Productivity Masterclass: Create a System that Works

Mastering the fine art of productivity takes time and patience. The energy that you put into organizing your life — both personal and professional — can transform your outlook and help you approach things in a radically different way. Productivity centers around efficiency, which directly relates to your ability to complete tasks promptly. Here’s how to create a system that works well for you.

Understand Productivity First

You can’t become more productive if you don’t have a firm grasp of what it actually means. First, realize that it does not mean squeezing more into your already busy day. It doesn’t mean becoming a superhero who magically flitters from leading business meetings in your most polished embroidered company work clothes to coaching the kids’ soccer team after school in your reliable athletic gear to preparing a healthy meal for the family on just a few hours of sleep. Being productive involves behaving in a consistent manner that allows you to produce results and meet your goals. Productivity should improve your life, not contribute to the chaos. By committing to a different mindset, you’re committing to reducing the noise and establishing a greater sense of calm — which, in turn, will help you become more efficient in all that you do.

Limit the Temptations

A key factor that hinders productivity is the temptation to do something else in order to avoid doing what’s essential. This generally applies to harder tasks. Maybe it’s a deadline hovering before you or selecting the perfect custom business dress for your upcoming job interview at a major company. You’ll skirt around the actual task at hand, delaying the inevitable until it finally is inevitable: You have to do what you have to do or pay the consequences.

One way to resolve this is to limit access to the distractions that pull you away from your responsibilities. Turn off the television and put the remote control in another part of the house if you work from home and find yourself looking at the screen constantly. Unplug from all things web-related if you can’t resist checking your phone and logging on to social media in the middle of the workday. That might mean putting your phone on airplane mode and even disconnecting from your wireless network if necessary. You can even download applications that block you from accessing specific websites when you should be working.

Organize Your Files

Both physical and digital files tend to get out of hand. That can severely derail your productivity goals and take away from your efficiency, especially if you can’t find what you need to complete a specific task. Think of the organization as the king of your productivity system — the one factor that has a trickledown effect on everything else that you do.

Avoid hoarding your digital files by committing a few hours to delete the files and emails that have no purpose. Yes, it really might take hours if you have a lot to go through! Be honest with yourself by asking one simple question: Does this mean anything to me? If you work in the restaurant industry and have an abundance of old, tattered menus that you no longer use but hang on to “just because,” it’s time to part ways. If you’re a writer, delete old drafts and save the final, published version to your portfolio instead of occupying valuable computer space. Search for emails by sender and delete those that have no bearing on your life now.

Tackling the physical clutter may be more challenging because it can be very overwhelming to face the chaos in person. Begin by taking an ordered approach. Clear your workspace of all papers and start sorting them into categories. There’s a “toss” pile, a “maybe” pile, and a “keep” pile. The latter documents belong in labeled folders or files that you can easily access as needed. Trash what you don’t need, then consider making digital copies of the “maybe” pieces so that you have less to overwhelm your space.

Become a Listmaker

Making lists is key to staying organized, which is key to greater productivity. So to reach a point where you can say that you’re in control of a system that actually works for you, you may want to experiment with the fine art of listmaking. Keep your lists in a personal planner or custom company notebook that you use to manage every aspect of your life, from family responsibilities to professional tasks.

Writing things down has a tendency to make them easier to manage. Maybe you need to find the perfect Christmas gifts for employees, your kids’ teachers, and the many helpful service providers in your life within just a couple of days. Maybe you’re rushing from a conference to your child’s ballet class to dinner with an old friend all in a day. Writing it down will help you keep track of your schedule so that you don’t lose sight of important details. Jot down things that could affect what you do, like shipping deadlines if you’re planning to order gifts online or something that your child needs to bring to class that week. Once it’s on paper, you’re less likely to forget something in the madness.

Focus With Intention

Your goals matter, no matter how big or small they may be. Every single one is a stepping stone to your next great achievement, and they deserve both your energy and your respect. Being productive allows you to truly push yourself to bring your goals into greater focus.

Permit yourself to take breaks, too — to slip out of your workwear, to schedule regular free time so that you can take a mind-clearing walk, to avoid the news alerts that constantly pop up on your phone. Own everything that you want to do with confidence. It will give you the energy, drive, and motivation to stick to your productivity system for good.