FeaturedLeanProductivity

10 Tips to Immediately Boost Productivity

By Ron Pereira Updated on March 10th, 2011

Are you struggling to be productive today? We’ve all been there.

Here are 10 tips that, if implemented, will give you an instant boost! 

And be sure to check out the related posts below this one for additional ideas. 

  1. Work your emails down to 0 in your inbox. Having 210 read and 38 unread emails staring you in the face does nothing but clutter your mind and keep you from being effective.  So work that inbox down to 0.  You can do it!
  2. Clean off your desk. File what you must and throw away the rest.
  3. De-clutter your computer desktop. Much like the desk you work at… a cluttered computer desktop does nothing but encourage ineffectiveness.
  4. Close down all forms of Social Media. Yes, this includes LSS Academy (until our next article of course). Select a few times each day to read blogs, log into Facebook, Twitter, etc.  
  5. Close your email. Like Social Media… identify fixed times during the day to check and respond to emails. Keeping your email open all the time only disrupts any form of flow you may enter into.
  6. Read. The fact you’re reading this sentence is a good sign you’re on the right path. You should find at least 15 minutes each day to read something new as it may inspire you to action. With this said, spending 3 hours reading probably won’t move your productivity forward so be sure set a limit.
  7. Make a list. Write down the things you need to accomplish each day and cross them off as you complete them. The items you don’t get done should be at the top of tomorrow’s list.
  8. Identify Your 3 Most Important Tasks. Related to your list… identify the 3 most important tasks you must do today. Work on these 3 tasks first and don’t start anything else until they are done.
  9. Go to Gemba. Go to where the work is done on a regular basis with a pre-determined plan of what you will do. In other words, this is not a time for industrial tourism.
  10. Teach someone. Nothing encourages productivity more than helping others… so do your best to teach/coach someone every day. Kids, co-workers, significant other, etc. Find someone and help them.

What do you think?

What other tips would you add to the list?


  1. Max Randle

    March 10, 2011 - 12:20 pm
    Reply

    The social media tip is the most important if you ask me. I also turn my phones off when I want to really get something done. I will then check voicemail every few hours in case of something urgent.

    • Ron Pereira

      March 10, 2011 - 12:32 pm

      Yes, Max, the phone is a definitely flow buster!

  2. John Hunter

    March 10, 2011 - 4:09 pm
    Reply

    Good list, I do pretty well with many most of the time. #1 I need to do better though. #2 I also slowly degrade too often.

  3. Lynda Woodard

    March 11, 2011 - 7:37 am
    Reply

    I keep a folder labeled “In Process.” This folder holds information on tasks that carry-over to the next day. I can open it each morning, and know exactly what I have to finish up before starting anything new.

  4. Queenie

    March 15, 2011 - 10:30 am
    Reply

    Definitely an effective set of guidelines to be more productive at work. I really need to work on tip #4
    I do not spend a lot of time in Social Media but I am guilty of browsing through sites that are not related to work.

  5. Kaarel

    March 31, 2011 - 1:41 pm
    Reply

    To be honest, thing that helps me the most is making a list and figuring out the order of the tasks.

  6. Claudia Vandermilt

    April 4, 2011 - 8:48 am
    Reply

    I second decluttering your work space and desk top. It’s much easier to stay on task when you have fewer items to distract.

    Lists help too, I’m a fan in my professional and personal life.

  7. Paul Nicholas

    April 11, 2011 - 12:01 pm
    Reply

    This is a great list – thank you.
    Two I might add – whenever my productivty and engagement falter I have two tried and trusted strategies.
    1. Change the scene and the company – go for a walk – nothing clears my cluttered mind and allows me to refocus quite as effectively and quickly.
    2. If I can’t get out and away – I’ll pull a poem off the web – preferably one that’s profound and callenging – Yeats for example.

    These may be very personal – and I’d be interested to know if others employ them too.

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