Are You Productive Enough?
Productivity is essential for ambitious loan officers. If you want to continue growing and expanding your business, you need to be able to work efficiently enough to accommodate that growth. Otherwise, it can start to backfire. Productivity isn’t just about working quickly, though. First, the quality of our work can’t suffer at the expense of being productive. That isn’t true productivity. Second, productivity should make us feel less busy, not more. And finally, we can view productivity as a skill, something we can strengthen. So, if you’re looking to give your productivity a boost, here are a few areas to focus on:
Foundation
The first step to supporting productivity is creating a stable foundation. What do you need to work optimally? This may look a bit different from person to person, but generally, there are some key elements we all benefit from. Taking the time to identify these for yourself can help you fully see their value. For example, getting adequate rest is often a key to productivity. Highlighting this need can help you better stick to getting to bed at the right time every night. Other foundational elements? Think about what fuel you’re providing your body and mind. Are you hydrated? Nourished? Movement can also be a great tool to improve focus and increase energy. Perhaps that quick morning walk or afternoon jog is a part of your productivity strategy.
Distractions
We can have the best intentions for a productive day and get thrown off course before lunch. So often, the culprit is distractions. In the modern workplace, we are surrounded by distractions. The challenging part is that many of these are disguised as work. Whether it’s the constant string of email notifications that pulls your attention from the task at hand or a desk covered in paperwork… whatever the source, it’s important to recognize our most common distractions so we can better avoid them or navigate around them. For example, muting all notifications for a window of time can help you protect your focus, and with a few of those blocks strategically placed throughout the day, you can be sure that you’re not going to miss anything important
Strategy
It’s not enough to simply head into the office with the intention of productivity. This is a great start, but it’s certainly not going to guarantee you a productive day. Instead, we need clear strategies to support that goal. For example, dividing your time into clear windows, reorganizing your schedule, and identifying your priorities are all strategies you can use to support productivity. There are countless great productivity strategies worth exploring.
I wrote recently about learning to work smarter, and you can find that here .
Good luck and let me know how any of these ideas may have helped you!
Don
If you’re a loan officer, sales manager, or branch manager considering new opportunities, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Don Riggs
P: 303-249-8274