As a busy executive, you get paid the big bucks because of your ability to get things done, so it is really very important that you are able to live up to your salary and be as predictive for your business as you can possibly be.
This is often easier said and done, especially because most executives have a pretty hectic schedule, to say the least. From ticking off your to-do list to schmoozing clients, and then somehow finding the time to spend with your family too, you have a lot of plates to juggle and that can cause your efficiency to plummet.
The good news is, there are some simple things you can do to be more productive as an executive.
Organize your workspace
This may seem like a pretty simplistic thing to suggest, but actually, the more organized your workspace is, the easier it will be for you to get everything done that you need to get done. When you know where everything is, you obviously don’t waste so much time looking for important files or your pen or whatever. Not only that, but when your space is organized, you are typically in a better mental space because your brain isn’t being cluttered by the sight of…well, clutter. So, do take the time to get everything organized to your liking and your productivity will absolutely benefit as a result.
Have a good morning routine
Again, on first glance, this may not seem like an important point or something that will have much of a difference on how productive you are able to be, but actually, it can make a huge difference When you start the day off right, you set yourself up for the day and you are far more likely to have an easy time of it. Of course, everyone’s ideal morning routine varies, but if you try to build in one activity that relaxes you one that gets you moving, and one that gets you motivated and in the right headspace for work, you won’t go far wrong.
Plan your day
Another obvious point is that it is much easier to be productive at any level if you thoroughly plan your day. As an executive, you will undoubtedly have a lot of work to do and a lot of appointments to keep, so it is vital that you have your assistant work with you to plan out the most efficient use of your time. Many studies have shown that planning your schedule so that you do blocks of like tasks one after another is more likely to boost productivity than say having a meeting followed by admin followed by a conference. Of course, it may not always be possible to block the schedule of your activities depending on the diaries of others, but where it is possible, it is a very good way to increase your efficiency.
Hire executive protection personnel
You might be wondering how hiring executive protection for yourself could possibly boost your productivity, but it really can. How? By ensuring that you always have someone alongside you to keep you safe, that is one less thing you have to worry about. As you will probably know, executive-level staff are often targets for all kinds of criminality and if you’re constantly stressing about that, your productivity levels aren’t exactly going to be as high as they could be. Not only that but when you have personal protection staff, like those at https://usprotective.net/, along with you on various journeys, they can help to make trips smoother for you by taking care of various mundane tasks so you can concentrate on those important business calls or those figures on your laptop.
Use the right tech
These days, it’s easier than ever to increase your productivity, even at an executive level, by using technology to do some of the work for you. Apps like Evernote, for example, will allow you to quickly take notes from any location and upload them so all of the relevant employees can see them, and then there are project management apps like Asana that will allow you to organize and manage your workforce more effectively from any location too – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Take some time to explore all of the excellent productivity apps and software packages available and you will be pleasantly surprised by what you find.
Meditate
Meditation isn’t just for yoga enthusiasts and hippies – these days more and more executives are taking up the practice. How does it help you to be more productive? By helping you to find some headspace and clear your thoughts. When you meditate regularly, your feel a sense of internal spaciousness and calm, which you can bring into your day to help you work more effectively and deal with any challenges you face with more equilibrium. Best of all, it’s really easy to learn and there are some excellent apps that can help you with it. Even if you don’t think it’s likely to be for you, do give it a try because it has revolutionized many CEOs’ lives.
Cut down on meetings
A lot of executives are still stuck in the mentality that, in order to run an effective business, you need to have a lot of regular meetings. The thing is, this has been shown to be wrong time and time again. So many meetings end up to be the most unproductive wastes of time that you would be sensible to reassess your position on them with a view to cutting them down to only the essentials. You can manage your teams more easily using some of the tech we mentioned above, without the timesuck that most meetings have, and they tend to be more effective too, so there really is no reason to be filling your working life up with meetings unless you have a really important reason for calling everyone together at the same time.
Take more time off
It’s anathema to many executives to even consider taking a long vacation, but if you want to be as productive as you can. Taking some time off to do nothing more than sit on a beach with your family is a must. Executive burnout is a very real thing, and if you drive yourself into the ground by working every hour God sends, you will eventually succumb to it, and when you do, your productivity will plummet. Various studies have shown that taking more breaks leads to greater levels of productivity in business for everyone from the top down, so start using those vacation days and come back feeling refreshed and ready to work again.
Don’t be afraid to delegate
So many execs are afraid of delegating various mundane tasks because they either don’t think their employees are up to the job or they don’t want it to look like they aren’t doing anything. This is very foolish because delegating the smaller stuff often lets you focus more closely on the big important tasks that you are paid big money for, and also because if you’ve hired the right employees, they won’t have any trouble stepping in at all, in fact, that’s what they’re there for.
As you can see, it is very possible to be more productive as an executive, no matter how big your workload is, you just need to tweak your working practices a little and maybe make better use of technology to help you along the way, and hopefully, a better work-life balance will soon be yours.
