12
DAYS OF PRODUCTIVITY
12

Have a question for a
colleague in your office? GET UP AND WALK over to their desk. For every 20 minutes you spend sitting, you should spend 8 minutes standing and 2 in motion.1 1

SOMETIMES PRODUCTIVITY IS AS MUCH
ABOUT WHAT YOU DON’T DO. Find 3 things that you can delegate or automate. 2

Before you start your day,
identify your HIGHEST-PRIORITY TASK. Make progress on it before you check your email. 3

Set aside time to LEARN
TO USE YOUR TOOLS AND SOFTWARE MORE EFFICIENTLY. Review a video tutorial or check out the latest user tips. 4

Be strategic about when you
schedule your phone calls. PICK A TIME OF DAY WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE TALKING — and are less likely to make progress on other kinds of work. 5

Don’t get overwhelmed by a
lengthy to-do list. CHOOSE THE TOP PRIORITIES and put the rest aside (for now). Otherwise your progress can get slowed by all the other things you’re thinking about.2 6

Put a stop to information
overload. Have your own “awards ceremony” and choose the very best blogs, news sources, and experts to follow. This lets you FOCUS ON THE INFORMATION THAT WILL BE GENUINELY VALUABLE TO YOU and keep the rest from taking up your bandwidth. 7

Have a few minutes? GO
OUTSIDE FOR SOME FRESH AIR. The levels of carbon dioxide found in some indoor office environments can decrease cognitive performance by as much as 50%.3 8

Batch similar tasks together. GET
IN THE ZONE AND KNOCK THEM OUT ALL AT ONCE. 9

THE MORE AUTOMATIC A ROUTINE
IS, THE BETTER. Turn your most important recurring to-do items into daily, weekly, or monthly rituals. 10

Don’t take your physical workspace
for granted. Make sure everything you need is HANDY AND EASY TO FIND. 11

ANALYZE AND ITERATE! Pause and
look back at the end of the quarter and the year to assess what worked and what could work better. Get feedback from your colleagues and other teams on process improvement, and use it to make things run even more smoothly in the future. 12

1 Sumathi Reddy, “The Price
We Pay for Sitting Too Much,” The Wall Street Journal http://www.wsj. com/articles/the-price-we-pay-for-sitting-too-much-1443462015 2 Jim Benson, “Why Limit Works In Progress?” Personal Kanban, http://www.personalkanban.com/ pk/featured/why-limit-work-in-progress/#sthash.CHhAbRqO.dpbs 3 Chris Mooney, “Scientists Report a Surprising Link Between Indoor Carbon Dioxide Levels and Cognitive Function,” The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy- environment/wp/2015/10/27/why-your-office-air-could-be-crimping-your-productivity/ Brought to you by Jumpstart your productivity at redbooth.com