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How Productive Are You?
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How Productive Are You?
© iStockphoto
JodiJacobson
Are you as productive as you could be?
When we want to get more done, many of us simply
work longer hours, move deadlines around, and
multitask.
Although these strategies can provide some short-term relief, they aren't
sustainable in the long term. Pretty soon, this approach becomes a way of life,
leading to high levels of stress and eventually, poor productivity.
Productivity is a measure of how much you accomplish – not how busy you are.
So it's far better to learn how to work intelligently, and to use leverage to achieve
more with your time and resources. This will increase your productivity – and
help you find extra time to do other things.
The quiz below will help you to understand how productive you are. Then, the
discussion and resources that follow will help you identify strategies that you can
use to increase your productivity, so that you can do more, with less stress.
How Productive Are You?
Instructions
For each statement, click the button in the column that best describes you. Please
answer questions as you actually are (rather than how you think you should be),
and don't worry if some questions seem to score in the "wrong direction." When
you are finished, please click the "Calculate My Total" button at the bottom of the
test.
16 Statements to Answer
Not
at
All
16 Statements to Answer
1I delegate appropriate tasks to
others to work more efficiently.
2I organize my day to take
advantage of natural highs and
lows in my energy and
motivation.
3I actively look for ways to
improve the flow of my work,
and the way that I approach
tasks.
4I can maintain focus on one task
for a significant period of time.
5I spend lots of time looking for
information or documents, or
locating missing items.
6I actively look for ways to avoid
wasting time and effort – both for
myself and for my team.
Rarely
Not
at
All
Sometimes
Rarely
Often
Sometimes
Very
Often
Often
Very
Often
16 Statements to Answer
7I multitask.
8I use the talents, time, and
expertise of other people on my
team to help get the work done.
9I use techniques like skimming
and note taking to identify the
key points from the documents
that I receive.
10I use a formal tracking system
to understand how I spend my
time.
11I have a clear plan for dealing
with disruptions and
interruptions.
12The volume of
correspondence and
documentation that I receive on a
daily basis overwhelms me.
13I delay difficult or unpleasant
tasks until the last minute – or
until the issue disappears on its
own.
14To ensure that things are done
right, I keep close track of the
activities and decisions of others
on my team.
Not
at
All
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Very
Often
16 Statements to Answer
Not
at
All
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
15I find that my mind wanders,
and it's hard to concentrate for
long.
16I do all of the tasks that are
assigned to me, and hope that I
can keep up with the volume of
work.
Calculate My Total
Total = 64
Score Interpretation
Score
Comment
1636
You have some work to do to become more productive. It's inefficient
simply to fill your day with tasks or to try to do too much without
considering your limits and priorities. Use the information and resources
below as your motivation to work smarter, not harder. The good news:
you'll soon be accomplishing very much more, in less time. (Read below to
start.)
3758
You're on the right track with your productivity efforts, and you probably
get your most important work done. However, you could be more
productive. Use the productivity techniques and resources outlined below to
become more productive and efficient in your daily life. (Read below to
start.)
5980
Fantastic! You have a clear understanding of your priorities, and you use
your time to maximize your output. You also think about how to use
leverage to get the most from your time, and to use it to the organization's
Very
Often
Score
Comment
advantage. This makes you a real asset. Where appropriate, use the
resources below to continue to build on and improve your productivity
skills. (Read below to start.)
This quiz highlights five key elements of working productively – organization,
attitude, delegation, information integration, and effective use of systems. We'll
look at these key areas below. By increasing your performance and effectiveness
in these areas, you'll accomplish more in your day. You'll also begin to
understand where to focus your time and energy to improve your productivity,
and get better results.
Organization
(Questions 2, 5, 7, 10, 11)
Your score is 19 out of 25
The first step in any productivity improvement plan is to get organized. Think
about how to arrange your physical space so that it helps, rather than hurts, your
performance. Messy desks and drawers affect your productivity because you
spend valuable time searching through piles of documents, instead of doing highvalue activities. Learning how to be organized is an art, and you need to work
on it every day. From organizing email to organizing your files , there are
many great systems that can help you order your working environment.
Organization also involves self-awareness, and becoming aware of how you
spend your time is essential for improving productivity. An Activity Log shows
you exactly where you use your time well and where you waste time handling
low-priority work, interruptions and distractions. Activity logs also uncover
whether you rely on multitasking : doing more than one thing at a time
actually decreases productivity.
Self-awareness also helps you to understand when you do your best work. Some
people do their best work early in the morning, and others aren't fully productive
until the afternoon or evening. Understanding your work pattern preferences
will help you schedule important priority tasks for the times of day when you
perform the best. Our article Is This a "Morning Task"? explores this in more
detail.
Attitude
(Questions 4, 13, 15)
Your score is 12 out of 15
The next part of improving productivity is related to your attitude and approach
to your work. Self-motivation is very important if you want to maximize your
productivity. Learn what motivates you to do your best work – and then create
the best environment possible so that you to do so. Also, when you create an
environment that supports productivity, you can get in flow . This is a state that
allows you to focus intensely on your work to achieve incredible results.
To get into this high-productivity zone, you must also minimize or eliminate
disruptions. Have a plan for managing interruptions , managing your stress,
and improving your concentration . As you take positive steps to control your
time and schedule, you'll likely reduce your stress, which will allow you to
experience more positive energy. This is essential for getting "in flow", so that
your whole productivity plan supports and improves itself once you get started.
Your mindset is fundamentally important for increasing productivity and
improving overall time management. Think positively, and take small actions to
improve your performance. This will give you the motivation and inspiration that
you need to continue moving forward with your plan. Start now by adopting
a positive perspective , and by believing that you can, indeed, be productive
and accomplish your goals.
Delegation
(Questions 1, 8, 14)
Your score is 11 out of 15
Being productive is not a lone sport. To be truly productive in a work setting, you
must rely on your team to help you. That's why work teams are the preferred
way to reach goals – together, you can achieve much more than with the single
efforts of individuals.
To use the power of teamwork, you must know how to delegate effectively.
Delegating isn't simply having others do your work – successful
delegation ensures that the right person performs the task, regardless of who
is ultimately responsible for getting it done. When people are able to work on
their high-priority tasks, then everybody – and your organization – wins. If you
spend too much time doing work that other people could do, and you have no
time to make progress on your own key objectives, then you need to reevaluate
who should be doing what on a regular basis.
Delegating effectively means providing sufficient support and resources so that
another person can complete the job well. It doesn't mean micromanaging the
process and checking every 10 minutes that things are being done right (in other
words, "your way"). To delegate successfully, learn how to let go and trust people
to do what must be done. When you do this on a regular basis and build a team of
people who all help one another as needed, your productivity levels will increase
radically.
Information Integration
(Questions 9, 12)
Your score is 9 out of 10
Your productivity will also increase when you master how to identify and use
information quickly. Emails, memos, trade magazines, published studies, status
reports, operating statistics, financial results – these are just some of the
information categories that you may receive on a regular basis. If you try to read
each of these in detail, it might take a day or more each week!
So, look at strategies for overcoming information overload . You must
approach information with a critical mind. What do you need to know? What
type of information will a particular document provide? How will you use this
information to improve the way that you work? Your answers to questions like
these will help you determine the level of detail you need from each document.
You may simply be able to ignore some items, or quickly skim topics and
headings of others. Use these and other active reading strategies to help you
reduce the time that you spend dealing with information and documentation.
If you must read a lot of information in detail, learn how to speed read . Our
article on the subject reviews several ways to read material quickly, and you can
practice speed reading on your own. If you process and integrate information
quickly and effectively, it will help you work more productively.
Productive Systems
(Questions 1, 3, 6, 16)
Your score is 18 out of 20
Finally, to increase your productivity, improve the way that you and your team
work.
Improving organizational systems not only helps you accomplish more – it can
also help your organization leverage its assets effectively, to achieve its
objectives and be more successful. Consider continuous improvement through
practices like Kaizen and other techniques like Kanban and Job Analysis .
These will encourage you to look at everyday tasks, processes and practices, and
review how you can do things better. Also, learn from lean
manufacturing approaches, and ask "How can we do what we do with less
waste?"
Whether it's reducing bottlenecks in a process or running meetings more
effectively, anything that contributes to a more efficient work environment will
ultimately make you more productive.
Key Points
No matter how well you're performing right now, you can almost always
improve productivity. When you're more productive, you contribute strongly to
the overall success and profitability of your organization. And it feels good to be
in control of your time, and know that you can produce the results that are
expected of you.
To be more productive, get organized, have the right attitude, manage
information you receive effectively, and actively seek ways to improve your
working systems. Taking this approach will help you to increase your personal
productivity and effectiveness.
This site teaches you the skills you need for a happy and successful career; and
this is just one of many tools and resources that you'll find here at Mind Tools.
Subscribe to our free newsletter, or join the Mind Tools Club and really
supercharge your career!
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Comments (287)
This weekBillT wrote
Hi skyturk,
I'm glad you enjoyed the quiz and interpretation of your score. I agree that it is amazing
what asking ourselves a few questions can reveal. But this is usually because we've never
asked ourselves these types of questions.
This weekskyturk wrote
I really enjoyed finding out more about my personality type. I find it interesting how
answering a few questions can tell so much about a persons personality.
This weekYolande wrote
Hi PeggyD
If you'd like to use the information with a larger audience, you would have to get in touch
with our Permissions Helpdesk. If you copy and paste the following link to your browser, it
will take you to the right page:
https://www.mindtools.com/php/Permissions.php?e=rdqpermissionshelpdesk
Yolandé
Mind Tools Team
View All Comments
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OL 125 Journal Rubric
Approach these activities as (a) an opportunity to reflect upon and apply what you learn each week based on the assigned readings, discussions, and activities,
and (b) an opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise based on your educational and professional experiences in the past. As a successful professional,
you will need good reflective and writing skills. Journal activities offer you the opportunity to further develop these skills. Review this tutorial for information on
creating a Blackboard journal entry.
Journals are private between the student and the instructor. Each of the journal entries will be graded separately.
Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more information,
review these instructions.
Critical Elements
Critical Thinking and
Reflection
Integration and
Application
Voice
Writing
Exemplary (100%)
Journal entry supports claims
with relevant examples of
personal experience, previous
learning, or logical thought
process
Entry shows excellent depth of
knowledge of the module
content and exhibits careful
consideration of the topic
Journal entry is written in a
style that is appealing and
appropriate for the intended
audience and a consistent voice
is evident throughout
Journal entry is free of errors in
organization and grammar
Proficient (85%)
Journal entry supports claims
with mostly relevant examples
of personal experience,
previous learning, or logical
thought process
Entry shows good depth of
knowledge of the module
content and demonstrates that
the student has read the
module content
Journal entry is written in a
style that is generally
appropriate for the intended
audience and an attempt is
made to use a consistent voice
Journal entry is mostly free of
errors of organization and
grammar; errors are marginal
and rarely interrupt the flow
Needs Improvement (55%)
Journal entry supports claims
with somewhat relevant
personal experience, previous
learning, or logical thought
process
Entry shows limited depth of
knowledge, indicating the
student may have reviewed the
module content but needs to
explore further
Journal entry is written in a
style that considers the
audience, but the author’s
voice is not consistent and is
difficult to identify
Journal entry contains errors of
organization and grammar, but
these are limited enough so
that entry can be understood
Not Evident (0%)
Journal entry does not support
claims with reflection on
relevant personal examples
Value
25
Entry does not address the
prompt and reflects that the
student has not read the
module content
25
Journal entry does not attempt
to use a style that considers
audience and there is no
evidence of author voice
25
Journal entry contains errors of
organization and grammar
making the journal difficult to
understand
Earned Total
25
100%
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