When we think of productivity hacking, we think of downloading a new application, or implementing new technology – however technology doesn’t work in isolation!
In this week’s blog post, we want to take a more practical approach and share with you the top 6 non-tech hacks we leverage as a growing SME to get more done!
1. We acknowledge the 80:20 rule (the Pareto Principle)
Next time you’re banging your head against the wall to get something perfect, remember the Pareto Principle: 20% of your effort produces 80% of the results, where the other 80% of your effort will give you the last 20% of the result.
2. We set hard timelines (a.k.a. Parkinson’s law)
Have you realised that the time it takes to complete a task expands or reduces in proportion to the time that is allocated? This is the effect of Parkinson’s Law.
In example, a report you are given a week to complete, will take a week to complete, but if you were only given 2 hours to complete the same report, it would be completed in 2 hours.
3. We don’t make ego commitments
It is often good to take the time to reflect and take stock of how you’re spending your time, and the commitments you have.
Oftentimes, I find myself doing something that doesn’t actually provide me any value, apart from stroke my ego. Commitments like these, are the one’s I cut out!
4. We practice time blocking
Similar to setting hard timelines, is blocking out your time to focus on specific tasks. This is a great way to ensure you maximise your time, and get more done.
You can do this by scheduling out blocks in your calendar, setting a countdown timer on your phone, or by these nifting time blocking cubes!
5. We do what works for us
Knowing how you work best, and managing your day in your favour helps to set you up for success. We all know the times of the day where we work best, so make sure their time is allocated accordingly – we aren’t hung up on the idea of set working hours.
6. We outsource
Knowing where your strengths and weaknesses lie is crucial to being the most productive. Let’s use writing as an example (as that’s what I’m currently doing!). If it were to take me three times longer to write a blog post than it should, and the outcome is still inferior to those who are actually good at it, I would start looking to outsource it (if it’s not a key area I want to focus on).
Same can be said for bigger tasks, such as IT. Some tasks are best outsourced to professionals in their field, who have the knowledge and resources to do a better job, and free you (and your staff) up to do what is most important to your business.
If you can’t tell from the post above, we love efficiency. So much so, that we developed a free tool you can use to audit your IT yourself – in ten minutes!
Now how’s that for an effective use of your time?
If you want to check in on the current state of your IT with a personalised benchmarking report, request an IT audit report.
