MODERN LEADERSHIP
How to boost your
productivity in 3
easy steps
By Dermot 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-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
10 ModernBusiness
March 2016
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. Al