Improving personal effectiveness, many people face a misunderstanding: it happens that one day everything works out in the best way, and another day everything goes awry. Personal effectiveness is based on the human ability to achieve their own goals in the shortest possible time, while spending the minimum amount of energy.
To achieve this, you need to properly allocate your time, effort and money. In practice, you can use specific methods, for example, use a simple time tracker Checkiant, this convenient application will really help in improving personal productivity.
Competent planning of your day is the first principle
The main skill that increases efficiency is planning. Of course, without plans for the next few years (and for a decade), it is impossible to talk about achieving success. You can achieve ambitious goals by planning the direction and tasks that need to be solved first. Making plans for a month, a week and a day is a habit of successful people that helps keep the goals in focus. But plans for one day are only the tip of the iceberg. The main goal should turn into a mission that will become a guiding star.
Prioritization is the second principle
The ability to set priorities indicates that a person is ready to solve the assigned tasks. The order of priority is important here. The most important tasks should be done first, and then the minor ones. Less effort, nerves, and energy will be spent on solving the latter issues. It is definitely not worth putting off difficult tasks in a long box. Experts say that people have a real surge of endorphins after performing difficult work. In turn, the hormones of joy activate the reserves of internal resources of the human body.
Attention concentration – the third principle
This method is more difficult than others, but it allows you to accelerate to the maximum. By focusing on specific tasks, personal effectiveness and labor productivity increase. The work can be done much faster. However, take into account such aspects here:
- A child can concentrate on one activity maximum for 7 minutes, an adult – for 40 minutes.
- After two-thirds of an hour of performing the same type of work, the concentration goes down. After it, the working capacity decreases and the strength decline occurs.
To prevent loss of concentration, you need periodically be distracted by other activities. For example, take a 5-minute rest.
Elimination of distractions – the fourth principle
Mobile phones, netbooks, tablets and other devices adversely affect concentration if they are not used for their intended purpose. A person loses a valuable time by being distracted by unnecessary information. It is necessary to limit the time spent on social networks, which are considered an ideal means to reduce personal effectiveness. Rational use of working time will allow you to make sure that the maximum personal efficiency increases and there are more opportunities to do what you really need. There is one conclusion: when personal productivity increases, then work gets better, and free time brings more satisfaction. While social networks, watching videos and reading the news can wait.
Monitoring of well-being – the fifth principle
The main reason why people don't want to do anything is fatigue and poor health. When a person is sick, overloaded with affairs, family worries, is in a depressed or stressful situation – he/she practically can't be efficient. Performing everyday work tasks turns into torture. To prevent this you should relax well before the start of your everyday routine. Great options are taking a hot bath, meditation, yoga classes.
The ability to take a rest is the sixth principle
As a rule, the managers are constantly in a hurry, trying to do everything and leaving no time for rest. This significantly reduces their personal effectiveness. This also happens to subordinates if the management overloads them with production tasks and simply doesn't give them time for at least a short rest. If this happens, then after a hard day it is worth using the method of distraction – to play table or computer games, solve crosswords, take a walk in the fresh air. You need to distract yourself without burdening yourself physically and mentally.
Refuse to overwork – the seventh principle
This method refers to health. Everyone should clearly understand the boundaries of their own limit. You should not overload yourself with the performance of work duties – this can cause irreparable harm to the body. We are not talking about those rare cases when it's necessary to perform urgent, important work. The correct refusal of additional overwork is the right decision when an employee feels that he will not be able to perform the work qualitatively due to physical fatigue.
The ability to delegate authority is the eighth principle
We are talking about people employed in managerial positions. So, the personal effectiveness of the manager will significantly decrease if he/she constantly does everything by himself. It is more correct to create a clear hierarchical structure so that each link has its own specific authority, effectively fulfilling the work duties assigned to it.
Overcoming laziness and fear on the way to success – the ninth principle
Laziness is considered the engine of progress only in proverbs. In fact, this is the main brake that prevents each person from moving towards success. In parallel with laziness, we are affected by the fear of change. Many are afraid that they won't cope with the new situation or will lose stability. If fear is difficult to overcome, then you can cope with laziness. An effective way is to develop the habits of successful people. It is worth taking a closer look at how the powerful people of this world act and make similar adjustments to their lives. Then laziness will definitely recede.
Programs to increase personal productivity – principle ten
With the support of specially developed interesting programs, you can become more successful. The programs will greatly simplify life. Software functions will help to correctly allocate personal and working time, not to forget about the main, important, priority tasks. It is worth emphasizing that all the principles of personal effectiveness are aimed at using modern technologies, developments and programs that have a useful impact on human life.
1. Trello – a cloud program for project management
Trello is the most popular program for improving personal efficiency. The service includes numerous functions and options:
- Simplifies workflow management, organizes projects, helps to set priorities.
- It has a simple interface that is based on lists, cards, and convenient distribution of boards.
- With Trello you can systematize ideas, track the progress of your own work, and prescribe a clear plan of action.
Thus, all the entered information will be arranged in a single space. Users will be able to view attached files, track events, and monitor the latest changes.
2. Checkiant – a program for monitoring and evaluating the daily work processes of the team
Thanks to the convenient time tracker Checkiant, users will be able to track the spent time resources on each individual project. Among the additional advantages:
- The program can track the time, earnings of all team members, monitor statistical data and working processes.
- With the help of the service, it's possible to build a system for submitting reports in the appropriate sorting by clients and projects, and filter information.
- The time tracker allows calculates wages based on the established hourly rates.
- This app synchronizes on various gadgets.
3. Zapier is a web application with the ability to connect Dropbox to increase productivity
Today, many people use Zapier, as the application is free, popular and in demand. The advantages include the following:
- Zapier is not an application – it is a platform for automating the entered information. The service saves time on performing monotonous tasks.
- Using the automated workflow of a web application, you can create Zap files based on templates, save emails, and organize your work.
- To save the necessary file packages of large volumes, you should use the Dropbox download in Zapier. This ensures that the necessary files are found instantly.
The extension allows you to save backup copies of documents, files, emails, etc..
4. Slack is the leader among applications for the most important integrated solutions of large organizations
The Slack app allows you to set up productive collaboration in any company. This corporate messenger includes many advantages:
- The function of creating channels for large teams and projects, as a specialized tool for stimulating team collaboration. Thanks to the channels, the communication process within the company is optimized.
- Simple interface. In the application, you can communicate closely, structure information, and quickly interact with partners, customers, and service providers. These actions significantly speed up decision-making.
- There is a flexible ability to share files, screens, channels for projects and synchronize file sharing.
Slack also offers an excellent opportunity to immediately publish, view, and edit all the files entered into the application.
5. Asana – an interesting managing tool
By downloading the Asana browser extension, users will be able to increase their own productivity thanks to its features:
- The service offers the creation of various groups for each team or department of the company, where specific tasks and subtasks are added later.
- In this application, you can set tracking options, manage teams, and create a chat for communication.
- Additionally, a timeline and deadlines are set.
The extension allows the manager to monitor the tasks performance by subordinates and receive notifications about all updates.
Tips from successful people
Only successful people who have achieved all their goals in life know exactly how to increase personal effectiveness quickly, without any difficulties, excluding all sorts of risks. It is worth highlighting some good recommendations that can serve as an excellent example for others:
- The Internet. To save time, you should use "hot" keyboard shortcuts, disable news and don't answer distracting phone calls, messages and emails.
- Clothes. Things also affect productivity. Therefore, when making an optimal wardrobe for every day, choose clothes from practical fabrics, get rid of excess junk.
- Behaviour. It affects everyone. Therefore, you need to visualize your own goals, don't postpone important things for later. In addition, it is worth writing down useful tips in a notebook in order not to forget about them, to become more confident, determined, to overcome fears.
- Body. It's necessary to start with yourself – to minimize stressful situations, go in for sports, restore normal night's sleep, give yourself the opportunity to relax after hard working days.
- Daily schedule. By making a list of daily tasks, correctly allocating priorities, you can significantly save time for yourself.
Successful people never forget about proper nutrition, self-development and try to become better rational distributing their money, time and affairs.
Conclusions
The ability to manage personal effectiveness is simply necessary for everyone who strives for success. An increase in business productivity is an increase in economic indicators. The growth of economic indicators is the growth of profits. Profit growth will allow you to allow yourself much more. Therefore, the desire for success is a plan that is worth implementing.
See also:
How can a work team use the time-tracker Checkiant? 6 simple examples
Top 15 reasons why we don't have enough time for everything