Is Manufacturing Productive?

By |2025-09-06T09:51:07+00:00September 6th, 2025|

Of course it is.  By its very definition, it produces. It turns out goods - often in high quantities. But does manufacturing have high productivity? Yes, it does.  Over the years, manufacturing has adopted lots of new technologies - and all of these have had a positive effect on productivity… reducing the time taken to

All-Purpose

By |2025-08-30T09:31:36+00:00August 30th, 2025|

When starting a task - a simple one or a complex multi-faceted project - the most important factor is to fully understand the context of the task - and your purpose in starting it. What are you trying to achieve? Why is this task/project important in achieving your goals? If you do fully understand the

Should You Become a Monk?

By |2025-08-02T09:15:46+00:00August 2nd, 2025|

Strange question for a productivity blog, perhaps  but stay with me. Increasing evidence suggests that multitasking is distracting. As is the interjection into the work-place and workstream of email, telephone vocals snd other distractions.  People have realised this for some time and s number of them have come to the same  conclusion - that they need to hunker

Improving Work-Life Balance

By |2025-04-05T09:04:31+00:00April 5th, 2025|

Physical and mental stress are all too common as more people seem to find the pressures of completing expected work tasks and expected in-office time too much to bear.  As firms shed labour to cut costs, the problems become worse. Work-life balance is not merely about cutting working hours or simply  dividing hours between WORK and HOME  life'

Healthy Employees are Productive Employees

By |2024-10-12T09:38:13+00:00October 12th, 2024|Tags: , |

Many employees, when asked in job satisfaction surveys, express the view that they are constantly tired and often under stress. Even in organisations with standard work hours, employees are increasingly expected to be available during evenings, weekends, and vacations. Now a degree of stress can be helpful in motivating and focusing employees but too much

Train, Trust, Target, Verify

By |2023-03-16T10:42:18+00:00March 18th, 2023|

In this world where many workers are still workings from home - or hybrid working - some managers find it hard to assess the performance  of their staff.   There has been a sharp increase in the use of employee monitoring software - often seen as intrusive and unfair by the employees themselves. Yet we know that

Too Much Coordination?

By |2022-05-12T10:35:54+00:00May 4th, 2022|

Many employees claim they spend too much time coordinating their activity with others instead of driving forward their primary activities. Working from home has made this worse.  Employees are forever on Zoom or Teams calls, talking about that they have done or what they are scheduled to do..  This means they are not carrying out their primary

Become a Conductor

By |2021-07-22T21:07:04+00:00July 24th, 2021|

What separates the very best musicians from the also-rans is the long-term commitment to the goal, and to the practice required to achieve it.  Hours, days, weeks and years of relentless practice drive up performance, improvs timing and rhythm and change the person from someone who plays an instrument into a musician.  They become flexible, resilient, agile

Don’t Waste the Festive Time

By |2020-12-22T20:25:36+00:00December 26th, 2020|

We know Christmas day was yesterday, and we know some readers do not celebrate Christmas ... but we send greetings anyway. We also remind you that 'festivities' are valuable in  the workplace - to celebrate, and cement, success. So, take what chances you can to combine seasonal cheer with rewards for effort and success.

Focus!

By |2020-11-26T07:55:17+00:00November 28th, 2020|

It is amazing how a problem, and especially a disaster, can focus the mind ... focus efforts of individuals and teams ... focus organisations - and even focus nations. The current pandemic has been very much ‘pan’ - crossing countries and continents. It has seen remarkable global cooperation and collaboration in the search for an

Go to Top