Five misconceptions about productivity that we inspire

No, you do not work better under pressure. We constantly instill this and other productivity myths . In this article, Tracy Foulkes, a productivity consultant, shares the five most popular misconceptions that make it more difficult to do work.

We all want to work better - that’s why productivity has become so popular lately - but are we making progress or standing still? Tracey Foulkes, CEO of Get Organized South Africa , says that too many of us are "busy with showy jobs."
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“We are always in a hurry from meeting to meeting and drowning in work,” she says. - “But this does not mean that more is being done; it’s important to prioritize wisely. ”

As a productivity consultant, Foulkes tells employees how to cope with their responsibilities more effectively: “I always ask the group how many of them think they are valuable to their organization, and their hands go up,” she says. “Then I ask you to give up the hands of those who do not benefit the company, and most of the hands remain in place.” In the end, I ask how many of them do their work on time, and then their hands start to fall. ”

“People think that they are useful, but if they don’t do their job on time, then there is little benefit. An employee is only valuable to his organization when he does what he was hired for. ”

According to Foulkes, certain misconceptions hinder productive work. She shares the five most popular of them, which make it difficult to do work more efficiently:

1. I work better under pressure

This is a popular fallacy that people who are accustomed to putting things off indefinitely instill in themselves. They use it as an excuse for waiting, but Fowkes says that these people confuse stress with adrenaline.

“If someone is used to doing work at the last moment, then he often thinks he is working better under pressure,” she says. “The truth is that when time is running out and there is no choice, people simply have to give themselves a kick, otherwise they will fly.”

Instead, Foulkes recommends splitting the task into several small parts, setting its own deadlines for each of them, as well as treble the time that your calculations will take to work.

“It’s perfectly normal to leave the last part of the work for last, but you cannot leave the entire project,” she says.

2. I need to take work home

We were taught that great businessmen work hard and hard, and that means staying up late, but Fowkes says research shows how rest increases creativity and speed of work.

“People who take work home don't get any time to rest at all,” she says. - “Work does not last from 8 am to 5 pm, but much longer.”

The saying “If you want to do something, give it to a busy person” is true, because a busy person places his work in a “temporary container” - a certain amount of time calculated to work - therefore he uses time resources much more productively, ”explains Foulkes .

“Anyone who brings work home spends his work day less productively,” she says. - “Instead of more efficient use of time at work , people are counting on the opportunity to complete the task at home.” As a result, everything becomes slower. ”
Of course, it happens that you have to work overtime, but this cannot be done with your daily habit.

3. I need to do all the tasks on my list

The point is not to do all the tasks on the list; the point is to do the right things in a timely manner. Foulkes says that people often leave priorities for later, when they are less disturbed, and quick and easy tasks are done in the morning, because they like to remove them from their list. But only the reverse order of things makes us more productive.

Foulkes offers to write down his assignments on a sheet of paper or leave them in electronic form. “When we hold everything in our head, our brain turns into spaghetti - everything gets confused,” she says. “When we fill the brain with active tasks, we slow down our ability to do something.” It's like working on a slow computer. ”

Then decide which of these tasks are the most difficult or beneficial - they will be paramount. Quick and easy tasks can be postponed.

4. Meetings should be held in the morning.

In most cases, the meeting - the task is not of great value, and Foulkes said that such tasks should be left for later.
“If you go to a meeting in the morning, then you will be occupied by the fact that it does not require strong brain activity at all,” she says.

Instead, she suggests distributing meetings for lunch and afternoon. “Our clients, who themselves build their schedule, report that in this way weekly one day is released for productive activities. Plus they don't need to take work home. This distinguishes productive work from long and hard work. ”

5. Do not repair something that is not broken.

Many companies adhere to the established order and their logic is simple: do not repair what is not broken. However, such an attitude can lead to arrogance.

A good example is the communication process in a team. Foulkes says that many companies are stuck on emails because they have been using them for a long time, but some platforms, like Basecamp or TeamworkPM , make communication more efficient.

To identify the area for improvement, the management must ask all team members to say which part of the process needs to be updated. Then set priorities or determine the expediency of change, and look for ways to solve the problem.

“If you catch a wave of change or realize something new, knowing what you should work on, you can work better,” Fawkes says.

PS We recommend another article on the topic - How to stop distractions in the workplace: 6 effective ways.

Translated by Vyacheslav Davidenko, founder of MBA Consult