Think you’ve exhausted the potential out of the common list of productivity tips? A lot of repeats pop-up on these frequent compilations meant to spur you on to greater productivity. Chances are you skim the list, muttering, “Uh huh . . . yep . . . nothing new here.” And then move on. You’re aware of at least the gist of most of the productivity advice out there, but how many have you tried with a focused amount of effort? Being aware of and actually applying a productivity strategy are not one in the same. So let’s define “uncommon” by application rather than awareness. What if you could boost your chances of seeing the end of your to-do list, in the near future, by diving full force into these “uncommon” strategies? Take Better Care of Yourself “But I don’t have time to eat better, get more sleep, OR exercise!” are common laments. If your to-do list routinely spills into the next day and the next day, it’s easy to brush off the advice to take better care of yourself. It’s true that exercise and shopping for/cooking healthy meals take time. And sleep? A lot of busy people consider themselves lucky if they get 5-6 hours of shut-eye a night. But short-changing yourself in any one of these vital areas, let alone all three, may well be costing you far more than you can even imagine in alertness and overall well-being as well as creativity and passion. Kent Healy shares his observations— “If you’re low on energy, it takes longer to produce even a mediocre result. High levels of energy, alternatively, allow us to do an exceptional number of things in a much shorter period while producing better quality work – a triple win.” Choose one area to focus on—the worst culprit maybe—and determine to stay the course for at least a month. What have you got to lose? Set False Time Constraints “NO! I’ll be more stressed than ever then!” Not necessarily so. Parkinson’s law suggests that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” When you think about it, that makes sense. If you set aside two hours for a task, it will take every bit of those one hundred twenty minutes. Maybe more. But with a bit more concentration, it’s quite possible the task could be completed in ninety minutes, leaving you thirty minutes for something else. Or to do nothing but chill. Aggressive time constraints make you focus, make you get serious about limiting distractions and force you to buckle down. A heightened sense of energy is likely to carry you through to the end because you know time is limited. Give it a try on a couple of tasks this week. Then a couple more next week. Again, make multiple attempts before you chalk it up to another productivity-tip failure. At MPS Technical we place a high priority on the productivity of the candidates we seek to fill the staffing positions in the manufacturing establishments we serve. Let our team serve your team! Contact us today.