Are you as productive as you could be?

 

Most of us have this wrong notion that productivity means getting more things done every day.

 

So when we want to get more done, most of us work extra hours, multitask. 

 

This is unhealthy in the long run, causing stress and burnout and resulting in poor productivity. 

 

Productivity is the level of efficiency of a person completing a task.

 

It is a result of intelligent planning, focused effort, and measuring the results. It is about how much you can achieve by leveraging your time and effort.

 

According to James Clear –

 

’’Productivity means to get the most important things done consistently. And no matter what there are a few truly important things.

Being productive is about maintaining a steady, average speed on a few things, not maximum speed on everything.’’

In the quiz below I have touched upon the 6 aspects of productivity – Productive mindset, Attitude, Task Management, Delegation, Communications, and Meetings.

Have a look at these 6 areas and see how you are performing. 

 

You will be able to understand what needs to be improved.

 

By improving your performance and effectiveness in these areas you can become more productive and get much more done in much less time.

 

You will become more focused on your time and efforts and drive better results.

 

Get these 23  Productivity Hacks to Work Smarter, Get more done and find Fulfilment and Balance Here !

 

 

Instructions:

See the score key below .For each statement, put a score that best describes you. For a fair assessment please put a score against the questions as you are .

Then check your scores below and see what needs to be improved .

 

SCORE KEY – 1 TO 5 

 

RARELY /SOMETIMES /OFTEN/VERY OFTEN /ALWAYS

 ( 1 Stands for rarely and 5 for always )

 

PRODUCTIVE  MINDSET

1.Do you plan and prepare for the next day in advance?

2.Are you committed enough to stick to your schedule most of the time unless something urgent requiring your attention crops up.?

 

3. Do you believe in being result-oriented as compared to being busy without reasons?

 

4. Do you organize your day to take advantage of natural highs and lows in your energy and motivation?

 

 5. Do you take enough rest and sleep to energize you for the next day?

6.Do you break large-sized, challenging tasks into smaller chunks to work seamlessly?

7.Do you have a learning mindset? Do you spend some time each day learning new things, even though it is not relevant to your role?

 

 8. Do you refuse to take in extra work when your plate is already full?

 

 

 ATTITUDE

 

9.Can you concentrate on one task for a significant period, say 90 minutes before switching over to another task?

10. Do you delay difficult or unpleasant tasks until the last minute – or until the issue disappears on its own?

11. Do you have a clear plan for dealing with disruptions and interruptions effectively?

12. Do you keep a track of where you spend your time?

TASK MANAGEMENT

 

13. Are you in control of your workload and able to think clearly enough to make well-informed decisions.

 

14.Do you prioritize and complete the important and difficult tasks, before going over to the low priority and simple tasks.

15.Do you actively look for ways to improve the efficiency of your and your team’s work?

 

16 . Do you have a system to file and structure documents, links, reports,

statistics, important meeting notes, or any other useful information that will need reference again in the future.

 

17. Do you multitask often?

 

18. Do you actively look for ways to improve the flow of your work, and the way you approach tasks?

 

19. Do you actively look for ways to avoid wasting time and effort – both for yourself and your team?

 

20. Are you able to complete all of the tasks that are assigned to you? Can you keep up with the volume of work?

DELEGATION 

 

21. Do you delegate appropriate tasks to others to work more efficiently?

22.Do you use the talents, time, and expertise of other people on your team to help you get the work done?

23.Do you keep a close track of the activities and decisions of others on your team to ensure that things are done right?

 

24. Are you comfortable enough to delegate tasks to your colleagues without having to micromanage or supervise?

COMMUNICATIONS

25.Do you communicate effectively –are people engaged while listening to your

instructions?

26.Do you structure your emails in a way that enables you to easily search and find past and present messages.

27.Do you have scheduled time slots to send/read/reply to emails, and not as soon as you hear one arrive in your inbox.

 

28. Are your emails short and to the point? (Easy to read and interpret, with bullets, short paragraphs, and attached references).

 

29.Do you use email templates for structuring messages

that can be sent in the same format multiple times so that you do not have to waste

time thinking on what to write again and again.

 

30 . If there is a complex topic, do you call the intended recipient or schedule a meeting

with the intended recipient rather than send a long email.

 

31.Do you have any rules or exceptions in place to ensure that you are notified and can reply immediately to important people ?

 

 32 . Do you use techniques like skimming and note-taking to identify the key points from the documents that you receive.

 

MEETINGS

33.Do you randomly call for meetings without clear agendas and purposes?

34.Do you attend meetings back to back or keep a slot of 10 to 15 minutes between two meetings?

35.Do you summarise the key points discussed and outline the action points at the end of your meetings?

 

36 . Do your meetings run over by more than 5 minutes most of the time?

 

37 . Do you attend meetings that are not meaningful and where you do not provide any value?

38.Do you conduct or attend meetings in the morning before you have completed your routine work or after you start your post-work rest?

 

 

.

0-62 —You have to work on your effectiveness and efficiency. Instead of being busy, you need to improve on setting your priorities and setting healthy boundaries. Read the three  articles on  reasons why you must boost your productivity ,mindset ,working smarter . In some time you will be able to get more done in less time.

 

63- 125 – Good you are productive with your time and efforts. But you can be more productive by being more resourceful. See what tasks and processes you can automate, delegate or outsource to boost your efficiency.

 

Read the four articles on Task priority , Time  Priority  , Delegation  

and Productivity Hacks. 

 

126 – 185 – Excellent! You have a superb understanding of your own as well as others’ productivity. You know how to leverage your as well as others’ time and efforts to get more done in less time. Keep sharpening  your Productivity Saw by reading Curated Posts  and Books On Productivity.

 

What is one thing about your Productivity that you would like to improve today ? Share your thoughts below .

Babita Sharma 

Leadership Coach 

www.leadwithpassion.co.in

 

P.S -Please share the post and help someone today !