9 Keys to Maximizing Your Effectiveness & Productivity

Effectively managing and maximizing our time and resources are the keys to personal effectiveness and productivity. It means managing ourselves, our tasks, our resources, and others so that we can satisfy our needs and wants.

This time management and personal effectiveness article highlights nine keys to maximizing your effectiveness and productivity every day.

1. Master the Psychology of Effective Time Management

• • • Understand that managing time means managing yourself, your plans, activities, resources, etc.

    • Think and do smarter.

    • Work hard, but be smart.

    • Always keep your personal life in balance. Organize every aspect of your life.

    • Enjoy your job. You will be more effective if you love it!

2. Set Motivating & Rewarding Goals

• • • Set clear goals yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily that motivate you.

    • Set SMARTER goals.

    • Set your goals in writing.

    • Ensure that you have all the necessary tools to achieve your goals.

    • Resolve to be a top performer.

3. Develop Plan & Strategies to Achieve Your Goals

• • • Always plan.

    • Make a productive action plan.

    • Prepare and use a daily or weekly planning calendar.

    • Always work from a list.

    • Schedule essential daily activities.

    • Commit your undivided attention to one thing at a time.

    • Be persistent.

4. Prioritize Tasks Effectively

• • • Organize activities and execute them based on priorities.

    • Establish priorities on a daily to-do list.

    • Focus on your priorities.

    • Eliminate or drop tasks that do not benefit you.

    • Start the day with one high-leverage activity as the single priority, your task of the day.

The 80/20 principle, or Pareto's Principle, says that the most crucial things carry the highest marks or values.

Thus, if you have ten things to do and do the two most important tasks first, you have achieved 80 percent effectiveness.

5. Create a Motivating & Productive Work Environment

• Organize your workspace, your documents, and your resources—make sure everything has a place!

• Be appreciative.

• Display confidence.

6. Use Time Management Tools & Techniques Effectively

• Use an organizer.

• Start your day with the most important work.

• Do tasks in groups.

• Delegate to accomplish more in less time.

• Plan your sales calls effectively.

• Avoid distractions at productive times.

• Utilize travel time effectively.

• Remember to take breaks.

• Perform a weekly review to ensure you focus your time on critical tasks.

7. Identify & Eliminate Time Wasters

• Say no to non-essentials.

• Stop procrastinating.

• Give yourself uninterrupted time.

• Prevent perfectionism.

• Avoid excessive contact with negative people.

• Improve your concentration.

• Do it quickly!

• Simplify and automate. Build and implement simple, standard procedures.

• Schedule your most meaningful work for times when you feel most productive.

• Do low-value activities when your energy is low.

• Watch the clock. It is your time, not theirs. So, stay conscious of time passing.

• Allocate time. State how long you can spend and stick to it!

• Be efficient and effective. Efficiency is getting a lot done in a short time. Effectiveness happens when you focus on activities that are important to you.

8. Look Well After Your Health, Fitness & Life Balance

• • • Resolve to be healthy, trim, and fit!

    • Develop healthy eating habits.

    • Get enough sleep every night.

    • Build a fitness program into your day.

    • Manage your work and life balance.

9. Reward Your Achievements

Choose the reward before you start for small and large achievements and use it to move you forward, particularly when overcoming an obstacle.

Rewarding yourself will encourage you to keep persevering and focusing on winning. It will help maximize the use of your time and productivity.

9 Keys to Maximizing Your Effectiveness & Productivity