10 Must-have Rules for an Efficient Productivity Improvement Plan

It would be best if you never underestimate the importance of maintaining the highest possible standard of productivity. Productivity improvement must form a part of your approach to your work if you hope to put your best foot forward. Thankfully, you can make this adjustment by learning an adhering to the 10 rules below.

Definition of Productivity Improvement

An adequate productivity improvement definition is one that should remain concise, while touching the essential elements. Therefore, you can think of productivity improvement as the measures that you take to improve your output for a given time interval. The crucial factors here are the positive change, the outcome, and the interval, which grants measurability to the whole equation.

For example, if a factory worker makes 50 units of a commodity per hour, that would measure how productive the person is. An improvement in productivity would occur if those 50 units were to increase while the time interval remains the same. In other words, if the same worker were to start making 55 units of the commodity per hour, the productivity level improved. 

Of course, not all work contexts are quantified this easily since different jobs measure output differently. However, situations in which you are achieving more within a given timeframe make good examples of productivity improvement.

1. Formulate Your Workday Around a Plan 

Planning Is one of the most fundamental steps to improving your productivity. It's an action that you must commit to and repeat daily, or as often as needed. What if you were an Uber driver? For those who already have such a job, you know how it works. Now, imagine needing to go for a customer in an unfamiliar area. What would you do?  

You could choose to drive and hope for the best. When you think of what an Uber driver does, choosing to go about it this way doesn't sound very smart. Naturally, the ideal thing to do is to pull up your GPS, so you can find where you're going. The chances are that you are going to do the same thing when the customer tells you the destination after the pick-up is made.

You don't need to be an Uber driver to treat your workday this way. It would be best to establish a plan for what you need to get done throughout the day, and how you intend to do it. You'd be surprised at the extent to which going about things this way gives you direction and increases your productivity. 

2. Practice Moving Around and Stretching

Comfort is critical to getting work done adequately. Typically, productivity can be improved by making life choices that keep you pain-free and comfortable. Back pain is one of the most common problems affecting today's workforce. Do you experience back pain? If so, stretching could make a world of difference for you. 

Even if the pain shows up outside of your working hours, your work routine could be the reason for the whole ordeal. You can do numerous easy stretches to maintain your comfort level and promote a greater extent of productivity.

Even if you aren't going into a full stretch routine, it helps to get up from your desk and move around regularly or perform some exercises at your desk. Try not to settle into a sedentary lifestyle, as it gives your body a beating and reduces your productivity. 

3. Do Not Ignore Nutrition

Would you say that you eat well? If yes, does it remain the same when things start to get very busy? Even if you don't realize it, you'd be surprised to find out the extent to which people begin to ignore their body's basic needs for the sake of their work. Consider the context of your workplace. How many times have you or other people casually skipped lunch to get a bit more done? 

You may think that it's an effective strategy, but a lack of proper nutrition hampers your ability to think and function at optimal levels. If you doubt this theory, make it a point of duty to give it a test run and observe the difference. Give yourself a week or two or where you commit to eating correctly and on time. It's almost instantly noticeable how much more functional you are during and after your workday.

People find themselves having to take supplements to get through the day because they are not getting the nutrients they need from food. When your body is fed, your energy levels are more significant, your organ systems have more to work with, your muscles get more oxygen, etc. This makes for a much smoother workflow. 

4. Practice Proper Posture

As indicated before, seeing your productivity improved depends on your comfort level, as much as it does other factors. Posture is a big part of the productivity improvement equation, as it has implications for both comfort and functionality where the body is concerned. 

When you consistently work with lousy posture, you strain various bodily components, which compromises their effectiveness. Additionally, pathways that are responsible for transporting oxygen and blood can suffer adversely.  

While you may not feel what is happening inside, you can feel the discomfort and chronic pain with consistent substandard posture. Taking care of this problem is paramount to achieving your peak performance. Learn to sit correctly while working and maintain the right wrist, head, and shoulder alignment.

5. Work on Getting More Restful Sleep

Sleep is another area that finds itself grossly neglected by the workforce. Can you say that you get seven or more hours of sleep daily? Depending on your situation, that number may even seem like a dream to you. Many people have gotten into the routine of using coffee to make up for lack of sleep.

Studies have shown that a consistent routine of lackluster sleep patterns can cut your body's efficiency in half. Furthermore, making up for lost sleep doesn't compensate for the damage that it does. Therefore, if you get in four hours of sleep for five days a week, followed by two good sleep days, your body is still in a disadvantageous position. 

Remember the importance of planning that was discussed above. Set hours of the day within which you get your tasks done and stick to them. The better you become at this, the greater your chances of uninterrupted sleep.

6. Hone Your Craft

How good are you at what you do? Do you see any room for improvement? If so, what do you plan to do about it? The chances are that you have your job because you bring a skill set to the table. Consider a successful track and field athlete. An extensive amount of talent doesn't mean that there is no room for improvement. How do you think someone like Usain Bolt was able to break the 100-meter world record three times?

The point is you should commit to personal development to get better at your job. That may come in the form of practice, training courses, or certification. As you improve, you are going to take notice of how to increase production more than you ever thought possible. 

Complacency is the enemy of development, and you should never let that dangerous sense of comfort get in the way of yours. 

7. Automate and Delegate Where Possible

It's very easy to get into a manual mindset where your job is concerned. This phenomenon typically because of an established way of doing things. Be that as it may, how are you going to make anything better without some form of change? Productivity improvement can only come about from a concentrated effort to achieve a positive difference.

Sometimes, that means you need to drop the "do it yourself" mentality. You live in a world where technology has taken and continues to take shape. Do your research and identify areas of automation where you can. 

Additionally, you may find that you can delegate tasks based on your position and job description. Both automation and delegation are ways of working smart, and you should implement them in every way possible.

8. Focus on Process Improvement

Productivity improvement and process improvement are almost inseparable. You must put some level of effort into achieving any outcome. However, whatever you set out to do doesn't necessarily require the extent of action you use. 

For example, imagine that it takes one hour for three men to achieve a task. If you were to send four men to do the same job in one hour, it would work. Be that as it may, the fourth man is a wasted resource, as the task only requires three. A process improvement exercise could identify the lack of need for the additional person.  

That's how the whole premise works. It's a targeted effort to find where bottlenecks and wasted efforts lie, and various analytical techniques are used to achieve this. However, the whole thing only makes sense if it's done to make changes to foster a better workflow. 

9. Invest in an Ergonomic Setup

Throughout this rule discussion, you may have noticed a recurring theme about comfort leading to productivity improvement. However, it's not just about the personal changes you can make to help things flow better. Why do you think the concept of ergonomics exists?  

There is only so much you can do if the tools and the environment you are using are not conducive to greater productivity. If your back is consistently in pain because your office chair is destroyed, there is no doubt that it is going to throw off how much you can get done. If your wrist is affected because of improper keyboard and mouse alignment, you can expect more of the same. 

Therefore, it's recommended that you invest in a setup that promotes the principles of ergonomics. Having a comfortable infrastructure and efficient tools only serves to increase productivity levels. Imagine how smoothly things flow when both you and the external factors are taken care of to the highest degree. 

10. Get Your Ergonomic Products from a Trusted Source 

Following the previous point, you should never underestimate the importance of acquiring the items for your ergonomic setup from a source that you can trust. This part of the productivity improvement plan only works if you use quality items in your setup.  

To this end, it doesn't get any better than the Autonomous catalog of impressively designed ergonomic infrastructure. You must make the appropriate considerations for your unique situation when you are looking into getting new equipment. For example, there are considerations for getting an office chair that are specific to women.  

Whatever the case may be, do not choose to go with inferior quality, as you could be looking at more significant discomfort and medical bills down the line. Autonomous has numerous accessories, tools, and office infrastructure options to help you achieve greater productivity levels by molding your environment into a supportive and conducive one.  

How ErgoChair 2 and SmartDesk Help People to Increase Productivity

Two of Autonomous' most popular items are the ErgoChair 2 and SmartDesk. Both have helped numerous customers to increase their productivity levels beyond what they imagined. The items do this by promoting the comfort and efficiency that people need as they work. 

The ErgoChair 2 allows for comprehensive adjustments, based on an office worker's physical requirements. It is designed to promote adequate posture and reduce spinal stress. The measures implemented to foster a comfortable sitting position include arm support, vertical adjustments, low back support, mobility promotion, etc. The adjustability features put more control over your office space in your hand than ever before. 

Your desk is another crucial indicator of the kind of productivity you can achieve in the office. Sometimes, the desk you have can't support you in the way you need to operate effectively. The Autonomous standing desk offers you the benefits of adjustability and space. There is no need for you to worry about clutter from cramming everything into a tight space. Additionally, you can do height alternation to transition between sitting and standing positions as you train your body and promote its efficiency.  

Conclusion 

Achieving productivity improvement is not the kind of goal that you reach without making essential changes to your routine. How can you hope to get better results if you make no changes to what you do?  

The improvement process requires a layered and well thought out approach for any chance of success. Thankfully, you don't need to worry extensively and spend a long time trying to figure out how to increase productivity. All you need to do is focus on and incorporate the 10-step process described above. 

Once you do that, you are well on your way to increasing your rates of output in the office. Not only does this mean you do better at your job, but it also improves your chances of moving up the ladder at work. Additionally, your personal quality of life also gets a boost.