Article provided by Avitus Software
What is productivity?
- Productivity is using less to create more,
- Productivity is working smarter, not harder,
- Productivity is using time efficiently.
“Productivity is more than just the measure of how effectively resources are used to produce outputs. It is all about using less to create more – to work smarter, not harder. Productivity is a mindset that continuously aspires to better ways of accomplishing tasks and conducting business. At the heart of productivity is the individual. An organisation can only become more productive through continuous upgrading of knowledge, skills, discipline, effort and, collaboration” – (Productivity SA)
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1. Social media
Social media is a huge productivity killer.
Do you realise that the productivity of your office could already have suffered no less than 10% over the past number of years due to distractions from social media?
The following are extracts from recent studies that could help you in your decision to implement a social media policy in the business.
“Organizations that allow unrestricted usage of social media are risking somewhere between 15% to a whopping 45% drop in productivity of their employees”
“Mobile devices are the biggest distraction during the workday. Employees waste an average of 56 minutes per day, or nearly five hours a week, using their mobile devices for non-work activities”
“There is no improving the future without disturbing the present”
– Catherine Booth
2. Planning and scheduling
You just cannot make money by providing a service or selling goods if you do not have enough customers, and if you do not provide a quality service or product to them.
You need to get customers and retain them. Retention is cheaper than acquisition
- 70% of customers will keep on doing business with you if you deal fairly with them
- 80% of your profits will come from 20% of your customers
- 87% of all daily activities are directly attributed to customers
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a serious influence on most businesses worldwide and demanded a rethink of planning and operational issues. Many businesses now have employees working from home, and controlling the activities of the team members require a different approach.
Efficient planning, scheduling, and control of the multitude of tasks to be performed in a business demands more than the outdated use of whiteboards, spreadsheets, diaries, sticky notes, rolodexes, emails, etc
There are many online task management applications available to manage the tasks and to-do lists of employees
The evaluation of a suitable system should include the following:-
- It must be an online system that is able to operate on laptops, tablets and smartphones
- The system must be practical and user-friendly and not require any official training
- It should be an integrated system catering for task scheduling and the contact details of customers, suppliers etc.
Another important aspect of planning is delegation. You cannot, and should not do everything yourself.
Delegating tasks empowers your team, builds trust, assists with the professional development of team members, and increases overall productivity.
“Persistence is what makes the impossible possible, the possible likely, and the likely definite.”
– Robert Half
3. Perfectionism
Perfection is an illusion. The reality is that nothing is ever perfect.
The major causes of perfectionism are fear of failure, criticism, disapproval, inadequacy, a low self-esteem and a belief that you can control the outcome.
Being obsessed with perfectionism can cause procrastination, burnout and health issues.
To overcome perfectionism, you should set realistic and attainable goals, and acknowledge and accept that everyone makes mistakes.
“Perfection does not guarantee success. If anything it’s a hindrance”
– Dr. John Maxwell
Your productivity and profits can get an immediate boost when attention is given to these three major killers of productivity.
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