I have always been of the mind that motivation and implication both have a positive impact on productivity. Although I still believe in the power of both attitudes and their relationship with increased productivity, nowadays things have changed. Now I believe that it is motivation itself that has to help us control and plan our productivity.
Do any of you know the word “procrastination”? Although its origin is a mystery for many people, I’m sure that its meaning is fairly familiar to all: “the act (or habit) of putting off an action or task that needs to be done for other more irrelevant but agreeable actions or tasks.”
Acknowledging this habit is the first step towards controlling your own productivity.
It is true that inspiration at work is cyclic, with its ups and downs. Therefore, the only option open to us is to plan. Periods of low productivity should be tackled on two fronts: you have to fight against procrastination and always ask yourself the following question when paralysed by indecision: What should I be doing at this moment?!
A few recommendations:
1. Self-control – Start the day by carrying out a pending task; although you should put a stop to starting the day with a pleasant task. Tip: before going home, leave a note on your desk with the first task that you will carry out on the following day. It will certainly be something that you don’t feel like doing first thing in the morning, but dedicate five minutes of your time to tackling it and you’ll see that it is more agreeable than you thought.
2. Mini pauses – Set an amount of time for a specific task. Tip: divide the task into subtasks, with a 15-minute break between each one, every 90 minutes (the time depends on each person), during which you can do something that really motivates you: blogging, checking e-mails, making telephone calls, designing, reading the newspaper, logging on to Facebook, having a coffee, etc.
3. My list – Organize and prioritize your tasks. Tip: ask yourself what you should be doing at the moment, and make a list. Prioritize your tasks by urgency and importance, weighing up each of one of these aspects separately.
4. Get into a habit – Make sure that each one of these actions becomes a habit in your daily work. Tip: to get into a habit, you have to go step by step, starting with what you like most. If need be, there are a number of established methods, such as Jerry Seinfeld’s.
5. Control yourself – Evaluate objectively the results. Tip: start a personal productivity diary, jotting down the time you dedicate to each task, including those that you regard as unimportant. At the end of the day, check it to evaluate your performance!
And remember: "Bad planning is worse than no planning at all," Richard Selten.
