In the professional world, we are all guilty of craving an enhanced rate of productivity, unfortunately for many, hitting those uncharted rates of productivity is a goal that remains painfully elusive. The problem, it would seem is not an inability to work at any pace or multitask, but instead a tendency to work on the wrong thing at the wrong time, or more accurately, the inability to identify value in tasks. We often judge productivity in an erroneous fashion, associating it with the rapid completion of a to do list or a herculean ability to churn up task after task with minimal fuss. However, productivity must surely be judged against the value brought to a business. As individuals, this is the prerequisite that we must judge ourselves against both in terms of our personal success and collective success as part of a wider organisation. But how can we identify productivity in terms of task values? The key to this works on a basis of four categories of task.
Biggest Impact on Goal, Low Effort Required
These tasks are the key ones to achieving true business success, they require the smallest percentage of your time whilst offering the highest reward in terms of your eventual goals. Surely this the measurement by which productivity should be gauged.
Big Impact on Goal, Worth the Effort Required
These tasks require much more investment of your time, so will be detrimental to the speed in which you complete your daily tasks. However, the impact on the goal in question, makes them worth the time taken to complete them.
Little Impact on Goal, But Low Effort Required
These tasks will have little bearing on your overall goal, and so should not be viewed as priority tasks. However, the low effort required and the minimal effect on your time keeping mean completing them should not be a problem.
Little Impact on Goal, Heavy Effort Required
These tasks should be viewed as the least important and with a heavy hit on time keeping can be detrimental to you productivity. By foregrounding our goals and considering the value of a task before delving headfirst into its completion, we can ensure that we are at are most productive. Are you able to recognise value in tasks? Let us know in the comments below.
