Every human being has been given the same twenty-four hours in a day to live their life to the fullest. Time is no less than a gift for us all, yet if you ask people around you about their opinion of time, you will hear them say that they have less time than they need. They may even tell you they have more to work on than the number of hours in a day.
Forget others, and think of your life. Do you also think this way?You work hard to make the most of your time, and focus with the utmost attention to achieve higher productivity. Still, you may not feel satisfied with what you do or deliver at the end of the day.
Improving your productivity at work simply means doing more than you have done before. It can be related to learning new skills, reading about the work-related processes, or attending seminars to add knowledge.
Other than allowing others to gauge your productivity, it is better that you do it yourself regularly and improve. Simply put, there are two ways to get more work done – either work more hours or do the smart work, not just hard work.
Working more hours than normal is possible, but to a certain extent only. You can’t add a twenty-fifth hour in a day. However, it is possible for you to do smart work. It is more about managing your time most effectively.
Here are 6 simple tips to increase your productivity at work:
1. Create a List of Tasks as Per Priority
When you start your work day, it’s important to figure out what you need to do before you leave for the day. Improvement in work productivity can be defined as your ability to do the work you have been assigned on time or even before the expected time.
You can achieve this by creating a list of tasks to be done in a day in the order of their priority. Start your day by creating this list and if possible, assign a time-period to each of the tasks in which you expect to complete it.
Then, pick up the tasks one by one, and work on them. Having that list in mind will prevent you from feeling distracted at work. The less you waste your time on the least important activities, the more you get to focus on the job. As a result, you will see an improvement in your productivity.
2. Don’t Procrastinate
Believe it or not, procrastination is one of the main enemies of work productivity. If you delay getting a specific task done or putting it aside for some other time, you are shouldering yourself with more work to be done in the time ahead.
Now, when you reach that time and look at the workload already built up, it becomes nearly obvious to feel stressed, let alone focus on the current priorities.
Stress, which is another enemy of productivity, will do its part to distract you off the right course to be followed, and the work will keep on increasing. To be highly productive at work, you need to beat stress.
This can best be done by not delaying getting things done as required. Overcome the procrastinator mindset with a will to do things now. The more you practice not to delay tasks at work, the more productive and efficient you will become.
“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” – Abraham Lincoln
3. Identify Wastage of Time and Resolve It
If a specific task at hand that can be done in a few minutes is taking too long to finish, you’re wasting too much time. Either the method or way you are following is incorrect, or you are not doing your part to simplify the task.
The modern age is full of hi-tech products that have made things easier for everyone. No matter what kind of work you do or which industry you belong to, you can get help with advanced technology.
Let’s say you do a data-entry job wherein you need to manually enter data of each product in some retail store into a computer system. Just picking up each product one by one, then looking at its details and entering them into the system is not tough, but a redundant task that kills time. To speed up the process, you can make use of barcodes and barcode readers.
Similarly, if you are an accountant and have accounting software installed in your computer, you can make use of cloud technology to get the benefits of remote data accessibility, data security, and many others.
If you feel your precious time is getting wasted in doing a specific task at work, identify the cause and then act on it.
4. Take Good Care of Your Health
At the basis of your work-productivity lies your good health. No sick person can be found working in his most productive form. You can only do great work and be highly productive if you have maintained good health.
Some people believe taking care of their health is a difficult task, but it is not. With a few simple daily habits followed for health maintenance, you can strive towards working at your best form always.
If you feel your health does not support your desire to work productively, just do two things – consume a healthy diet as much as possible and do physical exercises regularly. These two small changes in your lifestyle can help you become more productive.
5. Keep the Phone on Silent When Focusing on Work
Smartphones have become a part of our lives, like food, clothing, or shelter. We feel like we can’t live without our cell phones.
It is true that using advanced phones has made a lot of things easier in our personal and professional lives. We should embrace and use this form of technology, but only to a certain limit.
It is when people become addicted to using their smartphones that they feel they do not have much time to do the work productively. Whether it is scrolling through social media, waiting for text messages, or staying on long phone calls, everything works best when it is done within certain limits.
So, if you feel your smartphone takes up most of your time even when you are at work, make a habit of keeping it silent when you are focusing on critical tasks. Use it to your advantages, but don’t be addicted to it.
“My mind is constantly going. For me to completely relax, I gotta get rid of my cell phone.” – Kenny Chesney
6. Wake Up Early
Ultimately, a lot of people desire to have some more hours every day to do their work and maintain a healthy work-life balance. But not all of them are willing to do the simplest thing – which is to wake up early.
Think of it this way, if you wake up earlier than you usually do, you get a few extra hours which you would have otherwise spent sleeping more than required. You can utilize this time by reaching the workplace on or before time. If you want extra hours in your everyday life, start developing the habit of waking up early.
Being productive at work is not just a one-time act, but a habit you should follow during your entire work-life. By following these useful tips, you can easily improve your productivity, while also getting the secondary benefits of good health, work-life balance, and success.
Share with us one productivity habit you’ve implemented into your life! Comment below!
Up Next4 Ways You Can Develop Indispensable People as a Business OwnerDon’t MissHow to Use a Personal Facebook Profile for Business the Right Way
Taranpreet Singh is a Senior Creative Writer at ACE Cloud Hosting – A leading cloud solutions provider to small businesses and enterprises. As per his interests, Taranpreet also loves to write about success, happiness, and motivation through his Medium Channel, Be You – Inspired Living. He believes leading a great life is all about making the right choices.
Success Advice
4 Ways You Can Develop Indispensable People as a Business Owner
Published19 mins ago
onJun 8, 2019
Image Credit: Unsplash
In a world where more artificial intelligence, robots and automation are taking over, good employees are beginning to feel less and less indispensable. However, they don’t need to be because robots and AI cannot replace human common sense and authentic, heartfelt engagement. That being said, more and more employers are looking for good employees who want to become great leaders within the organization and are willing to make the investment.
Here are 4 ways organizations can develop indispensable employees:
1. Invest in training & personal development
Personal development is definitely the responsibility of an employee and their own willingness to improve themselves overall. But when you combine that with an employer who is looking to keep quality talent and who sees the tremendous value in assisting their employees growth, the results are incredible.
Statistics show as one of the top three non-financial motivators, 76% of employees want opportunities for career growth. They also show that corporate training has grown to over $70 billion in the United States alone. Companies that do make the investment in their employee’s learning and development tend to lead the way and sustain longevity.
They also become the most sought after places to work for. When you help grow your employees, your employees will help grow your business.
“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” – Richard Branson
2. Empower them with decision-making abilities
You will find that many companies try to create a “think like an owner” mentality throughout their organizations. While this is a great strategy to implement, it cannot be fully accomplished when an employee does not have the appropriate decision making capabilities.
Companies that empower their employees to make the proper decisions (within reason and to a certain extent), become more effective and efficient as a whole. They are able to provide support to both their internal and external customers without having to wait for longer than needed timeframes to get responses.
Empowering employees through training and mentoring is one of the best practices a company can make. The more power an employee has to make certain decisions, the more sense of ownership is displayed and taken, making it a win-win for everyone.
3. Keep them informed and up to date
A wise man once said, “knowledge is power” so if you want your organization to be a powerful force in your industry, your employees need to be informed. Companies that have an effective system in place to keep employees informed and up to date usually have a higher rate of productivity and success.
Most communication within organizations is only shared within their respective departments where the information is pertinent. But imagine how much more would be able to get done if everyone was aware of what was going on company wide (again to a certain extent). That’s why interdepartmental communication is vital and in order for that to happen, employees need to be kept abreast.
For example, have you ever spoken to different people at a company and have gotten different information? That’ because they are not on the same page or haven’t been informed properly.
If an employee knew “generally speaking” about the happenings in other departments, they may be able to assist the customer base more effectively and avoid unnecessary transfers.
A good way to start this practice of being informed would be to share the company’s wins and losses, successes and failures, and any other significant changes the company may have made. When this happens, everyone is made aware and everyone is on the same page.
“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” – Tony Robbins
4. Develop a true culture of open communication
Honest and open communication is important in the workplace because it affects the ability of everyone being able to work together (as a team). Many employees don’t engage more frequently when asked to because of fear of being ridiculed and even losing their jobs. Why is it that most employees feel more comfortable expressing themselves during normal team meetings but are more reserved in meetings where upper leaders are present?
Could it be that clear lines of open communication have not been established? Studies show that companies who operate in an open forum style atmosphere have higher levels of employee engagement. Engaged employees are more likely to stay with an organization and in return you have less turnovers.
Creating a culture of true and honest communication also develops confidence in the upper leadership team amongst employees. When the leaders of an organization displays proper and safe two-way communication, it also helps the employees feel like their making a difference and their opinions matter.
Implementing these tips will not only help you to develop indispensable employees but will also increase engagement and sustainability. It will also help you to develop an indispensable team to help take your organization to the next level.
How does your boss encourage you to become better? If you’re the boss, how do you encourage your employees to be more productive? Share your thoughts below!
Success Advice
How to Use a Personal Facebook Profile for Business the Right Way
Published4 days ago
onJun 4, 2019
Image Credit: Pixabay
Are you struggling with ROI on the time and money you spend on your business page on Facebook? That was me for many years trying to get more clients into my business by posting about it on my business page. I thought I was creating great content by sharing links to online articles highlighting the advantages of hiring someone like me to help local business with their digital marketing strategies. I also spent a lot of money trying to run Facebook ads but did not get a single lead that was worth pursuing.
It felt exhausting, and my business was stuck in the same spot. It affected the way I felt and the way I communicated with the people around me because I felt trapped. One day, my patience ran out as I realised that instead of running a proper business, I was treating myself as a glorified employee. I wasn’t focused on the quality of people and companies I worked with or marketing my own business and getting more and better clients I could serve.
That day, I decided to change the way I do things. I knew I needed to be where more people congregate and Facebook looked like a perfect platform to choose as my center stage. By then, I knew that my business page was not a productive place to reach people. I also knew about Facebook’s policy against using our personal profiles for commercial gain.
What it did not have anything against was building visibility as an expert, growing an audience with quality content and building authority through sharing what people who experienced working with you achieve. This is all I needed to be able to confidently start using the best-kept secret platform – my personal profile on Facebook – for building the business to support the life of my dreams.
Emotional Connection
The first and most important aspect one should focus on when creating content for their personal profile is connecting with others on a truly deeper level. It is only possible when you are showing up authentically and sharing stories of empowerment, growth, and vulnerability. This is how your audience can resonate with you on a personal level.
Why? The truth is that most of the time, people work with people, and they buy into people. They are not even choosing the best of a kind in their field. It is about a personal connection above everything. So for me, or anyone who works with people’s inner worlds as well as whatever else they offer, this connection is paramount!
This is the stage where we separate the right people from the wrong. The stage of attracting the best and repelling the rest – a real human factor based funnel of life. Don’t you want to work only with people you genuinely love and respect? I do! But it is only possible when you are very selective about who shares your world — funnelling the right people from your audience with content focused on emotional connection is the most critical part.
“Carve your name on hearts and not on marble.” – Charles Spurgeon
Trust
After you have an audience of people who are already deeply connected to you based on who you are, you enter the second stage of the funnel – you start building trust with your audience. The ones that may be interested in what you do professionally must trust that you really are an expert in what you do.
How do you achieve that without breaking any Facebook rules? Simply by talking about your business in a very indirect way, sharing specific strategies and tips. Talking about what is happening behind the scenes. Talking about your achievements, your current projects and your goals.
If you are consistent – and being consistent is the only way to get attention in the busy world of social media – you are not only positioning yourself as a go-to name in your niche with all those fantastic tips you are sharing. You are giving them all that value absolutely free – so people are not feeling pressured by you into a sale.
What happens instead is that the right ones, who need what you do, get excited about the possibility to work with you. Some will already start reaching out or responding to your friendly (and never salesy) private messages in a very positive way. However, to succeed, you need to add one more critical element to your content.
Authority
If you want to convert people, you must come across as an authority and someone worth following. You must be someone who gets results! Otherwise, you face dealing with people who want to “pick your brain,” cannot afford the prices you set or simply disregard all the hard work you are doing and see you as a peer.
And here we face the truth. People do judge the book by it’s cover. Creating the impression of someone important does not need to include something spectacular, like getting featured in Forbes. Start with sharing your client’s testimonials, talk about their wins, create a podcast or a Facebook shoe (like I did) and start showing up as a host interviewing other entrepreneurs or people who compliment your primary line of work.
On top of that, start a blog, write articles regularly (at least two a month) and repurpose those articles to online publications with huge audiences, like Medium.com and Thrive Global. And then start focusing on getting published in the more exclusive publications like Addicted2Success! It is absolutely achievable.
“Read every book, blog, website, whatever, about what you want to be an expert in.” – James Altucher
Adding the positioning of an author or a contributing writer and appearing as a guest on podcasts and social media interviews will definitely create that aura of importance that attracts clients who never argue your expertise or your prices.
Becoming visible, growing your audience and eventually converting by using your Facebook personal profile as a center stage, can boost your business into the stage where struggling with finding clients will be a fading memory. And then you can add some advertising into the mix and scale the whole thing up.
I guess the formula is simple. But it will take commitment, consistency and dedication. It took me under 18 months to completely transform my business, and now I am teaching other entrepreneurs the exact strategies I used to start living the life of my dreams.
What are you prepared to do to make your dream life a reality? Share your ideas and thoughts below!
Success Advice
How 10 Minutes of Yoga and Meditation Can Set Your Mind Up for Success
Published5 days ago
onJun 3, 2019
Image Credit: Unsplash
Spirituality is a force that keeps the whole universe in balance! It is the beauty of spirituality that we as humans are residing on this planet with harmony. It is the splendor of the two spiritual elements – yoga and meditation that humanity has been flourishing in the finest way possible.
The history of spirituality can be traced back to the Vedic era and since then it has been guiding us to the height of blissfulness. Today, yoga and meditation have spread throughout the world and almost everyone has the privilege of relishing the beauty of these ancient sciences.
Below, we will talk about the positive impacts of yoga and meditation on the mental concentration of a person and how it assists in celebrating various successes in life.
Entering the zone of peacefulness with meditation
Concentration comes with peace. It is very difficult for a mentally-agitated person to touch the point of success easily. A peaceful mind has both time and ideas to ponder upon with much attention. meditation and yoga are two of the most effective practices when it comes to attaining mental serenity and overall balance.
Begin your day with a session of meditation and you will feel completely relaxed throughout the day. Meditation takes you to a state of harmony where you come face to face with the most beautiful aspects of life. It provides you the best moments to make up your mind about the journey you are about to travel. In a meditating mind, there is no scope of distraction.
It is thus advised to everybody to give at least 10 minutes to yoga and meditation. Embrace the delight of these healing practices to bring back the lost charm of the mental, physical, and spiritual self. In addition, you can rejuvenate your soul and body every time you feel anxious and nervous. This will make sure you keep enjoying every moment in life, making the process of reaching the epitome of success a lot easier.
“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” – Buddha
Yoga reminds of the challenges in life
In a number of ways, yoga is a challenge in itself. Its beauty lies in the fact that it tests your abilities on a regular basis. In the ancient yogic philosophy, yoga has been described as a science of life.
It is a mirror that reflects the true nature and condition of human existence on the planet. Every time you are caught up in a scarce situation, the yogic elements encourage you to realize the responsibilities you carry and the impact you can have on the planet. This is probably the best way to concentrate your mind on the path that leads to the point of success.
Challenges are of various types. There may be some demoralizing forces or a huge responsibility yet yoga can help you overcome anything. While practicing many yoga asanas, you face difficulties that are actually preparing you for the biggest mission of life.
After tasting success in all of these yoga asana challenges, one becomes a complete fighter, who dedicates all his/her attention to cruising through the journey to the ultimate goal. No hindrance can attack the mind of a person, who is committed to yoga and its principles.
Yoga and meditation keep you away from disorders
Concentration is a term with a vast meaning. It is not just a 13-letter word but a combination of a number of elements. The purest form of concentration is attained only after every aspect of life is in complete freedom. One of these aspects is – health. It is completely true that a healthy mind can only reside in a healthy body.
This is why there is so much importance of yoga and meditation in the life of a success-hungry soul. Since ancient times, yoga has been a major disease-defeating force. Almost all kinds of disorders the human body faces can be cured by the healing beauty of yoga and meditation.
History is full of such cases, in which a major disease has ruined the whole career of shining stars in various fields. What happens is that a diseased person is not able to concentrate on anything other than his/her pain. Thus, it is recommended to everyone to take complete care of the health and fitness of the mind, body, and soul. The best way to keep yourself healthy is yoga.
The ancient practice is a set of exercises that regulates the blood flow, tones the body muscles, pacifies the brain, and strengthens the bones and joints. Learn the art of focusing on the correct path to success while enjoying complete wellness with Yoga and meditation.
“Meditation is not a way of making your mind quiet. It’s a way of entering into the quiet that’s already there – buried under the 50,000 thoughts the average person thinks every day.” – Deepak Chopra
The concept of overall development
You may be thinking how 10-15 minutes of yoga and meditation practice influences the complete development of the human body. Let’s be clear, we are not talking about the overall progress of life, not just the body.
What happens when you can have complete progress of your life? It leads to a greater emphasis on things that matter most in your life. When you are physically fit, mentally awake, and emotionally strong, there is no force in the world that can hinder your progress.
It takes time for a non-professional practitioner to enjoy all these privileges. For now, if you are aiming to witness the spark of success face to face, bless your daily life with a session of routine yoga and meditation.
Do you practice yoga or meditation? If so, what are the greatest benefits you’ve experienced so far? Share your thoughts with us below!
Success Advice
4 Reasons Why Your Competitors Are Doing Better Than You
Published6 days ago
onJun 2, 2019
ByTanya
Image Credit: Unsplash
Competition is the very essence of the business world. While this might be advantageous for customers who are looking for and choosing a company that serves them well, this is quite tedious and difficult for entrepreneurs. To excel in a profession like business is not everyone’s cup of tea.
The data shows that most enterprises are likely to fail within their first 18 months. One big reason for this is because of the competition they face in the market. For those who survive, a harsh rivalry exists, so it becomes extremely important to keep a tab on potential rivals while frequently updating your own company.
Here are 4 possible reasons why your competition is doing better than you:
1. Social Media Presence and Reputation
Social media has recently gained much weight in the field of business. Your social media followers and their feedback are important indicators of one’s presence and reputation in the competitive landscape.
Most of the companies now use different social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn to promote their products and services. When a company is better recognized for the kind of posts it makes and products it promotes, your rivals will likely do what they can to get in on the action.
I’m very active on social media and see the huge impact it has on engaging with fans and being able to have a voice.” – Stephen Curry
2. Niche Rank
When statistics indicating the ranking of companies are released, it’s important to see where you are and what you can do to get better.
What makes it even worse is the absence of one’s brand name in the list, indicating that some serious matters need attention and extra work. A brand name should undergo trademark registration to safeguard brand’s identity.
This way you can promote your brand name without worrying about it being infringed by anyone. It is always better to protect your business legally so your competitors do not take advantage of your negligence.
3. Google Ranking
Digital marketing is another powerful method to get leads and turn them into potential customers. However, what if one’s website appears below the required level on the SERP or not on google’s first page?
The website of an company which operates in the same niche may take all possible leads if it is on top. Chances are that the one appearing above or at least on the first page of google search will steal the show, leaving behind the ones who lag behind in SEO ranking and the quality of content.
To be in the race of top rankings, you can improve the quality of your content and re-purpose it to reach the maximum amount of people. Focus on the requirements of your customers and draft the content accordingly.
“Content isn’t King, it’s the Kingdom.” – Lee Odden
4. Less Sales and Customers
At the end of the day, what actually matters in the business world is the revenue you make. Customers are clear descriptors of whether your company is gaining recognition and revenue.
Despite delivering excellent service to customers, sometimes companies end up getting less customers, which can easily be traced to the better methods of rivals and a good investment in customer management programs.
Keep this in mind
Stalking every newcomer in within your niche is near impossible. While tracking new competitors is a tough job, it is even harder to calculate the number of customers they have.
Hence, the only way one can survive is by taking advantage of situations that actually call for a showdown. As one cannot stop new enterprises from entering the market, it’s important you focus on your customers and give them what they want.
The kind of service provided actually helps your company gain much better results than only using similar tactics used by potential competitors. Do something that surprises clients and keeps them happy will always give you the upper hand when dealing with competitors.
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Productivity Hub 