At my workplace, we have been trying to figure out better ways to make our employees more productive. One thing we remembered is that everyone is different. Right now, we have our employees write down what they did throughout the day and we have them scheduled for specific duties as well. So, some is free reign but some is specific times things need to be done.
We started to realize that some of our employees don’t do well with the scheduled duties. They prefer to have a task list that they can cross off as they complete them through the day. As we all know, our brains work differently and get motivated by different types of stimulation. Some people need to be kept to a schedule to get everything done in a day that they need to. Other people get motivated by crossing off tasks as they get completed.
Now, there is a few issues with this. A to-do list doesn’t give you an aspect of time, plus people will complete the easy tasks first instead of the important ones. Scheduling, I believe helps with that, but as soon as you get behind schedule you can start to feel unmotivated and fall behind even more. For some, this may help motivate them to do some tasks faster and get back on schedule, but I know I am not one of those people.
First thing is first, experiment. Once again, everyone is different and until recently I forgot that what may work for me, doesn’t work for you. So, I just wanted to write this for you to think about how you do things and if it truly is good for you.
What I like to do is have a to-do list, because I have a lot of things floating in my mind at all times. Right now, I usually just write those in my planner or journal but I want to switch to have a onenote list of all the items. Onenote is very easy to add things to and check them off as I finish them. Plus, I will always have my phone on me and I don’t always have the other items with. Once I make my to-do list, I mark what things need to be done ASAP and what are things I can slowly work on. Some people will number them, I usually just star the more important items, or use can use a scale. Then, I look at my priorities and see if any of them have deadlines, for example my blogs have deadlines. In my planner on Sundays, I will make a shorter to-do list for everyday of that week. This way I know I should get those things done on that day, but it gives me a little wiggle room. If I complete all of my tasks that day and have extra time, I can look at my master list and do extras.
This just helps me keep to a little bit of a schedule, but gives me some free reign if something else comes up. I might start highlighting things that have a deadline or if they are more urgent. When I see something highlighted, it triggers my brain to remember that it is more urgent than anything else. Plus, I love a good highlight and post-it notes. Shaun says I have an obsession over them, but they just truly make me happy.
Now, go do some research on other methods of getting tasks done if none of these seem to tickle your fancy. Once again, experiment with it. We are all different and we all get motivated in different ways. My way is still always changing and it’s not a bad thing to keep making those changes along the way.
Keep pushing
From Your Life Tutor
-Sam
Tutors of Life 