We all want to be more productive in our freelance writing businesses. Increased productivity — of the right type — leads to increased income and increased satisfaction from our work.
That’s why I’m happy to share this excellent infographic from Quill.com. It does a great job laying out seven important myths of higher productivity and then providing key actions that will help you get more done.
Key Actions for Increased Productivity
… that are discussed in the infographic:
# Focus on your current task, not the clock.
# Take frequent breaks to move, stretch, or grab an nutritious snack.
# Start your work day with the most difficult task, not something easy so “warm up.”
# Prioritize your to-do list.
# Focus on completing one item on your to-do list before moving on to the next one.
# Minimize meetings with clients, and make sure all meetings have a clear purpose, agenda, and start and end times.
# Break work into smaller, more manageable chunks.
# Delegate when feasible.
Your Take
Do you agree with the points in the infographic? Why or why not? Which “productivity sins” are you guilty of?
Love, not surprisingly, that the infographic says people can be more productive away from the office.
Anne, I only have a home office, but I often find that the right coffee shop is the most productive place for me.
Very interesting graphic. #6 was one of the reasons the corporate world drove me nuts. As a freelancer, it’s easy to get trapped into your client’s workstyle if that’s the environment they’re in. If your client doesn’t create an agenda, it’s your responsibility to do it–it helps them out, with the added benefit that it shows your professionalism.
Meetings can suck up so much time and energy. I just finished a draft post that addresses how to have productive meetings (and when to have no meetings at all). It should run within the next three months or so.
I’m with you there, Jake. My dad had a saying ~ Too many meetings is corporate suicide. He told me on more than one occasion to share that with my CEO. I passed (although I totally agreed). 😉
Great infographic, John. Thanks for sharing.
John, something went squirrelly with the CommentLuv link in my original comment–can you please fix when you have a chance? Thanks! 🙂
Jake, over the last few months I’ve noticed that many blogs have problems with CommentLuv. Often no blog post shows up at all.
Especially like the point to ‘focus at the task at hand and not the time’. I do this alot, try to manage the time since there’s always so much to be done on the blog in a day, and in the end, i do everything in a haste and i’m still not satisfied with the result. I’ll keep the time aside and focus more on the task and taking breaks in between work as you’ve stated. The Info-graphics i’m yet to see.
Used to think starting with the most difficult start might end up leaving you exhausted to do the simpler ones. I usually start out with the easiest one first then progress to the difficult ones. Looks like i’ll be changing my strategy to see how well it’ll increase my productivity.
One of the luxuries of being self employed is you can take a break when you need to. It’s great to just “flow” with the natural rhythms of work and rest. I usually use a kitchen timer set to an hour and then get up and move about the house or garden for 15 minutes to refresh. 🙂
The garden is the perfect place for a break from work. I miss having a garden!
Hey John! This is a great post, especially the infographic.
I think the challenge most people have is to “Eat the frog” in the morning. We tend to put off the most uncomfortable task for later.
Around 4 months ago, I committed to the “52 books in 52 weeks” challenge. But I was struggling. Forcing myself to read first thing in the morning solved that! Now “reading” has been pushed into my comfort zone and I’m 22 books in 19 weeks! (I was even able to compile a Reading List for entrepreneurs/business enthusiasts : Categorized Reading List for Entreprneurs )
Love your infographic! I know from my personal experience that working longer doesn’t equal working better. Actually, it usually goes the other way round.