6 Tips to Maximize Business Productivity

Do you want to ramp up your business productivity, increase work output among your employees and improve your workplace efficiency? If yes, this article is for you.

Business productivity is not merely about purchasing the newest technology or hiring awesome talent. It is more about making the most of the resources available to you.

If you want to increase your business’s productivity, start by doing the following …

Delegate Your Less Important Tasks

You should not have to do everything in the workplace. Follow the 80/20 principle. 80 percent of your results will come from the most important 20 percent of your tasks. So take those on yourself, then delegate the remaining 80 percent of your tasks to subordinates, or outsource them.

This will go a long way in helping you achieve more, as well as become more productive. Since your energies are focused, your time will be more productive on the tasks where it matters.

Set Deadlines and Stick to Them

Multiple studies have shown a correlation between writing your deadlines on a piece of paper and your brain’s ability to achieve them.

These studies show that when you set a goal, your brain automatically focuses and tries to achieve that goal within the stated timeline using the information it has available. So, set those goals, break them down into manageable units that will make achieving the goal easier, and write down deadlines for each piece.

Work in Time Blocks

If you have not heard of the Pomodoro technique, you probably have not been as productive as you could. This involves setting a timer for anywhere from 25 to 35 minutes then doing focused work until the bell rings. Now take a 5-minute break, then repeat. After doing this work/break period four times, take a 15 to 20-minute break. If you work in time blocks, you will find that you get more done than if you try to work in long, extended stretches.

Eliminate All Distractions

All workplaces have distractions. The trick is knowing what to do to eliminate those distractions. If you are working in your office, something as simple as closing the door and putting up a “Do Not Disturb” sign or instructing your personal assistant to hold all calls will do.

If you are working in an open space, however, it is imperative to look for ways to minimize distractions. For starters, turn off your internet and put your phone in airplane mode (or if you need to receive calls, turn off all of your notifications). Put on a noise cancelling headset to block out all noises. Then get to work. You’ll achieve more without these distractions than with them.

Avoid Meetings or Hold Standing Meetings

Meetings must be avoided where possible. However, when you cannot avoid the meeting, try holding a standing meeting. Standing meetings help you get to the point more quickly. Many employees point to meetings as the chief time waster in their organizations.

If you can’t avoid meetings and a standing meeting isn’t feasible, try to minimize the frequency of meetings. For example, limit a required meeting to one 30-45 minute session per week. If there has to be a follow-up meeting, invite only the individuals crucial to the meeting and send out a memo to other employees.

Go Paperless

Often, many hours are lost in the process of looking for lost or misplaced documents. It’s not uncommon to spend more time searching for a document than extracting the necessary information from it. Change that by simply going paperless. Rapid file navigation and almost-instant document search will put the information you need right at your fingertips. Multiple this small amount of time saved by the number of documents you look at a day, and you’ll see some significant productivity gains.