Is increasing your productivity one of your New Year’s resolutions?
I recently read an article by Stephanie Vozza that outlined a number of productivity tips she culled from various CEOs and entrepreneurs. Given how connected we are in today’s 24/7 world, one of their universal frustrations was getting focused work done. Here are 6 ideas for you from Vozza’s article:
- Keep one day a week meeting free. Meetings are a necessary way to communicate among your team and the verbal communication can be critical for understanding. However, meetings are also a disruption to getting work done. One person’s meeting is another person’s disruption. CEO Dustin Moskovitz at Asana has implemented a “no meeting Wednesdays” rule so actual work free of disruptions happens.
- Take a nap. Many of the top CEOs and business owners take a nap during the workday to recharge. Studies have revealed higher levels of productivity occur when you take a 10-20 minute nap daily. The timing of the nap depends on your optimal work cycle. Some people take a nap after lunch as they digest their food, and others take one following their afternoon coffee. The caffeine from the coffee doesn’t kick in until about 20-30 minutes later, just enough time to nap and then get a jump start on your next cycle of work.
- Allow downtime to think. Downtime is critical for a business owner to think about their business strategically. “Doing” all the time does not allow for space for planning. Sara Blakely, CEO of Spanx, lives near her office, however, she does a “fake commute” where she drives aimlessly around so she can have her thoughts come to her in the quiet car ride commute to work. She can then write down an idea and be ready for the day. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, would take “think weeks” and retreat to a secluded location to read and think about the business.
- Be email specific and send fewer emails. CEO Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn sends as few emails as possible. He noticed that most of his email clutter was the result of response threads in emails where too many people were copied who felt they needed to respond. After he decided to write and respond to only the absolutely necessary emails, he noticed a dramatic decrease in the volume coming to his inbox. Another tip is to give a specific deadline in your email to help shorten the back and forth.
- Decide quickly. Have you ever experienced the “paralysis by analysis” over an issue when people get frozen in their decision making? Meg Whitman, former CEO of Hewlett Packard, said “a fast no is better than a long-extended no or long-extended yes. It helps knowing that when you make mistakes, you can always fix mistakes.”
- Make a list. I start each week with a list of activities that I want to accomplish for myself and my clients. It helps me prioritize what needs to get done and when. Brian Chesk, CEO of Airbnb, says he “makes a list of everything you want to accomplish that day. Be as exhaustive as possible…. grouping similar tasks together.” This helps me ensure as much as possible that things don’t fall through the cracks. While the system is not perfect, it is a way to help stay on track.
Productivity and time management have always been a key component of an effective leader. Today with all of the distractions that surround us, it’s even more important to stay vigilant on maintaining our productivity to help us win each day.
Cheers to increasing your productivity!
Mike