Everyone is looking for ways to improve their productivity. Here are some basic, by the numbers, tactics you can use to increase your productivity:

• Stay in the moment: Have specific goals for the day and the week. Goals that reach out too far beyond that timeline are either an actual project, which is managed differently, or are long-term goals that are subject to reality adjustments.
• Complete the most important task first, then the second most important, and so on. (Thank you, Stephen Covey.) Don’t respond to urgent tasks unless you absolutely have to, stay focused on the next task you need to do to complete your priorities. Most interruptions are allowed, not imposed.
• Its ok to say “not now” or even, “no.” Get comfortable not reading every email or returning every call. We all want to be respected and probably, to one extent or another, liked, but working on everyone else’s priorities typically results in not completing your own. Note, this is not an excuse to be unprofessional or rude.
• Stay in touch with your network. This might not sound like a productivity issue but it is. Taking the time to keep relationships solid will produce dividends the next time you have to “beg off” helping someone or the next time you need “an extra set of eyes or hands.” I can get through anything with enough solid relationships; it’s tough going when you’re isolated and alone.
• There is no such thing as multi-tasking. Complete one task at a time. If your boss or client is trying to multi-task, such as listening to you and read emails at the same time, make an excuse and come back when you can have their full attention.
• Sometimes “B” grade work is really an “A” grade work. What I mean is don’t try to do everything perfectly; it increases your odds of failing or burning out. Know when you must give 100% and when it is wiser to give 85% of your best.
• Set up a production run. When I research companies or make phone calls, I do it in bunches for as long as I’m productive. That allows me to get a rhythm going. In college I worked in a machine shop, I used to get everything set up perfectly and then run 500-5,000 parts through without interruption…The boss loved me.

Steve
800-707-9150

If you're thinking of startng a blog one of the first questions you need to ask yourself is: When will I write? It's an important question and not just from a time management perspective. Good writing is clear thinking, so you have to know when your mind works best, when your thoughts and imagination are most lucid.

The easy answer is whenever you feel like writing. We all have our own bio-clock. I write best in the morning, when my mind is clear, my energy level is high and the possibilities are endless. I’ve always been a morning person. I wake up early and widely. New day; let’s go!

Shortly after lunchtime my to-do list mind kidnaps me and I tend to scurry about from one short task to another. The mix of phone calls and emails clutters my cerebral-closet. Staying focused is a bear by late afternoon. It’s NOT my most productive time. By 4:00 I miss my morning and my writing world.

Many people can’t concentrate until the responsibilities of their day are met and the house is quiet. The night is their muse. To them, nighttime is built for dreaming, scheming and reflection on what might have been or what could be. It is a perfect time to write.

I read about a writer (can’t remember and couldn’t locate her name) that said she didn’t consider a story finished until she had a chance to edit it at different times of the day. She needed to see the story from all perspectives. I believe “All her selves,” is what she said. She was a full-time writer, unlike most of us.

My advice is to spend one week writing in the morning and one week writing in the evening. See what feels best and what produces the best work. Similarly, spend a week writing in the morning and editing in the evening and then reverse the approach. Learn by experimenting. Once you’ve settled on an approach, you’ll have more confidence in your ability to produce your best work.

Confidence is a requirement to motivation and success so nurturing your own (confidence) is important work.

Steve