Increase Productivity at Work (Google Certification 2021)

            Increase productivity at work

1. Managing your time effectively

Improving your time management comes down to setting goals for what you want to achieve within a given time period and prioritising tasks that need attention most.

In this lesson, we’ll identify common time-thieves that make you less efficient, as well as some simple tips and tricks for improving your time management and productivity.

So, who or what is stealing your time?

Over the course of a day there may be lots of distractions pulling you away from your work. These can be small, like answering phone calls and emails, responding to questions from colleagues, or maybe over-thinking tasks, but they all add up. If you’re trying to concentrate in a noisy office or don’t have the equipment you need to do the job effectively, it may be the work environment itself that is distracting. Or, it could be that integral parts of your day are making you less productive, like travelling to and from meetings.

Whether it’s procrastination, external factors or interruptions affecting the amount of time disappearing from your day, identifying these distractions is the first step towards being more productive.

Start by taking note of how long it takes you to complete individual tasks. Recording how long you spend on daily tasks is a crucial step in making sure that you make the most of the time you have at your disposal, and will allow you to identify behaviours or factors you may not realise are stealing your time - such as overrunning meetings.

Try creating a daily timesheet or log, which can be done using online tools like a spreadsheet, or the old fashioned way in a notepad. The key to success here is to detail everything - every task, interruption, call, or tea run. Ideally, you should look to collect this information for an extended period of time (say a week or two) to get an accurate impression of where your time is going.

The next step is to take the disruptions you’ve identified, and look at how to minimise them.

Online productivity tools such as Asana, Basecamp and Google Keep can help you create digital to-do lists, manage your tasks and plan your day. Some will even allow you to delegate tasks to others, or send you friendly reminders when deadlines are approaching. Many of these tools are free and some have free versions for smaller teams.

Remember to be realistic. Trying to do too much can result in a drop in productivity, not to mention morale. Start with a prioritised to-do list, either on paper or using one of the online tools we’ve mentioned. Ticking things off that to-do list is great motivation and will help you build momentum in getting things done.

Here are five top tips you can integrate into your everyday routine to help increase your daily productivity:

1.    Stay focused at meetings: Make a point to avoid unnecessary meetings that don't require or benefit you. Your time is precious - use it wisely. If you’re the one scheduling the meeting, set clear expectations, provide all reference materials in advance and start and end on time.

2.    Create daily to-do lists: Get into the habit of creating a prioritised list of all the things that need to be achieved every day.

3.    Take breaks: Sitting at a desk all day might look productive, but taking 5-10 minute breaks when you’re feeling fatigued can boost your concentration, especially if you stretch and move around.

4.    Eliminate distractions: Let people know you don’t want to be disturbed, or move to a different part of the office to help keep distractions to a minimum.

5.    Sleep: Lack of sleep can affect the way you work, so try and get a good night's rest to prepare you for the day ahead.

Being more productive doesn’t necessarily mean that those daily distractions are going to disappear: you’ll still have to respond to emails, answer questions, and go to meetings, but you should be able to ensure you’re as effective as possible in between.

Working on improving your time management can be beneficial both personally and professionally - from reducing stress and minimising mistakes to allowing you to be more productive. Think about the time thieves in your day, and consider the processes you can put in place to minimise them.

Key learnings

Wondering where the time went and wishing there were more hours in the day? Mastering how to manage your time is an essential skill that can help you stay organised, productive and happy. In this video, you'll learn to identify how your time is currently spent, as well as tips and tools to improve your overall time management and efficiency at work.

2. Prioritising and delegating tasks

In the modern world people are busier than ever, and when you’ve got a to-do list as long as your arm, work can sometimes feel a little overwhelming. That’s where prioritisation, and its trusty sidekick, delegation, can help.

In this lesson we’ll look at the benefits of prioritisation and delegation as well as outline some suggestions to help you manage daily tasks.

There are many scenarios where time is critical, whether you're in the process of learning a new skill, starting a new job, or running your own company.

Here’s why prioritisation is the key to success:

·         it allows you to focus on the tasks that are most important, creating a sense of purpose and clarity

·         it makes your workload more manageable, by breaking it down into chunks that are easier to complete

·         it facilitates efficiency, and helps you spend your time more wisely

·         it helps you identify problem areas; giving you the opportunity to revise, eliminate or delegate tasks.

So how do you go about prioritising your workload? Let’s take a look at how the Eisenhower Matrix can help. The Eisenhower Matrix is made up of four sections based on importance and urgency, which allow you to align your actions to specific objectives or goals. By determining which task is the most urgent, you’re able to order the workload efficiently for a more productive day.

Begin by listing your tasks. This could include writing a new blog post or following up with a potential customer.

Next, arrange your tasks into the four quadrants of the matrix. Where they sit will depend on how you scored your tasks on a scale of importance:

·         Urgent and important. These are tasks you should complete immediately, such as reviewing an important report that needs to be published right away.

·         Important, but not urgent. These tasks should be scheduled to complete later, such as organising a follow-up call with a potential supplier in a few weeks time.

·         Urgent, but not important. These tasks should be delegated to someone else, for example, scheduling meeting times.

·         Neither urgent nor important. These might include distractions such as popping out to buy new office decorations. You can delete these tasks entirely from your list.

·         When completing the matrix, try limiting yourself to ten tasks per quadrant, and aim to complete the tasks listed before adding new ones.

Once you’ve ordered your workload based on priorities, it might become obvious that meeting some of the deadlines won’t be achievable on your own. This is where delegation can be a great help.

By assigning people with the responsibility of completing specific tasks of a larger project, the work can be completed more efficiently.

The key to remember when delegating is to play to people’s strengths. You should also make sure to clearly explain what’s required of each person, set clear deadlines, and check in on progress periodically to make sure everything is going well.

When it comes to your workload, try implementing the tips in this lesson to get that checklist ticked off faster and more efficiently. Think about your current workload, and see if the Eisenhower Matrix can help you be more productive and organized at work.

Key learnings

A never ending to-do list can make even the most productive of us feel a little overwhelmed at times. Where do you begin, and how do you know which tasks can be assigned to someone else? The art of prioritization and delegation is the first step towards answering this. In this video, we'll explore how prioritising and delegating your workload can benefit you, as well how to manage your daily tasks in a more productive way.

3. Work collaboratively in the cloud

With online businesses becoming more global, connecting with people in different time zones or locations is becoming an increasingly popular way to work.

Cloud software allows you to collaborate with others on a task in real time, whether they’re sitting across the hall from you, or on another continent. Let’s explore the benefits working in the cloud can bring, as well as some do's and don’ts of working this way.

Cloud-based collaboration platforms like G Suite and Office 365 allow you to share, edit and work with others simultaneously on projects. Collaborating on text documents, spreadsheets and presentations in the cloud allows you to add content, edit and have discussions as other people work in these documents, all in real time.

For example, picture a team working on a space project with engineers from all around the world. Face to face meetings are great, but they are not always possible, so they use cloud collaboration to work on the project documents, saving them travel time and money. Everyone involved can be given the level of access required for their role, from view only to full editing mode.

Without the cloud, each member would have to work on a document individually and then pass it along to the next person when they’re done, resulting in significant delays. Alternatively, each team member might create a new version of the document for editing, making it difficult to track changes and follow which version is the most current. Both options make the collaboration process slow and inefficient, with issues taking much longer to resolve.

Working on the cloud, on the other hand, can save a business time, and therefore money, as well as ensuring transparency for everyone working on the project. Project members can access the information on their laptops, tablets or even smartphones, whenever they need to.

The benefits of cloud collaboration are clear, but before you start working this way, let’s cover some best practices to ensure you get the most from these platforms:

·         to begin, a reliable internet connection is critical when working on the cloud to ensure you don’t get disrupted by connectivity issues

·         next, offline work features aren’t always set up by default so you’ll want to enable them as they can help prevent losing unsaved work and allow you to keep working if you are suddenly offline

·         you should also review the level of access each user has to cloud documents ensure a smooth process when working collaboratively. Some may need full editing access to a document, some may only need to have comment access, while others only need access to view files

·         finally, it’s important to come up with a recognised naming convention, so that files in the cloud can be easily located by everyone in the team.

Now that we’ve discussed the benefits of cloud collaboration, consider some of the best practices of working this way and think about how cloud collaboration can make your time online more productive.

Key learnings

Whether it's connecting with a colleague who works from home, or a team based in another country, cloud collaboration is a practical way to maxmise your working experience. In this video, we'll explore how cloud collaboration can save time, as well as some do's and don'ts when working this way.