Boosting Productivity and Avoiding Multitasking

Boosting Productivity and Time Management

Ask any successful business or entrepreneur or supervisor out there, and I’m sure they will tell you boosting productivity to higher levels is a crucial aspect in ensuring revenue company growth and achieving individual success.

In fact, many individuals and corporations willingly invest large sums of money and effort for boosting productivity. Higher levels of productivity in employees (whether as part of an organization or alone) helps to bring them closer to their success targets within a shorter time period, and prevents needless wastage of time, money and effort.

Boosting productivity to improve revenue and company success

The dictionary defines productivity as “the quality, state, or fact of being able to generate, create, enhance, or bring forth goods and services”. To explain it simply on a more individual level – it is just how much one worker can get done in a set period of time.

And when productivity is mentioned, time management is usually also brought up; they go hand in hand. Both are strongly correlated – higher levels of productivity is usually the result of better time management.

All That You Know About Time Management Is Wrong

Yup, you got that right.

Your understanding of time management is very likely…

Wrong!

All you know about employee productivity is wrong

Time management is in fact, a misnomer. Time cannot be managed or influenced; it is something that is pretty much out of our control. All of us, despite our social or financial background, are allocated 24 hours in a day, no more or less. Once gone, there’s no way we can get it back.

Our day-to-day responsibilities – be they family or work, take up a large portion of our time. Not only that, time is fleeting and so easily stolen without recognizing it. Unexpected things pop up all the time. Priorities change. Things can go terribly wrong. Individuals get sick, or tired reducing their productivity.

You can only do so much – you’re just a single worker in likely a team project, after all.

However, you can, control YOU. And your CHOICES. Time management is more correctly, all about self-discipline and task management. It’s the management of expectations as well as interruptions. It is the ability to manage your actions, habits and priorities based on the time you are given. It is understanding what matters most, making a choice to make room for that in your workday, and getting rid of the unnecessary, unimportant stuff that’s hogging up your valuable time.

Also, time management is not a one system fits all method. There is no perfect method. Different individuals have different styles – we’re all wired differently in terms of personality type, identity and individual life circumstances. Some may find that a to-do list works for them; others may find to-do lists hard to follow and demotivating. It’s all about finding your groove – different strokes for different folks.

Multitasking for Boosting Productivity?

Multitasking because you want to manage time better?

Bad idea.

Contrary to popular belief, faster and more is NOT always better. Multitasking is one way to destroy your productivity levels rather than boosting productivity.

avoiding multitasking to boost productivity

Sure… you seem to get more done this way.

However, you are probably more likely to make mistakes – which will result in your having to repeat assignments. Stick to focusing on one task at a time, and taking sufficient breaks whenever possible – you’ll stand to accomplish more this way. Now, we’ve mentioned that juggling multiple tasks at one time is counterproductive. However, striving to complete each task no matter how long it takes is also not a wise idea when it comes to time management – another common misconception regarding time management. Restrict your time spent on a task, and schedule accordingly.

As you can see, a lot of what we know regarding time management is, in fact, myths. Many of us have skewed perceptions or misinformation when it comes to time management. These myths, over time, through the workers around us or the media we consume, become deeply ingrained within our mindsets.  We eventually regard them as facts and hold on to them.  As a result, we prevent ourselves from truly and fully boosting productivity in any aspect of our work and careers.