Productivity Tips & Tricks!

Lost time is never found again – Benjamin Franklin

Productivity is a measure of economic performance that compares the amount of goods and services produced (output) with the amount of inputs used to produce those goods and services. 

Simply, getting the RIGHT stuff done in a timely manner.

Busy vs. Productive:

• 86,400 seconds in a day: How are you using them?
• Busy: Getting things done that are currently low value
• Productive: Getting the right wrong done in a timely manner 

Productivity Killers:

• Mindset: What do we believe about our ability to be productive?
• Relationships: small talk, drama or expertise
• Communication: unclear or incomplete
• 3 T’s: Tools, training & technology
• Location/availability
• Notifications from devices

The Cell Phone Distraction

• The average office employee spends 56 minutes per day using their cell phone during work hours (some of you WAY more) for non-work activity.
• Adds up to just under five hours a week of lost productivity, per employee.
• 83% of millennials open text messages within 90 seconds of receiving them.

Social Media Review

• Social media platforms produce the same neural circuitry that is caused by gambling and recreational drugs to keep consumers using their products as much as possible. 
• Retweets, likes, and shares cause the brain’s reward area to trigger the same kind of chemical reaction seen with drugs like Cocaine. 
• We can end up addicted to seeking satisfaction, clicking and scrolling, mindlessly consuming content.

The Interruption Impact

• 12:40 = spent on a task before being interrupted
• 25:26 = elapsed before returning to work on the same task
• 15:00 = required to get back into the same level of concentration
• 2.8 = can cause twice the number of computer errors

Productivity Tools & Techniques

• The Eisenhower Matrix
• The Pomodoro Technique

Other Tools

• Time blocking: specific projects/tasks
• Batching: group similar tasks
• Calendar: get good at budgeting time
• Hourglass
• Noise canceling headset: deep concentration music

Productivity Tips & Tricks 

• Make sure the task aligns with the goal
• Declutter your work area: science behind visual distractions
• Create a NOT TO DO List
• Schedule breaks
• Shut off ALL notifications or remove SM apps from your phone
• Check email on a schedule
• Set & follow deadlines
• Plan ahead: Top 3 Goals/tasks you must complete today: schedule it
• Stop Multitasking: Focus one task at a time
• Get the hard stuff done early
• DO NOT DISTURB sign: Emergency only
• Save unnecessary communication for email time OR Scheduled meetings
• Practice self-care 
• Learn to say NO!

The 80/20 Rule: Pareto Principle: 80 % of your results will come from 20 % of your effort.

Breakout Discussion: 

1. Rate your daily productivity 1=low – 5=I get stuff done
2. What productivity technique/hack do you currently use or which one that we discussed is one you are going to try.

Homework:

1. Implement one or more tip, trick or technique
2. Report back next meeting your productivity progress

Every moment is a choice – and each one has a consequence.

Attendees