Guest post by James Adams

Even in the best of times, you need to be more productive so that you and your business will be more profitable. When the economy is troubled, that only makes your performance even more important. Let’s take a look at 10 organization tips to improve productivity and boost profit.

1. 1. Enjoy what you do (or do what you enjoy): studies continue to demonstrate that those who love their work produce more and make more money. Get honest with yourself about what you are doing: if you don’t like it, change. It’s never too late to find a way to chase your dreams while getting paid for it.
2. Mini milestones: set specific targets that you force yourself to achieve before you stop working on a task. This makes sure you make necessary progress on a task even if you’re having trouble staying focused. Avoid the trap of quitting when you’re tired or unmotivated. Force yourself to get incremental work completed before you stop for the day.
3. Challenge yourself: you can always be better than you are now and do more than what you’re doing. Don’t settle for work that allows you to coast. Find ways to make work challenging and expect more from yourself every day.
4. Get enough sleep: without enough rest, you aren’t going to function at your highest level. Sacrificing sleep for work is especially problematic for those who work at home or online. Define your working hours so that you have enough time to relax and then have a good night’s sleep.
5. Plan: set aside time at the end of each day to plan for the next day. That way in the morning you can hit the ground running since you know exactly what you need to do.
6. Get a long term plan: don’t get so tied up with the work you are doing now that you don’t have the time, energy, or freedom to think about how you want your life and career to develop. It’s good to be busy, but when you’re too busy you limit your future and build for yourself a job that you despise.
7. Avoid distractions while you work: email, phone calls, Internet, radio, television and more all contend for your time, especially if you’re working for yourself or by yourself. You need to find ways to get honest with yourself about what saps your productivity and take measures to avoid those things. A good thing to try is to avoid distractions entirely. For example, if you find yourself reacting to every inbound email notification in your system tray, keep your email closed and schedule time to manage email once or twice a day. This keeps you focused on the job at hand. If you have stocks, shut that ticker down or you’ll be watching it all day instead of working. Pay attention to what you’re doing and you’ll be surprised at how many distractions take productive time away from your daily routine.
8. To do lists and evaluations: have a list of everything you need to get done and what the deadline for each task is. As you work, mark off the things you complete so you have a record of what you have accomplished during the day.
9. Implement a system or strategy: don’t be afraid to get help. Explore some self-management experts to see how you can work better, think smarter, and get more done. A good place to start is with David Allen’s Getting Things Done. This program lays out simple, practical steps to make sure you accomplish things on a timely basis without leaving anything out. Don’t stop there either, because there is a host of valid programs designed to help people be successful with their work. Just find one you like or take good things from several programs and make your own strategy!
10. Overcome inertia: sometimes the most time is wasted thinking about getting started or making excuses for why you can’t get started. You know what you need to do, so it’s time to start working on it. You might not start off in the right direction, but you can adjust what you’re doing as you go.

This guest post was written by James Adams, a UK based blogger who works with an online provider of the HP 338 ink cartridge and other supplies for businesses and homes. He is also an editor on their blog where he writes about advertising and print design.

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