How to BE MORE PRODUCTIVE !!!

We have become a multi-tasking society and sometimes it can be difficult to sort through all of our daily activities. Additionally productivity has become the new barometer of career potential in the workplace, so it is imperative that everyone develops these skills. Please read on to find out how to be more productive.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Drive to be more productive at work and to get ahead
• Patience

1. DO THE MOST IMPORTANT TASK 1ST.
   
   As a rule of thumb you should always do the most important task first. The difficult part is you must constantly ask yourself "What is the most important at this moment?". This is why you need to create a "To-Do" list which includes long-term & short-term tasks. This should integrate all aspects of your life. For example - "Go to salon appoinment" is on the same list as "Complete clients requet" because both items are competing for the same, limited amount of your time.
2. KEEP YOUR INBOX EMPTY.
   
   Note that your inbox is not your "To-Do" list because if it is then you are not in control of whats going on your list. You should deal with emails as soon as you have read it and either, respond, file, or delete them. Nothing should be in your inbox. If it stays there you may read the email more than once to see if you've read it before and that is a huge waste of time, not to mention impractical.
3. BECOME REALISTIC ABOUT TIME.
   
   You can schedule all you want but it doesn't do any good if you're not realistic about time. You have to develop a sense of who in your life has a knack for estimating time and who doesn't so that you will be able to compensate for the individuals who hamper your schedule with bad time estimates.
4. FOCUS !!!
   
   Multitasking can be great but sometimes it doesn't help. For example multitasking is great for short, repetitive tasks that you are familiar with. But you should be focused when you try something new or have an important project.
   
   Research has shown that even if you're on the phone and use email and IM at the same time, multitasking decereases you productivity as it compromises our creative thinking.
   
   Sleep deprivation is another culprit to loss of focus, and caffeine will not help. Fortunately you only need a 10 min power nap to get your brain on track.
5. DELEGATE
   
   Now that you know what is most important to you on your "To-Do" list, you will know what to delegate. Delegate as much as you can. At work this does not mean dumping the worst tasks on your co-workers. You should in fact delegate some of the most appealing work and you should do some of the grunt work yourself. This is so that you can get what's most important done it does not matter who gets it done, and you will more likley get more help if you offer appealing work.

Tips & Warnings

• Note that this will take some time and patience.