. As the author of the book “Willpower: How to Develop and Strengthen” Kelly McGonigal aptly noted, “in the company of purposeful people it is easier to set goals and achieve them” [K. McGonigal, 2013].
But an example of positive effective motivation can be considered the statement of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook: “We do not create a quality product in order to make money from it. We make money to create a quality product." However, motivation alone for high productivity will not be enough. We also need specific and regular actions to achieve results, and this requires self-control.
