Time management techniques for increasing workplace productivity

Increasing workplace productivity is easily defined: getting more work done in less time. Now, unless you have developed some kind of machine that slows down time or allows you to stop time while you do work, you are going to have to become more efficient in one of those two areas. This article is focused on using your time more efficiently.

You can use time more efficiently. You do not need any kind of pills to move faster. You do not need to artificially psyche yourself up or move at a speed that you are not comfortable with. You need to use the blocks of time you have more efficiently. This is usually called time management. It really is self discipline. It is the self discipline of following your schedule.

Here are 5 steps to developing a schedule that you can actually follow:
1. Write down all your tasks on paper. Don’t organize them or prioritize them yet. Just make sure that every task you have to do is listed on paper and is in front of you before you go to step 2.
2. Pull out all the tasks that must be done on or by a specific date. For example, list everything that must be done today. And by “must” I mean “terrible things will happen if it is not done,” not “my boss or client will be upset.” For example, if I don’t file a lawsuit before the statute of limitations has expired, I could lose my license to practice law.
3. Of the remaining tasks, pull out all the tasks that must be done this week. These are most likely the “my boss or client will be angry” tasks. If these tasks are not completed this week, there is a tangible consequence. So put them in the proper relation to your other tasks.
4. Of the remaining tasks, pull out all the tasks that must be done in the next thirty days. There are most often research type of tasks or groundwork laying type of tasks, that eventually become the tasks listed in #1. They may be important to your boss or your client, but they simply do not need to be done today.
5. Schedule appointments with your tasks. Treat them with the same respect that you treat your boss and your clients. And force interruptions to treat them with the same respect.

There is more and more pressure and stress for people to be increasing workplace productivity. And the worst part is that increasing your productivity is rarely if ever rewarded. If your way of keeping up is to work faster, and internalize the stress, your reward is weight gain, sleep deprivation, and a heart attack. See if your current time management system is flexible enough to handle more pressure.

The stress from all of this is invisible to the people putting the stress on you. They really do not care about what they are doing to you. In addition to a more efficient time management system, you can also use stress management coaching to learn how you personally need to handle your personal stress. Because stress is personal. It is aimed straight at your heart, so your method of handling it needs to be your personal system. Using coaching may be the best way for you to develop this.