10 Tips for Increasing Productivity at Work

1. Don't Start the Day by checking your email. In fact, don't start your computer until after you have has sufficient time to plan out your day.

2. Make a list. It is important that you spend the time to plan your day. Start out by making a list of what you need to accomplish that day. There is nothing more satisfying than checking completed items off of your todo list or completing your entire todo list by early afternoon allowing you to get out of the office on time (or even early).

3. Prioritize your list. The most important part of prioritizing is putting the items that you do not want to do at the top of the list. This is the single most important step in increasing your productivity and eliminating procrastination. Tackle the items that you have been avoiding first and then breeze through the rest of your day.

4. Make your phone calls. Again, tackle the difficult calls first to help "get you over the hump". Tackling the hard calls first helps to create a sense of accomplishment and usually results in breezing through the easy ones.

5. Open up your computer and respond to emails. Only after you have completed the above four steps, and completed any priority task items that don't require your computer, go ahead and turn it on. Head straight for the inbox and address each of the emails that have accumulated since the last time you checked them. Either file, delete, or respond to each email. When appropriate, add any new items that are created to your task list.

6. Block time consuming, non-productive sites, from your computer. There are several ways to do this. I currently use leach block software to help keep me from "sneaking a peek" at time consuming sites. I highly recommend that, or similar software to help keep you on task. This advice was taken from The 4-Hour Workweek

7. Change your email settings. Microsoft Outlook allows you to determine how often new emails are delivered to your computer. I recommend changing the settings so that emails are not received more often than every 4 hours. If you are expecting an email, you can hit the send/receive button to have it delivered immediately.

8. Close your door. Sometimes in an office setting it is difficult to avoid water cooler conversation. Sometimes you just have to close your door to allow you to complete your tasks and get out of the office. Don't let this type of conversation suck you in. It is necessary to engage in some water cooler conversation to create and foster relationships within the company. With a one on one conversation, it is often difficult to leave. I often give it a couple of minutes and bow out due to a pressing issue. When it is a conversation with multiple people, it is much easier to slide away back to my work day. Don't start time sucking conversations. This is easy. Be friendly when walking past someone in the office, ask how they are, showing no intent to slow down or start a conversation. The key is keeping the focus on whatever your intended action was. They will see that you were focused on a task and not mistake the friendliness for the starting of a conversation.

9. Don't gossip. Being involved in office gossip is one of the huge time drains. If possible remove yourself from gossip conversations all together. If not, nod your head while offering up the good points about the people when possible.

10. Get out of the office on time! If you have implemented the steps above and have increased your productivity, make sure you leave the office on time and make time for your family or your business. (The Business of The 21st Century - Kiyosaki)That's the point right? Often times we malinger around all day finally getting productive after lunch and staying late to complete the task. Some of us even take the 5 minutes before the boss get here 15 minutes after he leaves approach. This gamesmanship should be a thing of the past. What your boss is really looking for is to have your work completed correctly and on time. Successful employers aren't looking for show, they want results.