In life, each and everyone of us would want to be productive. Whatever you do, it is imperative that you produce results constantly. Whether you work at home or outside home, whether you are self employed or you work for someone. Whether you are a boss or an employee, you need to be productive.
When we talk about getting things done, we are talking about meeting targets. We are talking about achieving goals. It means delivering quality services to our clients at the record time.
In order to get things done, some people make use of what is called "To Do List". Where they list all they need to accomplish for the day. To such people, getting things done entails successfully completing every item in their "To Do List".
Today, we are in a world that is awash with all kinds or sources of distractions and interruptions. It is without doubts that whatever you do and wherever you are, you are exposed to one source of distraction or the other. However, in spite of a all these distractions and interruptions, there are still steps that if you follow diligently you will be able to get things done. And not just getting things done, but getting good things done at the record time. Take a look at the following points. Let's go.
1. Go straight to the task.
Like I said earlier, there are litanies of tantalizing distractions littering our spaces. So, if you want to beat such distractions, what you need to do is to ignore them and go straight to the tasks before you. If you are one of those who use "To Do List", your focus should be fixated on the first item or the first task on your list.
2. Stay away from the social networks
This particular point feature in almost all other articles similar to this. However, many of us fail to live up to the advice. When it comes to visiting social networking sites during working hours, many of us are culprits. Like you quite know, it is easy to say, 'let me update my page'. And once you are there, you may see links which you may be tempted to click on. And as you already know, once you click on such links, it is most probably that you see other links that may interest you. And that's how you go wild forgetting that you have some tasks before or ahead of you. Remember that your intension initially was to just update within five minutes. But now the five minutes has turned to one hour. And if care is not taken, it might even take your two or more working hours.
The University of Maryland, in collaboration with Total DUI (a non-profit group), recently released a compilation of reports and statistics on social media addiction in the US. It revealed that 18 percent of users can't go beyond "a few hours" without checking Facebook and 61 percent of users check their newsfeed "at least once a day." Of iPhone users, 28 percent check their Twitter feed before getting up in the morning. It's estimated that the average American spends nearly one quarter of their work day browsing social media for non-work related activities.
In order to get things done, the best bet is, don't go there at all. Don't open your email box if your job is not there. Don't log in to your social network account.
In the report released by The University of Maryland, in collaboration with Total DUI (a non-profit group), between 60 and 80 percent of Americans admit they don't go online for anything necessary, but rather to kill time or be entertained. For bigger businesses, this means if one thousand of your employees spend just one hour per day "cyberloafing," it could cost you $35 million each year. To make matters worse, numerous studies have revealed that just checking certain social media sites can make a person feel less happy. Now you might have unhappy employees as well as less productive ones.
Every social networking site is a double edged sword. It is sweet and sour. It can make or Mar your productive life. For those who are into Internet marketing or online business, social networking sites are havens of opportunities. This is because they connect with their potential clients through email services and networking sites. However, that well said, it is of prime importance to note here that even those who use the social networking sites for business should be disciplined in their way of using it. The fact is that without being focused, it is easy to stray once on face book platform or any other social networking site. The way out is, like I said earlier, don't visit such site if that is not where your job is. And that will help you to eschew social media addiction.
So, if you must work online, you must be ready to ignore pop ups and other adverts that jostle for your attention on Web pages as you browse through the Internet. Not just to ignore pop ups but to guard or protect oneself from negative stories that can impact negatively on one.
One of the trusted ways of getting things done which we have seen in the life of the world's greatest achievers like Thomas Edison "is to keep trying". As long as what you are trying to do has been done by some one else or even if it has not been done by any one, the truth is that it can be done by you if you stick to it. This means that in order to get things done, you must not give up. You must keep working on your target. Ask questions.
3. Switch off the internet.
It is not possible to get things done if you are always on the Internet doing what you are not suppose to do. The Internet is not a place to go all the time. Most time you need to work offline especially if your work is not online. Like it was pointed out in point number two above, there are many sources of distractions and interruptions on the Internet.
4. Do not welcome casual visitors during your work hours.
In order to get things done, we must not entertain visitors during our work hours. This applies to working at home and those working outside home. As long as it is with in the range of your work hours, don't fix any appointment that has nothing to do with your job. Your working period should be visitor-free.
In several occasions, I have heard people complain of entertaining visitors during work hours as the reason they were unable to meet their targets or get things done.
Such excuses are not cogent. Your boss or your client or even your spouse will not give you thumbs up for that excuse. Even in rare case when you must welcome visitors due to the urgency or importance of the reason for such visit, you need to allocate specific time that will not interfere with your day's job.
5. Don't give up.
Sometimes we don't get things done because we give up too soon. For instance, if some people work on a goal once or twice and they don't succeed in it, they give up trying. And remember that as long as you give up trying, you can not get things done.
What I have found out is that some people don't get things done not because what they are trying to do is undoable but because they decided to throw in the towel may be as a result of impatient or lack or motivation.
What I believe is that the longer you work on a project, the better your experience. And the better your experience, the nearer you are to getting it done.
6.Believe in yourself
Many of us don't get things done because we look down on ourselves forgetting that God lives in us. And when you look down on yourself, you lose confidence in yourself. And when you lose confidence in yourself, it means you don't believe in yourself. So, Don't look down on yourself.
Like I have always said consistently in other articles, to believe in yourself means to believe that there are abilities in you to carry out successfully, one task or the other. That is what Albert Badura calls "Self Efficacy". Self efficacy according him, is the act of believing that one has the ability to do what one wants to do.
When it comes to believing in oneself, what I have discovered is that when one believes in oneself, it gives One the impetus to work harder on a project despite the number of times that one fails. In other words, if you believe that there is enough powers inside you to enable you succeed in what you are doing, you will be motivated to do whatever it takes to help you get the thing done.
When you believe in yourself, that is, when you believe that there is power inside you to enable you carry out a task successfully, you will not be tempted to hang the booth no matter how many times you fail or the difficulty or the challenges you are facing in the project. The fact is that when you believe in yourself, you will start seeing failure as set backs or obstacles that can easily be overcome. So, the best bet, like I always say is, you must believe in yourself and in the God that lives in you because when you do so, it will help you to get things done. And not just getting good things done, but getting things done at the record time.
You can also read;
No comments:
Post a Comment