José Luís González Rodriguez is a Partner of ActionCOACH Spain, as well as a mentoring and business consulting expert.
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I would like to follow up, in this second article, on the one already published with the title “Exploring The Positive Impact Of Time Management On Workplace Productivity,” which highlighted the inefficiencies associated with the misuse of new technologies. This article references research with 1,458 businessmen and executives from different sectors of activity to analyze the use of time at work and whose global results I share here.
More than 90% of those surveyed lose between 15% and 40% of their daily time on tasks that are not productive, which means losses in productivity and profitability for the business. These are really worrying data.
In this second installment, we will see the results of the question: Do you have a pop-up window on your computer that alerts you to the arrival of emails?
In my research, 52% of respondents have email notifications. On the one hand, these distract attention from what we're doing; in many cases, we stop what we're doing altogether to check it, interrupting our concentration and generating inefficiencies and stress. When we finish reading the email and try to go back to what we were doing, we often have to start again from the beginning.
To improve the management of email usage, I recommend the following:
• Remove notifications of incoming messages and emails. If you don’t, you’re allowing an electronic device to own your agenda rather than deciding on the best use of your time yourself. If you do turn notifications off, you can increase concentration and therefore increase productivity and reduce stress. This can help you do those tasks that were previously defined as important but may have fallen to the wayside. In my experience working with hundreds of employees in companies, once you can get this measure implemented, the results are spectacular. People feel happier, more relaxed and more productive. Machines should not, under any circumstances, be a reason for reduced productivity; quite the contrary.
• Do not check emails continuously. Set up time blocks during the working day where you can dedicate your time to the sole task of reviewing and managing emails. Once finished, do not look at them again until the next time slot. For example, try first thing in the morning and last thing each day. Sometimes more time slots may be better; it all depends on the person and position. But the idea is not to allow email to continuously interrupt you.
• Adopt the school calendar scheme. We had a class every hour and never in the same hour did they mingle. When there was mathematics, it was just mathematics and no literature. Organize your daily schedule with time blocks to do only one thing that corresponds to the main objectives of your job. This way, you can avoid being in firefighter mode, putting out fires and doing things that don’t add value to the company. This can reduce stress and improve productivity.
Once corrective measures are put in place to prevent these losses in productivity, companies can make enormous progress and employees can start to enjoy reduced stress and increased motivation.
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