Employees Share Their Productivity Tips

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A new year begins, and you promise to get yourself more organized.

With our busy lives, most of us could always use another suggestion on how to manage it all. We asked a few County employees, recognized by colleagues for their efficient ways, to share a few productivity tips. Everyone has different styles and different needs – pick out what works for you.

Have your own to share? Add it under Post a Comment at the end of the article.

Nicole Alejandre, Chief of Staff in Chief Administrative Office.

I subscribe to the Franklin Covey productivity model. Their 7 Habits always work for me. Over the years I’ve added some of my own routines to keep me organized.

  1. Fridays – plan next week’s meetings and action items to visualize the week ahead before you leave on Fridays.
  2. Calendar – schedule specific blocks of time on your calendar to complete important projects. Don’t have your email open while you are working on these projects. And don’t wait for the last minute to write that performance appraisal, develop a project action plan or read/review critical budget information.
  3. Microsoft Outlook – use your email inbox as a secondary reminder of your tasks to complete for the week; use your outbox for those items that are pending and need to be followed up on…watch that retention schedule…it’ll creep up on you!
  4. Notes/Minutes – transcribe notes from meetings while it is fresh in your mind and summarize all the action items with a deadline. Then start back at #1.
  5. Color Code – color code your folders for projects, action items, direct reports. By doing this you can see at a glance what needs to be done on a specific day, for a certain project or by a certain employee. It’s also helpful when you have a day full of meetings, you can just grab the right colored folder to be set for the day!


Wendy Patrick, Deputy District Attorney

Time is a terrible thing to waste. Time is the ultimate gift you can give to others, especially when they know you are busy. Managing my own time enables me to set aside more time in the day to focus on other people.  So, here are some of the ways I manage my time:

  • I do not have idle time blocks in my day. Whether working or playing, I use every minute. I do not mean multitasking, which leads to errors, but focusing on accomplishment.
  • Because I do not watch TV but am a news junkie, I always have Sirius radio on in the car to ensure I never miss anything. At the gym, it is National Public Radio on my iPhone.
  • My MacBook Air goes everywhere with me. So does my hotspot. IPhones are great, but being able to type with both hands instead of one finger saves hours of valuable time that can be used elsewhere.
  • My secret weapon to productivity: sleep. As much of it as I can get. When you are well-rested you can do anything.  

My motivation?  When I can manage my own time efficiently, I have more precious time to give to others.  


Darius Fattahipour, Applications Manager in Child Support Services

  • Project/Task scheduling and budget. When working on a complicated task or project with a duration of many months, break the project into smaller increments of tasks with deadlines of no more than 2–4 weeks. After each increment, check with your project stakeholders to confirm that what has been completed during the project increment matches with their requirements. This incremental approach reduces project risk as the longer a project schedule is, the more uncertainties (e.g., unavailability of resources, policy changes, etc.) will occur that impact schedule and budget.  
  • Project Status Meetings. Many project status meetings end up simply being report-outs that could easily be achieved via email or an on-line collaboration tool such as SharePoint. Instead, have project status meetings be working meetings where all stakeholders can collaboration on working out any project hurdles/constraints.
  • Swimlane Diagrams. Many projects involve multiple concurrent tasks/projects to occur – all of which can be dependent on each other. This can be difficult to display/communicate in your typical Gantt chart.  A better method is to use a swimlane diagram (see example), which shows a simple visual representation of the high-level project tasks for each project/task. This is a particularly effective means of communicating project constraints and schedule to an executive audience.
  • Silence. When working on a detailed assignment, try to surround yourself in silence in order to optimize your mind’s ability to focus on the task at hand.
  • Focus on one task. Contrary to popular belief, our minds don’t actually multitask. Try focusing on one task at a time and work on it till completion before moving to your next task.


Elena Lepule, Human Resources Services Manager

  • I go off of a to-do list.  I organize my assignments based on priorities (i.e. assignments from Director, Group, Unit, etc.).  As much as possible, I vary my work day and work on various assignments. This keeps my mind from becoming “bored.” I like to do pieces and parts of assignments – of course keeping within the allotted timelines/deadlines. 
  • As much as possible, I go outside during my breaks to get my blood/energy flowing. While outside, I do not think of work and/or my to-do work list.  If time doesn’t permit me to go outside, I leave my desk and visit a coworker.  I try to learn something new about a different person every day.
  • Before I leave the office for the day, I ensure I have replied to as many emails and voicemails as possible. If I did not get to respond, I let the person know the status of the response. With the remaining papers on my desk, I pile them into the priorities that are for the new day.
  • Before I reach my home, I clear my mind of work and focus on my family. We do not watch TV during the week, therefore, it allows all of us to discuss how our day was and to remind each other that tomorrow is a new day.

 
Have any tips you think your colleagues could benefit from? Add to Post a Comment below.