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What is productivity and why is it important?
Productivity is one of the major factors that can drive your business to success or failure.
It is a word that has been thrown around frequently. The
truth of the matter is, that productivity has a more complex meaning.
Just because you are
more productive than your colleague does not mean that you are productive.
If you make your
business more efficient and productive than your competitors, you will be on
the right track to success.
What Is Productivity?
The most basic definition of productivity, the one I use, is
this:
In the context of business, productivity is maximizing the
creation, or the generation, of wealth through the use of time, talent and
assets.
We want to have the most creative use of the assets we have
to create as much wealth as we can in a given period.
However, being productive does not mean that you must have
more hours of work than you do.
It is also not about
making yourself a slave. You do not have to work non-stop.
It is not about
making a lot of money by working a lot. And you do not have to work in your
office for eight hours per day, five days a week.
"...you measure productivity by how much you produce in
a year given the resources at hand. It's an easy metric to explain to people
and even easier to measure." -Bill
It might seem like an abstract concept, but it has an impact
on everything in life:
If we don't have the right amount of time or if we don't
have the right amount of talent, we won't get as much done as we could. At the
same time, we don't want to get too distracted or burned out.
If we don't have enough resources and understanding of the
assets we have, it could take longer to achieve our objectives.
So, productivity is all of the above.
It's about getting the most out of the time, the assets, and
the talent you have. If we're serious about building wealth, we need to be
thinking about our productivity all of the time.
The time you spend on a project, the projects you're working
on, the number of hours you spend out of the office... all of these things have
an impact on how successful you are.
Let Me Illustrate What I Mean A Bit;
For example, if you're working 12-hour days 5 days a week,
for 50 weeks a year and you have 50 weeks of vacation, that's 200 hours a year
you could be taking off to enjoy your life.
That leaves you 40 hours a week to spend on your projects. A
productive person works 40 hours a week and gets as much done as they can. A
non-productive person works 40 hours a week and just gets by.
Productivity Is A Fact Not Opinion..
Some people would argue that we should work less and enjoy
life more. But, as much as we enjoy our work, I think there's a lot of
satisfaction to be had there.
At some point, if we don't get everything else we need to be
done, we're going to fall behind on what we want to achieve.
At some point, we have to prioritize..
That being said, I think the world needs more productive
people.
I believe we're all capable of getting more done in less time than we're currently doing. I think more people can be more productive.
But this can't be said enough...
You can be a productive person if you put your mind to it.
It just takes work.
Some Facts About Productivity
Productivity means that you need to work smarter and not
harder. You also need to work on the areas of your business that are least
productive.
To create a business that is more efficient and productive
than others. You should have an idea of what you need to change to become more
efficient.
Below are 10 Facts about what productivity is, and what you
need to know about how to become more efficient.
Fact 1. Productivity Means To Work Better Than Your Competitors
When you are not productive, you are not working your
business to a successful level. You might have done a good job, but your
business has to be more efficient, and that means that you are doing less than
your competitors.
Productivity means
that you are working smarter than your competitors, and not harder.
You need to come up
with a method of working smarter, and not harder. You also need to work on the
things that have less impact on the success of your business.
For example, if you own a bakery, you do not need to work on
your baking skills. You need to focus on things like improving your business’
website or making your business more social media-friendly
These are things that you can improve as your business
grows.
If you are focusing
on how to become more productive, then you are already thinking about the
future of your business. That is the smartest thing you can do.
Fact 2. More Time With Yourself Means Enough Time To Do What You Enjoy.
If you enjoy working on your business, you are less likely
to get stressed and tired.
There is also less work involved in it. But if you are
working a lot, you are likely to work on something that does not interest you.
Your stress and exhaustion will grow as you start working
harder on areas that do not interest you. When you are working smarter on the
things that you do enjoy, you are more likely to be more productive.
If you are working more hours of your day, you are not going
to have more time for yourself. So, If
you want to make more money, you have to work on improving the things that are
not going well.
In this case, you need to focus on things like improving the
effectiveness of your team or increasing your marketing budget. You are more
likely to be productive if you work smart, not harder.
Fact 3. Productivity Means To Work Fewer Hours Per Day
When you are more productive, you do less work in the same
amount of time. If you make an hour of work look like two hours, then you are
in a better position to work on what is not productive.
Moreover, if you are to work your normal working hours, and also
to do an hour of overtime. You are still going to accomplish less than before
on the same job.
You need to look at the way your business operates, and then
set goals for your business to improve your productivity.
If you need to work to increase your productivity, you
should cut back on the things that you are not doing well.
You need to find ways to increase your efficiency and
productivity. If you work too hard on areas of your business that are not
productive, you are going to get stressed and start making mistakes.
You have to work on areas of your business that you do not
like, and that is likely to do better for the business.
Fact 4. Productivity Means To Be More Success
Productivity is how much you get done, in the least amount
of time. You need to make a lot of money if you going to be more productive.
You may be able to
accomplish more when you are working smarter. As such you need to find ways to
improve the things that are not doing well, and that will allow you to work
more efficiently.
Also, you have to work on areas of your business that have
the most impact on your success. Because if you put a lot of time into
non-productive areas, you will accomplish less, than when you work in areas
that have a high impact on the business success.
So, if you want to become more successful, you have to work
on finding better ways to improve your business. You should look at how your
team is doing, and whether there are areas of the business that you are not
investing time on.
If you must make more money, then you should be capable of
working on the things that will allow you to do more in less time than your
competition.
Fact 5. Productivity Means Not Spend More Than You Need.
If you have a small
business, you need to find ways to get the most out of it. For instance, you have to find the things that
are least productive and make them more productive.
Again, you need to look out for ways to increase your
ability for money management, so that you spend less money.
Consequently, you must be able to save money by cutting back
on things that are not essential to your business.
This is by making for ways to cut back on unnecessary
spending. You are going to discover that you must cut back on things like
marketing, advertising, travel, and even your staff.
If you spend too
much, you are not going to be able to accomplish more than you do now.
FACT 6. Productivity Means To Have Less Stress.
Productivity means that you are not spending more time
stressed than you need. You are not going to get anything done if you are
stressed out.
You have probably had
enough stress in your life. So, make ways to improve your work and that is
going to mean that you have to make some changes to your approach.
You need to find ways to cut back on the things that are
getting you stressed. However, if you are in a good work situation, you do not
need to worry about stress.
You will discover that when you are too busy to work on the
things that are important to your business, stress is going to set in.
And when stress keeps growing, your energy is going to
become less productive. So, if you are always stressed with activities in your
business, you are less likely to achieve success.
When you are feeling stressed, your business is not going to
work as well as it should.
Benefits Of Productivity In Business
There are many reasons why businesses struggle to be
productive and one that comes up all the time is people’s lack of self-discipline.
It can be tough for people to get out of their comfort zone
and develop new ways of thinking.
Here are some benefits of Productivity in your business.
1. Better Quality Product or Service
The way that productivity is measured, a standard has to be
established to measure whether an organization is being productive or not.
However, if the standards are set too high, quality could be
compromised. The result could be a product or service that is substandard and
less than what it could be.
However, if standards are too low and productivity is
measured as a standard, a huge amount of low-quality work is produced. It would
be very easy to fall into a trap of producing work that is below standard.
However, in this kind of environment, it would be very easy
for mistakes to be made and quality could be compromised.
Therefore, a standard set too low could lead to a whole lot
of low-quality work being produced.
2. Greater Profits.
When an organization is producing a greater amount of work
than expected, there is a chance that the revenue coming in is going to be
greater than anticipated.
This is a good thing and a sign of great success in the organization
as criticized in the past for not being able to predict sales numbers with any
accuracy.
However, the flip side of that is that an organization could
be predicting that they are going to be under the revenue that it would have
expected.
Which means that they
won’t be able to pay out the expected amount.
3. Higher Return on Investment.
In terms of business investments, a higher return on
investment is better. You would want to make sure that the ROI on your
investments is as high as possible.
This comes back to how business owners and owners of
companies measure their productivity.
If they are producing
low-quality work and investing a lot in it, they will not get the same level of
return on investment. The higher the quality of the work and the more efficient
the business is, the better it is for everyone.
The ROI is going to be greater as the time invested by staff
is being rewarded by higher revenues.
4. Fewer Costs.
If an organization can invest in an in-house development
team or can outsource the delivery of their products, this could add
significantly to the cost of the product or service being delivered.
However, if the organization is being productive, they will
have more to spend on people than they would have otherwise.
A productive business
will generate enough revenue to be able to pay for these extra costs without
affecting quality.
5. Fewer Staff.
When an organization is productive, more can be achieved
with the same number of people as it takes to produce at a standard level.
It doesn’t mean that this work can’t be done at all, but it
will be much less complex and therefore much less intensive than standard work.
The result is that fewer people are required to produce more work than would
otherwise be the case.
6. More Customers.
Productivity can be detrimental for businesses because of
how it affects the way that customers view them.
If an organization is being productive and can meet customer
demands better, they write seen as being much more efficient than should have
been if they were producing at a standard level.
Customers will be more likely to come to you because of your
organization’s productivity. They will be able to see that you are getting work
done quickly and efficiently, which will make them more willing to buy from
you.
7. Lower Maintenance Costs.
If your organization is producing a lot of work and is doing
so in a more efficient manner, it will not require as much maintenance to keep
it going.
When a business is not being productive and it does not
produce as much work. It will have to invest more in people and resources, as
well as in new equipment.
The cost to make sure that the business is operating
efficiently will be substantial.
8. Productivity Reduces the Overhead Costs.
Having a business of your own can be a tough undertaking.
Because there is a huge amount of money that would be
invested into the organization, as well as a lot of staff to pay.
But if the organization takes Productivity very seriously
and is producing as much work as it can. Then the amount of effort and
resources it takes to keep the business going will be significantly less than
what is required to keep the business at a standard level.
However, f an organization is spending money on a lot of
things that aren’t productive, they are also being much more expensive to
operate.
9. Productivity Creates Better Relationships.
Being productive can be beneficial for relationships within
a business and between a business and its suppliers.
If an organization is productive, it will be able to produce
a high amount of work at a standard level. In turn, this will make the supplier
relationship easier.
It will make it much simpler for the organization to predict
how much work they are going to be able to get from the supplier.
It is a lot easier to get information about an organization
that is productive, as they will be having a more transparent business model.
10. Better Opportunities For The Future.
If you are looking to the future, being productive will lead
to opportunities opening up for you to be much more successful.
It is much easier to predict what the organization will be
able to deliver in the future if they are in Productivity.
This means; that if
they can develop the right products or develop the right services, there is a
much greater chance of being successful.
It is much easier to produce great work than to produce
substandard work, which is why the productivity of a business can be so
beneficial.
How To Improve On Your Productivity
To increase or improve your Productivity, either in your business
or career job. You need to learn to do the following tips as part of your life.
1. Decide on a deadline.
If you try to work without a deadline, then you might end up
working on your project for days.
You might even start enjoying it and find the work to be
less engaging and you would eventually lose interest in your work.
What this means is that if you want to increase your
productivity, it is important to set a deadline.
This means that you should have some sort of consequence if
you don’t finish your work before the deadline. But do not set a time
constraint.
2. Set Priorities And Work On The Most Important Thing First.
If you try to follow the ‘last thing first’ rule, you will
end up wasting a lot of time on things that are not important.
You should therefore try to prioritize your work. If you
have to choose between a big project and a small one, I would always choose the
big one. That means that the biggest project should always take priority.
If you are planning to work on a really small project, then
you should either do it first or not do it at all.
3. Focus On Tasks, Not Activities.
If you try to work on
activities, then it will be hard to be consistent and you might end up wasting
a lot of time by doing unnecessary work.
Therefore, if you want to be more productive, you should
focus on doing tasks instead of activities.
The reason for this is that if you don’t concentrate on the
task at hand, you might start playing with it which will make you forget about
it.
This will also make it harder for you to get back to it when
you have to do it again.
4. Work on one task at a time.
To get your work done more efficiently, you should do one
task at a time. This means that you should try to work on just one or two tasks.
This entails that if you have to do four different things,
you should try to do them in two separate sessions and avoid multi-tasking
yourself.
Doing one task at a time allows you to focus more
efficiently. It also gives you a chance to think more about the task you are
doing, without getting distracted by other things.
5. Follow A Process.
Having a process that will allow you to accomplish your work
will make you more consistent, and to get your work done most effectively.
Having a process doesn’t mean that you have to follow the
exact steps in your process each time you do a particular thing.
You should simply
follow the process when it comes to your work.
6. Give your work enough time to be done.
If you try to do all
of your work in a day, then you might end up feeling overwhelmed. So, instead
of doing a lot in a day, you should try to plan your work out properly.
The reason for this is that you should try to do the amount
of work that will let you accomplish your goals in a given period.
You have to consider your current capacity and try to work only on what you can accomplish within your current timeframe.
7. Try to Manage Your Time.
To be more productive, it is important to be as efficient as
you can. It is therefore important that you start to be more disciplined when
it comes to how you manage your time.
Try to have a few hours when you are supposed to work. Make
sure that these hours are not spent doing anything else but work.
It is also important that you plan your work on your schedule.
Don’t try to do your work at a particular time of the day. This would either
force you to work late hours or it would make you tired.
How To Make Yourself More Productive
Here are three things you can do to make yourself more
productive:
- Work Out
- Do A Personal Project
- Write Out A personal Project Plan
Here's a quick summary of each of those things.
1. Work out
Working out, in general, is a great way to be more
productive.
It's one of the best investments I've ever made. It makes me
more productive, more creative, helps me relax, sleep better... The list goes
on.
Even if you just go to the gym one or two times a week, it's
going to make a huge difference.
2. Do A Personal Project.
Most people don't think of their work-life in terms of
having projects they're doing. But I think that if you do, you can increase
your productivity.
If you're working on a project that you're passionate about,
it makes you more productive. Because you're
able to create more meaningful work. You're also able to enjoy it more.
You're also more likely to stay on a project longer if it's
something you're passionate about.
3. Write out a personal project plan.
In case you're wondering why I'm only giving you 3 points
and not 100, I thought you might need it to apply to your projects.
If you want to write out your projects, I would suggest
having something like a personal project plan.
Here's why:
If you have the right level of confidence in a project,
you're going to find it easier to accomplish. But you need to think things
through first. You should be able to know what is going to be done.
So, when you write out a project plan, you've laid the groundwork.
To do that, we have to write it out: What you want to
achieve, what you're going to do, how much time you need, who you're going to
talk to, what resources you need... all of that is better planned out before
you begin.
If you think about it, writing a plan to do a project is
analogous to writing an itinerary for a trip. So, it is vital to plan on paper.
It's important to have a sense of confidence, goals you
believe in, and think through what you're going to do and why you're going to
do it.
There's confidence, I think, that comes from writing out a
plan and knowing what you're going to do and why you want to do it.
There's also the confidence you'll obtain from doing
something more successfully, and getting the results you planned
Conclusion
As we have seen in this article; what Productivity is, how
you can be more productive, and even what to do to improve and increase
productivity in business.
The key to all productivity is to be intentional and
focused. We can all accomplish more in less time.
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