Do you ever leave work wondering what you accomplished during the day? Has stress stopped you in your steps? Do you look at your desk or office and wonder, “Where do I start?” That haunting sense of a lapse in productivity has many causes.

Here are a few causes you can easily eliminate today:

Lack of priorities: Your to do list is useless if you don’t know what to tackle first. Talk with your supervisor to identify what’s really important. If you are the person in charge, devote time to decide which tasks add the most value to your organization so you don’t waste time on nonessentials. As a leader, be aware that you establish the strategic focus of the enterprise. Great leaders have productive followers! Unproductive leaders create unproductive staff. Your office and your desk represent the way you handle your life. If your office appears to be a crime scene, your calm demeanor may appear to be an attempt to conceal the chaos. What is your desk telling you?

Procrastination: Time is money and that time disappears quickly when you put off necessary tasks. Why put off to tomorrow what you can accomplish today! If your to do list is long, use your prioritization to help you know where to focus your energy. Large scale projects often intimidate people into delaying action. Rather than focusing on the ultimate goal, break the project down into manageable tasks. What needs to happen today. Schedule unpleasant tasks early so you can get them out of the way and focus on other jobs. If you take notes and don’t follow through with actions, you are only wasting paper!

Interruptions: You can’t cut yourself off completely from co-workers and your boss, but you can minimize time-wasting interruptions. Close your door if you have one, if not, hang a “Do Not Disturb ~ Great Minds At Work” on your cubicle, doorway or desk. Let people know you sometimes need to concentrate, but that you’re available in case of legitimate emergencies. If a colleague continues to interrupt you, politely and assertively schedule a time to talk so that you will be able to focus your attention on their needs. The greatest expense a company has is a person that wastes the time of employees or customers with idle chat that is not important to the business at hand. There is a time and place for conversation, however, from a business perspective, we are paid to work, not to talk – unless you are a therapist or a talk show host!

Those are some of the key causes of decreased productivity. And what is the solution? You! That’s right, small actions on your part will significantly increase your productively and as a leader, the productivity of those around you. Pause right now and decide what concrete action you will take today to increase your productivity. Take a step towards productivity and see what happens.

Until next time, maximize income and minimize expenses!

Yours truly,

Sharon