Posts Tagged ‘Increase Productivity’

The Need to Measure and Increase Writing Productivity

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

People, especially those whose jobs are writing-based, need to find a way to measure and increase writing productivity because this is the only way for them to continuously come up with top-quality written materials.

To people who primarily earn their living through writing, finding a way to measure and increase writing productivity is very essential.

Writers have different ways of making themselves more productive. Some methods may work on some writers but the same methods could backfire for other writers. Nevertheless, it is a general consensus that in order to increase one’s writing productivity, there is a need to give up or slow down in other activities. Identifying these activities can be done by closely analyzing one’s behavior and lifestyle patterns. Once these activities are eliminated in one’s writing hours, an increased writing productivity would be manifested. Even efficient multi-taskers admit that with lesser activities, higher work quality can be expected.

Usually, writing productivity is measured through the number of finished articles within a given period of time. The same could also be measured through the prompt submission of these literature materials. Decreased incidents of revision and rejection of submitted works is also proof that the material composed was of good quality. Ideally, writing should not be a problem especially if the writer or author is familiar and comfortable with what he is writing. The same should also be the case if the same individual always has the time and the place where he could think and ponder about the subject of his writing. One’s environment is very essential in improving one’s writing productivity. After all, you could hardly come up with a decent writing space if you find yourself in a situation where there is a kid shouting at the top of his lungs or a radio blaring loud rock music inside your room.

For several writers, having a conducive ambience for writing will help them keep their creative writing juices flowing. This may be done by keeping one’s workplace neat and tidy or by putting on pleasant background music. This could also be done by setting aside at least an hour each day as creativity time. Arrange for this uninterrupted time with your family members and make them understand that this time is allotted for your writing. This way, you will be guaranteed a stress-free time devoted entirely to thinking and completing your compositions. Understandably, within this time, distance yourself from your mobile phones. Make sure that you will have no distractions while you go about with your writing assignments. Changing one’s screen mode may also help improve one’s writing. This means that you would have to change the display settings of your screen so that you will not see the classical white background and black text screen setting. You can instead change it to any setting that you will find relaxing and less eye-straining.

Essentially, there is no black and white method to measure and increase writing productivity. This could be attributed to the fact that writers have different nature, temperament and preferences. The tips previously mentioned may or may not work on someone. What is necessary is that a writer should be able to identify whatever lifestyle pattern that he finds most comfortable and effective. Lastly, it is always imperative to find time to rest. After all, there is no measure as to what a well-rested mind could do.

How to Measure and Increase Assistant Productivity

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

The job of an assistant is not easy at all. For operations to be successful there is then a need to measure and increase assistant productivity.

A lot of people may think it is easy being a personal assistant or secretary. However, this position is not as easy as it may seem. True, assistants merely comply with the instructions given by their superiors. But you can never discount the fact that there just may be tasks assigned or delegated by superiors can be quite difficult to some extent. Plus, there is also the fact that if you have superiors with busy work schedules, your very own work schedule as a personal assistant can very much be busy as well. Thus, you have to be ready to meet the demands of the job, and this can require you to be a multitasker at times.

So, how do you measure and increase assistant productivity? The concept of measuring the productivity of your personal assistant actually entails a number of aspects. First and foremost, you have to determine if your assistant has certain qualities and that very important positive attitude towards his or her work. Look at your assistant and try to assess his or her qualities. Is your assistant flexible enough that he or she can deal with the inevitable changes that would sometimes arise in any ordinary work day? And when there are so many changes to be plotted out in a day, is your assistant still able to work all of these out efficiently? If you can answer these questions with a strong “yes”, then your assistant is indeed flexible and productive in this aspect.

Another thing to look out for is the quality of initiative. Now, assistants do rely on the instructions that are given to them by their superiors. These instructions actually plot out their work schedules as well. Still, it would really help to have an assistant who has enough initiative to act on his or her own. Imagine being the superior and you would have to dish out every single task to your assistant. Working very closely with each other, your assistant should be able to develop a certain pattern in the tasks and responsibilities that come with the job. There should be particular tasks wherein your assistant would no longer need you to give out that particular instruction anymore. After months or years of plotting monthly meetings with board members or suppliers should give your assistant insights on how he or she can do the job more conveniently for both of you. This spells out much initiative.

Time management is also an effective tool to use in determining just how productive your assistant is. Your assistant does not just attend to the demands of her own job because he or she also attends to that of the superiors. Thus, it would be very important to have excellent time management skills at hand. If your assistant can work very efficiently when under pressure, then this is a strong indication of productivity.

Increasing assistant productivity is an easier concept to grasp. All you have to do is offer your assistant enough incentives and motivation, and things will surely run more smoothly for the both of you. This way, your assistant would be motivated enough to want to be more productive in every aspect of the job.