Productivity, efficiency, it is the talk of the town. Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai has recently announced a trimming down of cuts to travel & entertainment budgets and increasing productivity and efficiency in times the world faces an economic downturn.
Where can a profitable company, and one that continued thoughout the pandamic to grow can be slimmed down. An example shared by Pichai was to consolidate 2 music platforms into one. It does seem wasteful hosting 2 platforms essentially offering the same output.
Google is not the only corporation bent on improving efficiency. Questions are increasingly being asked whether our way or working, 5 days a week in most countries, is indeed beneficial or merely someething we are accustomed to. Over 70 companies in Britain are in the midst of experimenting with a 4-day week. Most of whom have so far discovered no drop in productivity, though some have seen an increase in efficiency and motivation.
Pichai’s inclination to trim down on processes and spending during a time when the company is profitable shows forethought and vision. He is getting ahead of the times, observing the environment and remaining prepped.
Cutting down on processes requires a shift in mindset for the employees of the organisation. “Procrastination costs the UK economy a staggering £345 billion each year,”. Billions lost to companies daily due to employees online shopping, daydreaming, using Twitter and taking cigarette breaks.
That is a staggering amount of wasted time and cost to the employer. Two simple strategies you can use immediately to reduce your time wasteage by 20%, all tried and tested by me and recommended to clients are,
- set clear goals, and
- reduce your task list right down from 20 to perhaps 3.
To effectively and easily cut down your list, determine whether your actions are aligned to the overall objective . Re-examine what is an absolute priority. A sure fire way to spot a priority is the very task you you are avoiding. That is often your priority, so getting it one with.
Ultimately, if we look with absolute honesty we can cut away much of the extra bits of time-wasting activities that add no or very little value to your overall output.