Productivity is a word you hear a lot in the business world. Many leaders use it when pushing the average employee to focus and get as much work completed in a day as possible. However, it’s not only about how much work you can accomplish in a day, but also about how much of that completed work does not require a redo. Quality work means getting work right the first time, and it saves time so you can accomplish more. Productivity takes clarity, direction, focus, and intended outcome.

There are many things that take our focus away from what we should be doing. Something as simple as organizing your thoughts and prioritizing your plans can make all the difference as you approach your daily tasks. Few managers share tips on how their employees can achieve quality results, consistently, so here are a few productivity tips you can use both at work and home:

1. Identify everything you want to get done; write them down and be clear and specific. Prioritize according to what is more urgent and/or important. Anything that can be put off for later should be put off for later. Combine related items into one task if possible or add a sub-task to prevent duplicating work.
2. Make sure you have access to the resources needed to complete your tasks. Starting and stopping and starting again is not only counterproductive, but it can also be frustrating and negatively impact your momentum.
3. Decide how much time it will realistically take to complete each task and set a timer. If you go over the allotted time, add time in 15-minute increments until the task is complete.
4. Remove potential distractions; let others know not to disturb you, put your phone, messages, and notification alerts on silent. It can help to play music without lyrics for soothing background noise, but remember the volume is very low to the music itself does not become a distraction. Find your zone!
5. Get it right the first time, every time. When you focus on one task at a time, you are less likely to make mistakes. Regularly check and double-check your work as you go through it and no just at the end. Every mistake can mean that you will need to redo a section, or worse, the whole thing. Productivity is as much about ensuring the quality of your output as it is about completing as many tasks as possible. Focus on quality and as your processes improve, so will the quantity.

As you can see from the tips, being more productive does not always mean making large, drastic changes. Starting with small, intentional steps in how you approach your work will give you more structure and control over the things you want to accomplish. Small tweaks in your approach can also prevent procrastination, distractions, or putting projects “off until tomorrow.” Now, at the opposite end of “putting things off” is working too hard – consistently pushing to meet deadlines or sacrificing the rest your body needs to perform at its best. Working too hard can become exhausting and make you feel overworked and burnt out. Remember, just because you can work 12 to 14 hours in a day does not mean you should. Over time, the quality of your work can deteriorate and result in poor results, less quality, and fewer widgets. Working long hours is also bad for your self-care, so do yourself a favor and work smart, not hard.

Use these tips to be consistent and get the results you want. Work smarter, accomplish more, increase productivity, and boost your performance. You will never know when you are next in line for a promotion. Go Get ‘Em!