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I always say that you need to figure out what works best for you in order to be really productive.
If after trial and error, something finally makes your more productive, stick with it. But how do you measure productivity?
Simply checking tasks off a list is not the best method. Keep reading to find out what are the best ways to check your productivity levels.
Measure Your Productivity Against Your Goals
Counting tasks does not work. If you are a procrastinator like me, you will constantly think of things you need to do just to get yourself distracted.
Laundry? Check.
Washing-up? Check.
Calling mom for once? Check.
You will have quickly completed a good number of tasks. But none of those work towards your business goals. A great way to measure your productivity according to your business goals is the daily review.
The daily review allows you to organize and prioritize your work and see it nicely laid out, so you know what you will need to do today in order to really be productive. At the end of the workday, you can always check the review again to see if you hit your productivity target.
Monitor Your Stress Levels
If you manage your priorities well, your body will let you know. Instinctively, you know when you have been productive enough because if you haven’t, you start to stress out.
Of course, this is subjective. Some people get more anxious about hitting their targets than others.
Your stress level is a sort of internal barometer. If you start feeling overwhelmed, it is because probably something is getting out of control. Maybe you just need to check your daily review or long-term goals because you have lost track of your progress, maybe you are actually falling behind.
The point is to take a few minutes, or as much time as needed, and figure out what is causing that feeling. Then, fix it by taking action.
Track Your Time to Measure Your Productivity
Time management can do wonders for your productivity. But it can also help you measure it. By tracking your time, you will be able to see how long it takes you to complete specific tasks, and what are your biggest time wasters.
There are two main types of time tracking:
- Manual time tracking. Time blocking is a great way to do this. Just divide your time into blocks (15-30 minutes is the perfect amount for me) and write down everything you do during the block, including Facebook, email checking, etc. The Best Self Journal can also help.
- Time management tools. If you work well with tools and applications, you can use them to go with your time tracking. Software like RescueTime will help you track the websites you waste time on with detailed reports and will even block the biggest time wasters to maximize productivity.
As always, take the best and leave the rest.
Try a few of my techniques and see what works for you. In the long run, you will have created your personal, customized, productivity-boosting methods.
