Do You Want to be More Productive?

LOs committed to growing their business need to make productivity their highest priority.?If not, they run the risk of collapsing under their success. As businesses grow, so do work-related demands, and we?need to have the productivity skills in place to tackle a growing to-do list head on without working ourselves to exhaustion. Growth needs to be sustainable, and top-level productivity is a key component of getting there. Here are a few ideas to help with being more productive:

Know your Distractions

It’s common to think that productive people don’t get distracted very often, but it tends to go deeper than this. Everyone is susceptible to distraction. The thing that highly productive people do differently is ensure that they’re aware of the things that distract them, so they can strategically avoid them. If you feel like you’re losing time throughout your day but you don’t know why, distractions could be the culprit. Take a moment to assess your day-to-day workflow and see if you can identify your top distractions. After that, you can develop a plan to keep them from draining your productivity. It could be as simple as silencing social-media, text, and email notifications when you’re working on something important, or maybe you get all of your social-media work for the week done within a specific window, so that you’re not logging in during other times.

Avoid Multitasking

It’s common that, when things get busy, many professionals resort to multitasking. They feel that by tackling several things at once, they’re getting more done — but it doesn’t really work like that. It’s usually quality that suffers, but sometimes speed does too. It takes effort for our brains to transition back and forth between tasks, and it often requires more energy to focus on the task at hand when we’re multitasking. This means that, although we’re tending to multiple things at once, overall, we’re actually getting less done than we would if we tackled things one at a time. Single tasking supports productivity, because we’re giving all our attention and focus to the one thing in front of us, and usually completing it faster and with greater accuracy. Try it and see if you don’t get through your to-do list faster.

Take Breaks

Breaks are usually the first thing to go when we get busy and want to stay productive; but productivity isn’t just about creating more time to work — It’s about maintaining efficiency and focus so we can work at our best without burning out. Taking breaks is a terrific way to support this. Our bodies and minds need to reset and recharge. Rather than steamrolling through your day skipping breaks and eating lunch at your desk, schedule a few strategic breaks throughout the day. Even five minutes away from work can boost productivity. Pay attention to the times in your average day where productivity declines, and then see if short breaks can correct it. Barreling through through your tasks worn down and unfocused isn’t productive. Learn to view breaks as a strategy to support higher productivity.

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We all want to be more productive, but it requires a thoughtful strategy to get there. I hope these ideas can be of some benefit.

If you’re a New Jersey loan officer considering new opportunities, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to set aside a few minutes to tell you all the reasons why CrossCountry is the best company to align yourself with.

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Larry Vindman

Branch Manager — CrossCountry Mortgage

(908) 216-4848

[email protected]