Productivity means something different to everyone. Some of us work longer hours or move deadlines or multitask when we want to get more done. Others plan and organize or are highly goal oriented in their approach.
The best way to manage *Email *Social media*Meetings *Not effectively Delegating and Managing Interruptions is to understand more about the various styles that you employ when you manage your day.
An effective leader has to have a broad repertoire of styles and know how to use them appropriately. Your management style for example, should be adapted to the demands of the situation, the people involved and the challenges you are facing. Understanding your personal communication style, you become more aware of how others perceive you, you can adapt more readily to their styles of communicating. Like knowing about your management style or your communication style, understanding your productivity style will enable you work smarter.
Productivity increases as individuals adopt smart strategies that support their natural left-brain or right-brain tendencies.
Carson Tate, an internationally-renowned productivity expert and coach, creator of the Productivity Style Assessment® and the Work Smarter, Not Harder program and the author of the book Work Simply, says that each of us has four distinct productivity styles and just like having a dominant hand, we have strong preferences for one style over the other.
In order to maximize the hours you have in a day, you should understand your own productivity profile.
Here are those four distinct productivity styles:
A. The Prioritizer (logical, consistent, goal-oriented).
B. The Planner (organized, sequential, action-oriented).
C. The Arranger (empathetic, intuitive, people-oriented).
D. The Visualizer (visionary, innovative, idea-oriented).
Here is a closer look at these four distinct productivity styles with recommended tools and time management approaches for each:
Prioritizer– analytical and data-oriented, focused on speed and efficiency. It’s getting to the point, “just the facts without the fluff. Is this your Manager? Then you should answer their “What” questions up front. What is the outcome?” and other “What” questions they may have.
Tips:
1.Set and maintain routines because they allow you to think less and save time
2.Use rules (Outlook) or filters (Gmail) features in to automate filings/automatic responses
3.Set goals for how many emails you’ll read and respond to in a day
Planner-highly detailed-oriented, organized,focus is one sequential tasks, they in process and want everything to be on time. If you’ know a Planner, focus on the process of how the project will be completed ” How are we going to do it?”
Tips
1.Batch and group similar tasks
2.Move emails directly into your calendar to automate creating a to-do list
3.Ask your team to use subject lines like “Action item: Task” to help you organize inbox
Arranger- Intuitive and are able to walk into a room and know what’s not being said. They need the right tools to get their work done, like a specific pen, that feels and functions in a certain way that works for them. Arranger’s are concerned with the “Who?” questions. “Who will be impacted by the project?”
Tips
1.Focus on conserving energy and align tasks to your energy levels
2.Automate the tracking of request made via email using the “waiting for” rule
3.Use templated responses so you don’t have to write the same email over and over
Visualizer– big picture risk takers who don’t want to be limited to the past. They
connect things that other people don’t immediately see and integrate disparate ideas into a cohesive whole. They juggle various tasks. They tend to file using colors
So always provide the big picture and connect back to strategy “Why” are we doing it this way instead of that way.
Tips
1. Switch between tasks often
2. Work fewer hours to force yourself to work to deadlines
3. Color code your inbox to organize incoming messages
By identifying your style or styles of productivity, as well as familiarizing yourself with other’s styles, you can most effectively choose and use the most sustainable strategy for managing your time, your projects and your tasks, the way of working that comes naturally to you.
Productivity starts with you.
I invite you to share your experiences or thoughts, or comments. You can contact me for more information on soft skills/interpersonal skills workshops that can transform employees.