ToDo lists don’t tell you much
Many people use ToDo lists and apps to keep track of their outstanding tasks. There are also lots of apps available, with different flavours of operation. However, you need to remember that a ToDo list (even
Look After Them
I saw in a recent survey that people who thought their productivity had increased (or at least stayed the same) whilst working from home during the pandemic, also reported that their mental well-being had improved.
Its not the technology driving productivity
People often claim that technology is the key to improved productivity. Firms should, they say, be investing in digital services, robotics, AI, IoT and so on. Generally, there does seem to be a correlation
Don’t Be Overwhelmed
Many people feel overwhelmed at work. The relentless tide of messages and emails seems to set an impossible agenda. So, we need to improve our time management, right? Wrong! If tou create more space by
The Art of Productivity
For some people, art plays an important part in their lives. I’m not talking about ‘the arts’ - if I was, that first statement would probable apply to just about everybody - but to the
Schedule core working hours, not meetings
One of the keys to high productivity is to organise - and then to schedule - work according to its priority and urgency. Too often, though, this potential productivity gets sidelined as other facto come into
Look at the Outcomes
When trying to improve productivity, many people start by looking at inputs - trying to reduce costs by saving materials, energy or manpower. There is nothing wrong with such an approach except that it is
Detoxify Productivity
If your organisation expects you to be ‘always on’, always working, always available by telephone or email, they are exhibiting signs of ‘toxic productivity’. I hate that term for all sorts of reasons but mainly
Its only a Sugar Rush
When the pandemic hit and the world went into ‘lockdown’, most companies moved into remote working, using technology to support employees working from home. There were all sorts of claims that productivity improved as a
Steer Your meetings to Success
If you start your online meetings by simply asking a question such as..”You’ve all seen the plan. Any comments?”, your team members will probably look away from their cameras down at their desks (or kitchen
Accept Poor Performance at your Peril
Measuring performance is essential for a number of reasons. Firstly, as the adage goes … if you can measure it, you can manage it.How do you predict job times if you don’t know the performance
Meetings, B****y Meetings
If you are always moaning about the number of meetings you have to attend, then almost certainly you do have too many meetings. The pandemic - and the forced switch to Zoom and Teams and the
On The Right Track
The UK’s rail franchise system (where private companies bid for the right to tun rail services on the national infrastructure) was introduced to improve competition and efficiency. However, the bids - and the assessment of them
Help us to connect our data
Many companies are looking to improve manufacturing productivity by improving the efficiency of their various machines and other manufacturing facilities - by, in turn, improving their data driven management … monitoring the performance of those
Is Pan-Famine Next?
Agricultural productivity is one of the globe’s (and the twentieth century’s) great success stories. Over that century from 1900 to 1999 the number of people employed in agriculture dropped dramatically, yet yields rose just as
Creativity from Home
There is quite a bit of debate about whether working from home is good or bad for productivity. Are working-from-home employees as efficient as those in the office? The jury is still out.... but perhaps
Invisible Employees Drag Productivity Down
Many employees seem to want to ‘hide in the shadows’ - to get on with their work without disturbing their supervisor/manager. Many supervisors/managers seem equally happy with this approach, feeling that employees who ‘raise their
Stop being hyperactive
Anyone with a hyperactive child knows how wearing it can be to have to cope with the demands such a child can make on a regular and continuing basis. Well, email and continual zoom meetings
Getting Engaged
Before the pandemic, evidence suggested that many employees were not really engaged with their work/workplace/employing organisation. The results of a lack of engagement are absenteeism, poor quality of work and a lack of concern for customer
Sleeping on the Job
March 15th was National Napping Day and March was National Sleep Awareness Month. A Pew Research Center survey found that 34% of Americans take daily naps. Many peple find a midday snooze flips off their
Personal Guru?
Can a personal productivity guru help you reach new productivity heights? Many of us look to new tools and rtechndquwes, new technologies ologies, new approaches to stimulate our thinking about how to get more done
Learning from Lockdown
Before lockdown many firms were experimenting with networking/collaborative tools, hoping to improve the inter-connectedness of departments, people and processes. When the lockdown hit, many of them accelerated the move to the various tools and technologies
Delayed Gratification
Young children take some time to accept that delayed gratification can sometimes be an improvement on instant. For example, waiting for a treat can make that treat better - the period of anticipation can heighten the
Remote Creativity
Creativity is what will see organisations blossom as we (hopefully) near the end of this pandemic. In an office situation, creativity is aided by people bouncing ideas off their co-workers, They can do this by simply