We are used to getting what we want in an instant because our instant gratification is being continuously fed by the internet and technology we have today that a slight delay could derail us in our daily task. Like watching something then suddenly the internet got slow.
Decades ago, this was a normal thing, nowadays it is rare and when things like this happen especially in the workplace we get uneasy and impatient too quickly. This often leads to being less productive thus less tasks are done in a day.
Today, the world rewards speed. People are now handling more tasks than 50 years ago and this is very true because technology allows businesses to exploit that fact. However, there is a way to circumnavigate this is and it is just a simple as organizing and managing yourself more so you won’t lose traction the next around.
What Really Slows Down Workplace Productivity
It wasn’t just because of the slow internet. There are a lot of factors that would slow you down in your workplace. This in turn will make you feel you haven’t really done much at all but you have already worked hard. Time to work smarter especially if tasks seem to have repeatable problems and will just pile up over time.
Here are some of the biggest hidden time-wasters in most workplaces:
Outdated Manual Processes
Printing out, fax, scan, and having them signed is actually a lot of effort than it needs to be. All this for just a document. Even finding a hard copy document takes a lot of time.
Too Many Approvals and Meetings
Decisions should take only a few minutes. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than it is. These approvals or meetings could have been approved earlier and meeting can happen much earlier.
Paperwork Bottlenecks
You may notice some departments have loads of paperwork pile upon each other? Yes, that is a sign of poor productivity and management. This scenario alone could stall important events such as client meetings, financial audits, and etc.
Constant Task Switching
Never having to focus on one task will eventually lead to no task done at all. This is one of the pitfalls that many workers and even business owners don’t realize. In Japanese culture, this is completely opposite to “Kaizen” where you solve problems just as they occur.
How To Be Productive in The Workplace
Clear Workflows and Expectations
Everyone should be aware of what their scopes and responsibilities are in a workplace. They should not pass tasks to other employees when it’s not their job to finish it. An employee should stick to their process. Make a list of their responsibilities if they have to and have a structured plan how to do it and their respective deadlines.
Smart Delegation and Automation
If tasks are recurring and repeating such as email marketing, scheduling of meetings, and trainings, they have to be automated to eliminate spending more time in these areas. Automate all the things that need to be automated as much as possible.
Prioritizing What Matters
After automating repeated tasks and eliminating tasks that can easily be done with the help of AI or other tools to streamline the process, focus more on the big fish.
Efficient Communication
Everything will not fall into place. Communicate as much as needed in order for everyone to be on the same page. Too much communication is just as dangerous as less communication.
E-Signatures: The Underrated Time-Saver
If you’ve ever had to chase someone down for a signature, you know how much it can slow things down. Whether it’s a sales contract, a new hire form, or an internal approval, these little moments of delay can add up fast, and most of the time because the process is clunky.
An e-signature platform such as ours; SignFast, can save time and money in just a few easy steps. Its not just fast and efficient, it is also very secure where everytime you sign a document, it leaves an audit trail so secure that the information in the audit trail cannot be easily tampered with. With this, all you valuable information is safe and secure.
And it’s not just one department that benefits. For example, HR teams can send job offers and onboarding documents to new hires without printing a thing. Legal departments can handle contract approvals without back-and-forth emails. Sales teams can close deals faster by making it easy for clients to sign from anywhere. Even internal teams, operations, finance, admin, can move things forward without having to wait around for someone to “get back to their desk.”
Bottom Line
Changes won’t be quicker than you think. It migh take time but it definitely won’t take forever. Sources like Dr. Liane Davey on her Youtube video says: “If a task takes less than two minutes, do it immediately”. This will allow you to eliminate low impact tasks and focus more on the bigger ones.
Another important note that she said is to manage your energy efficiently because all of this takes up energy. You don’t want to be drained of it right away and not really making much impact resulting in low productivity.
Help yourself by utilizing the right tools. We have AI’s for most things to help us do things faster; it may not help us do the tasks for us but they are definitely worth every penny.
