blog.
Efficiency and Productivity - Why They Matter
My previous blog dealt with productivity, a vital concept in achieving goals and, ultimately, leading to a fulfilling life. However, it may surprise you that efficiency is also a paramount concept permeating nearly every aspect of our lives. From how we manage our time to how businesses operate and even how nations develop—it all hinges on efficiency. It represents the ability to accomplish tasks, processes, or objectives with minimal waste of resources, be it time, energy, or materials.
Productivity: What’s in it for You?
Productivity is a term that resonates deeply in personal and professional spheres of life. It is the key to achieving goals, realizing ambitions, and, ultimately, leading a fulfilling life. This article delves into why productivity is crucial for individuals and organizations. It explores three practical ways you and your organization can incorporate productivity into your daily routines.
Lessons from the Management Consulting World
Being a management consultant has its perks. For one thing, we can be selective of our clients. If we’re good at our jobs, clients will also seek out those with exceptional academic qualifications, professional experience, and problem-solving skills.
Drugs and Workplace Productivity
Productivity doesn’t just happen. It takes focus and sustained effort to accomplish work tasks. However, the amount of focus and effort varies, depending on the difficulty of the task.
The opposite is also true. That is, non-productivity does “just happen.” It is so easy to be non-productive – that’s why many of us can slide into a weekend of rest and relaxation without any effort!
But while at work, it is important to do our best to be as productive as possible. And in order to do that, it is equally important to respect our bodies and not use substances that can inhibit our work performance. Ever.
Capitalizing on Strengths
Do you feel “stuck” in a job? Even before the workday is done, can you hardly wait to get out of the office? If so, you may be in the wrong job.
Feeling stuck may be a sign that you are not using your strengths on the job. If you aren’t using your strengths, resentment builds and frustration ensues. Not only that, you are not being productive on the job – think “deadwood” and you’ll get the idea! Let me explain…
Best Time Efficiency Hacks for the Generations
How do you save time? This depends on who you speak to and their age. Each generation has an affinity for different efficiency tools and techniques.
Improving Productivity by Working from Home
Does working from home improve productivity? A Stanford University study of a Chinese travel agency concluded that it does.
Overpowering Boredom
Many people experience boredom, but did you know that there are different types of boredom? And that each of us usually experiences a specific “type” of boredom consistent with our personalities?
Value and Billable Hours
Why do companies and individuals still insist on billing for services “by the hour?” If you are tracking billable hours, you are not being efficient. And, even worse, you are not providing the best possible service to your customers.
When companies focus on billable hours, it may be to the exclusion of other important activities, like building capacity to better serve customers.
Open Office - Productivity Enabler or Slasher?
Today, about 70 percent of employees in the U.S. work in open offices. Despite this high number, you may be surprised to learn that the open office concept is not the be-all and end-all for everyone. Success depends on personal work styles and personalities and how well workers can adapt to the high level of distraction served up by open offices.
Taming Insomnia to Improve Productivity
There are so many reasons to get a good night’s sleep: you feel better, you look better, you perform better, people like being around you … in short, sleep allows us to be our best self. And the benefits of quality sleep extend beyond feelings - ranging from reducing stress to improving productivity.
Most healthy adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. When we lose even one hour of sleep, we experience fatigue the next day and our ability to function may be as effective as an individual whose blood alcohol level is .08.
Improving Work Performance
How’s your productivity? Does the mere mention of the word stir unease? And what about all those uber-organized work colleagues? How is it that they really seem to be on top of their work and, yet, here you are constantly struggling to keep up?
You may be surprised to learn that there’s no secret to improving work performance. It’s all about being organized. And the best part of all is that it’s a skill that anyone can learn.
Kaizen to the Rescue
Successful organizational improvement initiatives depend on successful follow-up and maintenance. To this end, a very effective continuous improvement approach is Kaizen—“change for the best” or “good change.”
Kaizen is a Lean methodology that includes a set of activities applied continuously to all functions in an organization. What sets Kaizen apart from other improvement methodologies is that it involves all employees in the organization—from the CEO to the front line workers.
And it is easy to apply in any type of organization and to all processes within the organization.
The Problem with Problems
Have you ever had one of those days when everything seems to be a problem? Your children are late for school, you miss the bus, and as you arrive at work, you realize that you forgot your meeting notes at home.
On top of that, two of your employees call in sick and before you get a chance to browse your e-mail inbox, your spouse calls asking if you can pick up your son from school because he’s sick. OMG, right?
If you determine that the above scenario qualifies as a problem(s) (i.e., one of “those” days!), you are using what experts call “deficit thinking.” That is, by focusing on problems, our plans of action will be concerned with fixing the problem or correcting the “deficit.” This kind of thinking can be seen not only in our personal lives, but in our organizations, as well.
Managing Energy to Manage Time
Did you know that the higher your energy, the better your ability to manage your time? It’s true. Since there are no limits on our energy, we can use our energy within available time to produce more. The trick is in understanding our individual limitations on available energy. Let me explain.
The Problem with Collaboration
Why would anyone think that collaboration is a problem? After all, aren’t we all supposed to be playing nice in the sandbox? Maybe; but what most people don’t realize is that overuse of collaboration (“over-consultation”) can lead to underperformance and low productivity.
The Key to Productivity
Do you remember the last time you were faced with a task that you didn’t particularly enjoy? Do you remember what you did? If you completed the task, it’s because you started working on it and didn’t stop until the job was done.
“Starting” is the key to productivity.
Not all Priorities are Created Equal
Many clients ask me how I manage to juggle so many competing priorities—they seem to think that I’m always multi-tasking. My response is that not all priorities are the same and you can only work on one priority at any given time. Let me explain.
Time and Money—An Organizational Focus
Poorly run organizations waste time (and time is money). This inhibits the company’s ability to hit markets at optimum times. Allow me to give you an example..
The Little Things ARE Important
When we focus on getting things done, we typically focus on allotting time for the important and time-consuming tasks. If it’s very important and it’s going to take a long time, we must get it done first, right? Yes and no.
In prioritizing, it is easy to forget to take care of work that can be done in a minute or two; regardless of its importance. When we consistently defer doing the little things, they can become big things. And big things can be a lot harder to manage.