ARE YOU PRODUCTIVE ENOUGH?

If you are working, you are probably doing the work that previously occupied several people. The sad reality for many employees, just because the company downsized, doesn’t mean the work went away. Your success on the job or in the job hunt is not determined by the size of your To Do List, but by your accomplishments. 

Let me ask you some questions. 

• Are you working smarter, not harder? 
• Are you multitasking? 
• Are you working with yourself or against yourself? 

WITH YOURSELF 

Part of working “smarter” is recognizing your personal work rhythms and using them to your advantage. Most people are most productive and creative in the first part of the day. If this is you, are you capitalizing on this and tackling your difficult and important assignments first thing? Or, do you open up your email? 

TIME SINK 

Nothing can eat away at your time like email. It is full of to do’s large and small. It has all this information, most of dubious value. If you are able, don’t open your email until later in the morning. After you’ve completed a step or large chunk of your most important project, THEN open up and answer the email. If your boss or corporate climate requires an immediate response first thing, by all means, open up the email. However – only answer those urgent items that you must. Then begin work on your project. 

If you can, spread the word that your first one or two hours of the day are your project times. Perhaps add a line to your email signature, “I check and respond to email at 10:30 am and 4:00 pm each day. If this is an urgent matter, please reach me by telephone.” Since everyone else is doing their email, you may have fewer distractions and more uninterrupted time. You’ll make more headway in that hour, than two hours in the afternoon. 

TASKING 

Do you multitask or unitask? Multitasking is really just a myth. The brain cannot work on two projects at the same time. What the best so-called multitaskers do is alternate very quickly back and forth. That actually slows you down. It takes more time and energy to do two tasks together versus sequentially. Concentrate on one thing at a time. Get it done (to the stopping point or completely) and move on to the next thing. You’ll be done in less total time and have a higher quality product. Multitasking is also very stressful to your system. Voilá, more productive and less stress! 

Another technique is to batch up your tasks. Put another way, do tasks in blocks of time. Two hours of project time, an hour of phone calls, an hour of email, and so forth. You’ll get a rhythm going as you accomplish several similar tasks in a row. 

IN THE HUNT 

If you are in the job hunt, set specific hours for your job search. Allocate certain times every workday to making the calls, for visiting companies, networking and searching the internet for job postings or research. 

A dream with a plan is a goal. A goal without a plan is just a dream. 

All things are possible, 

Elisabeth 

Elisabeth Adler-Lund 

Executive and Life Coaching 

Telephone: 916 • 803•1494 

E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com