Wrapping up Q3 with a Productivity Audit

‘Waste’ time to save more time

A productivity audit is originally meant to evaluate a company’s processes and tools to identify inefficiencies and improvement opportunities. These days, it is also utilized in individual scale to up productivity.

Some people might believe that as long as you deliver great results, it doesn’t matter how you do it. That focusing too much on methods, apps, or frameworks is counterproductive.

If you allocate the right amount of time though, and do it moderately, it would actually take your work results to the next level.

Some of the benefits that make productivity audit worthwhile include:

• Enhance resource allocation. By evaluating how resources—such as time, personnel, and materials—are allocated, you can make informed decisions on reallocating resources to maximize output and minimize costs.
• Boost accountability. If you know an audit is coming at the end of the quarter, with clear metrics and expectations for your performance, it will create a mindset of high-achieving and push you to build productive habits.
• Continuous improvement. Instead of focusing on finishing the tasks on hand, you will have a wider helicopter view and longer-term strategy on your productivity. You will continue to find better ways to do things more sustainably.
• Increase engagement. A sense of ‘gamification’ that comes with having a productivity audit in place will keep you more engaged with your work, as it serves a greater purpose and meaning beyond just the OKRs and KPIs.

A productivity audit is aimed for you to measure your own performance. It also serves as a report you could refer to when you feel demotivated.

More on the benefits and purposes of general performance audit can be seen in the KPMG piece here.

Stairway to productivity heaven

The Toggl Method

ime-tracking software, Toggl, has put together 7 steps to conduct a proper productivity audit, which includes:

1. Define the objectives, scope, and KPIs you want to achieve in the Q
2. Collect data through time audit
3. Benchmark against existing productivity data on industry peers
4. Evaluate resource utilization by comparing planned vs actual usage capacity
5. Analyze workflows or areas where automations might be needed
6. Identify bottlenecks by looking for discrepancies, patterns, and issues
7. Create action plan and categorize issues by type, time taken, impact, and urgency

To simplify the guide above, you can start by focusing on the main 3 activities:

• Collect Data: Use time-tracking tools (e.g., Toggl, RescueTime, Clockify) to review how they spent their time over the past few weeks or months.
• Categorize Tasks: Break down time spent into categories like Deep Work, Meetings, Admin Work, Learning, Breaks, etc.
• Analyze: Ask questions like:

(1) How much time was spent on high-priority tasks vs. distractions?

(2) What types of work resulted in the most productive output?

(3) Are there recurring tasks that should be automated or delegated?

To understand how much time is being spent on different tasks, and whether these tasks are aligned with your most important goals, see if you:

• Spend at least 30% of your time on high-priority tasks
• Have specific time slots where you were most productive
• Can reduce time spent in meetings by 10% next quarter

The EisenHower Matrix

You can also use the free Eisenhower Matrix online tool here and do the following steps:

1. Divide tasks into four quadrants:

a. Quadrant 1 (Urgent & Important): Critical deadlines, high-priority issues

b. Quadrant 2 (Not Urgent & Important): Strategic planning, growth tasks, personal development

c. Quadrant 3 (Urgent & Not Important): Meetings, low-priority interruptions

d. Quadrant 4 (Not Urgent & Not Important): Distractions, unproductive tasks

2. Reflect on which quadrant most of your time went to and where you should focus more energy.

3. Go through the questions checklist:

a. Are you spending enough time in Quadrant 2 (important but not urgent tasks)?

b. Are there any urgent tasks you can delegate or defer in Quadrant 3?

c. Can you reduce or eliminate tasks in Quadrant 4 (distractions)?

Learn more on the each of 7 steps on the full Toggl article here.

Digital cluttering for personal productivity

At the end of the day, you are not a machine. Even when you’ve set goals, and done all the 7 steps correctly, you might still not hit your goals. That’s exactly the point of the productivity audit exercise—to detect and fix the inefficiencies.

Your wellbeing is a huge factor of your success in achieving the objectives you’ve set. And sometimes, what really makes and breaks your productivity plan is the way you consume media digitally.

The key for better digital content consumption is one word: intentional. Make sure what you decide to keep tabs on actually helps you move towards a goal.

Ask yourself these questions to determine whether you should continue to consume certain content:

• Does this make me feel happy or excited?
• Does this make me smarter or teach me something useful?
• Does this help me become a kinder person??
• Does this make me better at my profession or passion?

When the answer is no, take action such as:

• On your Internet browser, remove all bookmarks you no longer need.
• With your email, unsubscribe from everything you open just to get rid of the notification, or things that you just ignore completely.
• Remove everything on your to-read, to-listen, or to-watch list on Netflix, YouTube, or other streaming services that has been there for more than a week.

Check out this past Monday Mavens edition to find more tips on becoming a digital minimalist for a more productivity Q4.

Before planning out for Q4, make sure to look back at your Q3 to really make the next Q count.

Even if this is not yet the common practice among your colleagues, you can start the Productivity Audit movement and start small for your first time.

See you next quarter with a more enhanced workflow and productivity plan!