Create daily goals and use visuals to stay focused and on track. Check online time management tools to understand how much non-work time you spend online. Prioritize emails and phone calls to prevent interruptions and focus on important tasks. Schedule shorter meetings and stick closely to agendas. Clear physical and electronic clutter regularly to reduce distractions. Replace broken equipment and consider productivity boosting gadgets. Set work limits to increase efficiency.

1. As each day begins, create a list of specific goals you want to accomplish. While there
may be urgent matters that pre-empt your plan from time to time, overall, you’ll find
yourself accomplishing more with a clearly defined path ahead of you.

2. We’ve all heard the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Visuals let you
condense information into a form that is both quickly digestible and shows connections
and relationships. In a fast-changing world, using visuals helps solve the information
overload problem.
Most people are not aware of how much time they spend on non-work related Web or
social media sites. To get a better idea, check out Ann All’s post on new time
management services that can track and report on your online usage.

3. Have you ever spent an hour (or more) to finally clear all your e-mails, only to realize
that you've actually not done any work for the day yet? Instead of tackling your inbox
all at once, do it in sections. Hit the crucial and time-sensitive messages first, then focus
on the less critical e-mails in smaller sections throughout the day. You can also prioritize
and/or limit distractions by using e-mail filtering features to sort out important messages.

4. Allocate time slots to make, receive and return phone calls, and leave desktop handsets
on voice mail the rest of the time. Allocate similar slots for drafting, sending and replying
to e-mails. Exercising discipline with phone, e-mail and other communications will
prevent priority tasks from being interrupted.
Meetings are organic in nature and will grow to fill the time slot allotted them. Schedule
a shorter time period to conduct the meeting and stick to the agenda as closely as
possible.

5. Documents on your desk that have not been used for a month can be considered clutter.
Clear them off the desk and recycle them - they are clearly not needed. Stored
electronically, the miscellaneous reports, presentations and memos that often clutter a
desk are easier to file, quicker to locate, take up less space and require less time when
searching for them.
Faulty keyboards, slow computers or other malfunctioning peripherals create a huge drain
on productivity, as well as a great deal of frustration. Replace broken or malfunctioning
equipment. You should also check out Paul Mah’s list of must-have gadgets.

6. Reference sheets with important tips and shortcuts can save computer users from a
handful of hours thumbing through the instruction manual. CustomGuide, a provider of
computer training and documents, has uploaded several of its reference guides to the
Knowledge Network, including this one on Microsoft® Word 2007.

7. Work limits may boost productivity. We talk a lot about finding the right work-life
balance, but hardly anyone seems to be doing it. Research has shown that employees who
limit the number of hours they work each day, and take regular vacations, are actually
more efficient and more effective than their workaholic coworkers.
10 Steps to Improve Productivity
AGTLIMITED
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