This is Part 3 of the Workplace Productivity Tips.
11. Chunk similar tasks together.
Doing tasks that are similar together can save you time from having to switch mental modes and will also cut down preparation time. Let's face it. A lot of what we call "work" is really just preparing to work. Things like organizing papers, adjusting your seat, refilling your cup of coffee or water, checking your email for the 20th time, etc. By putting similar tasks together, you can jump from one task to the next with little down time in between. This can save you hours a week.
Another way you can use this is when you are out running errands. If you have different places to stop at during the week that are in the same general area, do it all on one trip if possible. This will not only save you time, but it'll save you gas as well. It's also good if you know the shortest routes around your city. That way, you can get to different places that you need to be in the shortest amount of time possible saving you more valuable time.
12. Speedy emailing.
When you are communicating through email, if it's not necessary to be detailed, don't be. If you can answer an email in a sentence, do so. You want to be clear to avoid having to have clarification emails but you also want to be succinct. Of course, this will sometimes depend on who you are emailing as well. There are lots of people who talk about email etiquette and how every email should have an appropriate format to it. Well, if you're just emailing someone you know, why bother? If you can answer the email by typing the word, "Yes", then do it. Think of it as online chatting, but not as instant.
When it comes to more formal replies, then yes, you want to start by addressing the person, summarizing the previous conversation and so on. Now if the person you are doing business with replies in a clear succinct fashion, you want to do the same. People with high productivity normally don't like to be bothered with long emails that could've been summarized in a sentence or two. If you can, avoid wasting their time and yours by just getting to the point.
13. Organize your workspace.
When you have a cluttered desk where you find it hard to locate certain things you need, your productivity will suffer. By keeping a well maintained, organized desk, you can continue with your work flow without being interrupted just to look for your stapler. Generally, you want to do the organization of your desk when you aren't in the middle of working or getting ready to get to work. Many people will tend to do this and call it part of work but what they are really doing is just procrastinating.
This is something that should be done every few days or so depending on how much stuff you normally have lying on your work desk. If you put this off for too long, you'll have to spend more time getting things organized. It's a lot easier to put a few out of place documents back to where it's suppose to be than to reorganize the entire desk. If your desk is currently so messy that you can't even see its surface and you really don't have the motivation to organize everything, what you can do is just focus on a small section of the desk really quick before you leave for the day. Over several days, assuming that you don't mess everything up again during your workday, everything should be in place.
14. Use voicemail.
When you are about to go into the zone, meaning you're in the state of deep focus, don't let interruptions like phone calls ruin your flow. During these times, you will get a lot more done then any other times in the day. So when it happens, take advantage of it and get the most out of it. We generally have a certain time of the day when this happens. If you already know which part of the day you are normally most productive and it doesn't involve using the phone, set it to silent or turn off the ringer and let it go straight to voicemail.
As you know, a simple phone call can end up being a long conversation that can completely destroy you flow and of course decrease your productivity. If you have the luxury of having a secretary, then you can have them prevent any calls from getting through to you during that time. If you don't, then just use voicemail.
15. Get workplace productivity ideas from workers.
For every company, there will be dozens of processes and procedures that your employees will go through on a daily basis. Since they are the ones working on the projects all day long, they are normally the best to ask for productivity ideas. Depending on the environment you have created, increased efficiency should be something that your employees want to shoot for. Of course, there will be people who just want to do enough work to keep their jobs so they are probably not right people to ask, but they are the ones who you want approval from if you implement any new procedures. If you can get them to support it, they are more likely to actually do it. Have a suggestion box available so people can be anonymous if they choose to.
