Employee productivity is essential to any business owner. After all, the success of your company relies heavily on your employees' output. To help your staff stay productive, you can try the following time management tips:
1. Lead by example
If you want your employees to be productive, you need to set an example.
To do this, you can regularly log in to work on time and avoid working beyond your shift as much as possible. If you're going to be late or absent and you have scheduled meetings with your employees, inform them right away so they can adjust accordingly. Finally, make sure to always meet deadlines and show up for meetings on time.
2. Set reasonable deadlines and expectations for your employees
You can't expect your staff to stay productive if they're constantly overworked trying to meet unrealistic deadlines and expectations. That’s why you need to properly manage everyone’s workload. You can use a simple project management tool like Trello or Asana, or an Excel spreadsheet. This will allow you to create and assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress.
Once you’ve assigned tasks, make sure to provide employees with clear instructions so they know what is expected of them. This will help them focus on the task at hand and get it done in a timely manner.
You can't expect your staff to stay productive if they're constantly overworked trying to meet unrealistic deadlines and expectations.
3. Teach them to prioritize tasks
Nothing is more fulfilling than crossing off items on a to-do list. However, employees must be able to determine which tasks on their lists they need to do first, as some tasks may be more urgent than others. To help them do this, you can introduce them to the Eisenhower Matrix, a simple instrument for prioritizing tasks based on urgency and importance. By categorizing tasks into one of the four quadrants below, your employees will know which ones they need to focus on first.
| Urgent | Not urgent | |
|---|---|---|
| Important | Do this task first. | Decide when you should do this task. |
| Not important | Delegate this task to someone else. | Delete this task. |
4. Encourage time tracking
Time tracking is a great way for employees to see where they're spending their time and identify areas where they can be more efficient. For example, they may realize that they're spending two hours per day checking their emails when they could be doing more important tasks. To help them track their time, your team can use apps like RescueTime or Toggl.
5. Help them eliminate distractions
There are many distractions that can hinder productivity, such as social media and personal phone calls. While you can't completely eliminate these distractions, you can help your employees minimize them.
One way to do this is to carve out specific times for breaks and personal activities. For instance, they can check their social media only at certain times during the day. This will help them stay focused on their work when they need to be. You can also encourage your team to use productivity apps and browser extensions that block distracting websites.
Related article: 9 Ways your small business can demonstrate employee appreciation
6. Help them manage stess
When your workers are stressed out, they're more likely to make mistakes, have difficulty concentrating, and take longer to complete tasks. As such, it's important to help your employees manage their stress levels.
To do this, you can provide them with a list of relaxation techniques or mental health resources. You can also create a stress-free environment by encouraging breaks or dedicating a space in the office where they can just relax and take some time for themselves.
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