In part 3 we covered different tips and strategies to help your efficiency and productivity in your personal lives. Some of those strategies also can apply to a workplace setting; however there are other well-known and numerous techniques that exist specifically for a workplace environment.
I have collected 12 techniques below to give a good variety of these approaches:
· Eat that Frog Method- your most important or worst task is your frog. You schedule yourself to tackle that task first thing in the morning. Once you have finished with the frog you can move on to other tasks for the day, but not before. This method guarantees that after the frog is finished, the rest of the day will be easier to accomplish- giving motivation.
· Pareto analysis says that 80% of consequences come form 20% of causes. You find your key activities (the 20%) and focus on only them. This way you can achieve as much as 80% of your desired outcome. It is useful for categorizing courses of action according to their importance. This assists people in using their resources efficiently and improving problem solving.
· Inbox-Zero Method is an approach for managing your email inbox- you aim to keep it empty or close to zero. You schedule a time in the day to address the email, and silence other notifications. Prioritize your emails by addressing them then, moving to a ‘needs a response’ folder, delegate to another or deleting / archive old messages. This keeps you focused on the task at hand and not distracted at other times and decreases the number of unread emails.
· Eisenhower Matrix (see in strategies in Part 3). It is a straightforward principle to prioritizing tasks and it allows you to consider what tasks you can delegate or eliminate.
· Time blocking divides the day into specific blocks of time. There are 4 stages to time blocking: Planning, Blocking, Acting and Revision. It is a comprehensive way to track your tasks throughout the day, gives a sense of control over the workload and helps with deep focus on the task at hand.
· Time boxing you allocate time periods to activities. You work within the time period, then stop once the time runs out. Is often used with deadlines, specifically in project management. Is beneficial with a large number of small tasks, it helps perfectionists to move on to a new task and stop tweaking an old project, it does not allow for multi-tasking. It can be too rigid and counterproductive for some projects.
· Getting Things Done Method is a 5 step process including: Capture, Clarify, Organize, Reflect and Engage. This task management approach helps prioritize tasks and stop overthinking big and small tasks, therefore reducing stress and increasing productivity and clarity of thought. It assists in clearing your heal once all of the tasks are laid out in front of you.
· 10-Minute Rule You tell yourself you are going to work on a task for 10 minutes, then you reflect on you progress and determine if you continue for another 10 minutes. Gives a sense of momentum and decreases feeling overwhelmed and procrastinating.
· Pomodoro Method breaks time into 25-minute time slots of focused work with a 5-minute break following. There is then a longer break (15-30 minutes) after 4 work intervals. This is designed to help people resist procrastinating and multitasking, gives a better time estimate for work and the regular breaks help eliminate burnout and improve performance.
· Swiss Cheese Method breaks down a large project into smaller projects. The technique “pokes holes” in an overwhelming task by breaking it into tasks that take 5-10 minutes to complete. And maybe, just maybe, that 10 minutes is enough to continue focusing on the task for longer. This makes tasks less daunting with less procrastination and more productivity.
· 1-3-5 Rule is a technique where you categorize your tasks into 3 groups based on importance; big things, medium things and little things. You then focus your attention on: 1 big thing, 3 medium things and 5 little things. You begin with the big thing then as you complete it you are feeling accomplished and motivated you continue with the medium things, then finally the little things. It is recommended to keep a list of tasks nearby at all times and to be flexible- some days you will be super busy and will not be able to tackle all of the tasks that day.
· Kanban Method is a visual technique that helps to follow the progress of your projects. You track how the tasks are moving across differently labeled columns. You determine the number and titles of the columns. It helps to clearly represent the entire work situation and gives a straightforward visual on the progress of the projects. It can be motivating for the teams to focus on progressing their projects across the board to reach the ‘done’ column.
Whether you are the boss or a team-player, I know there is something on the above list that is possibly intriguing you, and will definitely help to improve you, or your employee’s productivity and efficiency and create a better work environment with less stress.
Thank you for staying with me for all 4 parts of this series! I hope you learned some good information, useful tips and strategies and are able to set yourself on the path to a healthier, less stressful and overall better future!!
Resources:
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Stay tuned for my next blog in 2 weeks concerning Personal Goal Setting.
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Author: Jen Hassaj | 11-15-23
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