MODERN BUSINESS
How to boost your
productivity in 3 easy steps
By Dermont Crowley
W
e all complain about being
busy. Too much to do, too
many emails, too many
meetings. Our modern workplace
demands so much from us.
Technology promised us an increase
in productivity that never really
eventuated. You may have all of the
hi-tech productivity tools at your
disposal to help you plan your time
and manage your priorities, but are
you really leveraging this technology
to meet the challenges of the 21st
century workplace? Are you working
smart?
To truly work effectively today it is
critical to harness the power of your
technology, and to use it in a co-
62 ModernBusiness
June 2016
ordinated way to manage three core
aspects of your work – your Actions,
your Inputs and your Outcomes.
Step 1: Centralise your Actions
Most of us made the transition from
paper diaries to electronic calendars
over a decade ago. We have one
central place where we centralise all
of our meetings, and we collaborate
with other people’s schedules using
an electronic scheduling system.
Yet, when it comes to the other side
of our activity management, task
management, most people are still
very reliant on paper systems, and
tend to manage their priorities in
fragmented, ineffective ‘piles’. Piles
of emails in our inbox, piles of paper
on our desk, piles of actions in our
notepad and piles of thoughts in our
head. No wonder we are stressed,
reactive and behind the eight-ball.
One of the most powerful ways of
getting in control of your priorities
is to embrace technology and
centralise all of your tasks into the
task system that sits alongside your
calendar in your scheduling tool.
Most organisations use MS Outlook,
Lotus Notes or Google Calendar
as their email and scheduling tool.
All of these tools have powerful
task systems built into them, yet
few people use electronic tasks to
manage their priorities. It is time to
pull yourself into the 21st century! The