The challenge of modern productivity
Let’s face it-we live in a world of instant gratification, bigger is better and get-it-done yesterday. With all these demands, it’s vital to one’s career (and sanity) to stay ahead of the curve and maintain continual, consistent productivity. Making sure your output is of utmost efficiency can be a breeze when your routine is constant.
But what about those one-of business meetings off site or, even more detrimental to productivity, intermittent travel? With international travel and technology, one would assume it’s easy to be productive anywhere. While it usually is, here are the top 3 tips to ensure that productivity.
1. Get Acclimated Quickly
The most important word, often mistaken for a dirty word, in life-work balance is routine. I don’t mean a boring, creativity stifling routine; but a daily, consistent plan of attack for your day (and life!). It’s quite easy to get acclimated wherever you are if you have an already established routine you can rely on.
It can be as simple as: eating breakfast every day, only checking email at the top of the hour for 15 minutes, taking a break mid-afternoon, and stopping work at a set time. Now this work routine may not work for every industry, but I find when I go about my day with a “business as usual” mentality, I tend to stay productive. For you international traveler, make sure you get ahead of jetlag.
2. Invest in the mobile you
In order to be productive anywhere, you must make it easy on yourself to be mobile. I recommend investing in lighter, more agile, travel-friendly technology. The most important things that come to mind are phones, computers, and files. Cloud or remote file storage (or mini-external hard drives if your company has a technology policy against using cloud storage), free Wi-Fi finding apps, more agile peripherals, netbooks or tablets instead of the traditional computer, and a transferable phone number (like Google Voice) are some things to investigate as you build out this mobile-friendly work version of you.
My newest lifesaver technique is to invest in 2 sets of chargers (phone, tablet, laptop, etc.). I keep one in my travel/computer bag and one in the office.
3. Know thyself
Knowing how, when and why you work best won’t just help you be productive anywhere, it’ll also help to narrow your focus, cultivate better work habits and generally make work more enjoyable. Take time to discover if you work best in low light, noisy environments, when you’re hungry, after a nap, or in a group.
Many of us don’t talk about work/study habits post-college and many more of us don’t know how to work at our full potential. Knowing a bit more about yourself can make you more productive instantly and anywhere!
