Productivity: What It Is And How To Maintain It

If I am to ask you what productivity means to you and go on to ask five other persons, I would be sure to get about six different definitions and views of the term.

This is because productivity is one term that has come to mean different things to different people. However, the most common and general use of the term has to do with work, especially when such work is connected to what one does for a living.

It could also be said to refer to your ability to achieve the desired result in a particular way within a certain period of time.

So, as an individual, you could only say you are productive when you can efficiently achieve the result you desire in whatever activity you are engaged in, within the period of time you have allotted for that activity.

The importance of productivity to you as an individual in all you do can never be overemphasized. Productivity offers a yardstick to measure whether or not you are growing as an individual. It is also important in your leadership journey as it gives you the room to assess yourself on the various approaches you are engaging in your leadership.

However, It is not enough to get started on the journey of increasing your productivity. It is important to ensure you are able to maintain your productivity. This is because only when your productivity level is maintained can you say you are actually productive.

How to Maintain Your Productivity

Decide On Why Your Productivity Is Important

The first step towards increasing your productivity is to first tell yourself why your productivity is important to you in the first place.

Your ‘why’ is what gets you started on the journey and your ‘why’ is what will keep you going when challenges start arising along the way.

Define The Areas Of High Importance

It is important to realize and keep in mind that productivity is not measured wholly but on a particular task or project and how that particular task or project affects you generally.

So, you need to be able to define the tasks and projects that matter to you per time. When at work, your parenting skills may not matter as much as your ability to get done with your workload. And as a student, your productivity will be checked more on your ability to make good grades than you will be checked on your ability to play good football.

For instance, checking your Facebook feeds over a company Wi-Fi may not be important unless checking Facebook is part of your job description. Then, attending to emails when you are breastfeeding your four-month-old baby may not be all that important unless it contains your doctor’s directions on how to feed your baby.

Before You Even Start Define How To Get Them Done

Have you ever attempted preparing a soup and realised along the line that you do not have palm oil and crayfish? That is how it is when you start work without first defining how you are going to get the work done from the start to the finish.

Take Breaks, But Only If Necessary

Breaks are needed for increased productivity, especially when working on energy-sapping tasks and tasks requiring a lot of mental concentration. However, breaks could be a trap. So ensure that if you must take breaks, it would be necessary breaks. And get back to your work as soon as you are done with the break.