Five Easy Productivity Tips For Engineers

The times they are a changing; or so the saying goes. In today's environment most employees are expected to do more with less and faster. Not always easy when we have distractions at every corner imaginable. Just last week I was talking to a prospective candidate for a new engineering vacancy we had and the subject of productivity came up. He told me that he was regularly working on four to five projects at once while managing another half a dozen team members. Oh and he had to deliver on time. He was also receiving up to seventy emails a day most of which seemed to require an answer! Not an uncommon story. You can find many an article online about productivity and reading them can just add to the stress!

Having spoken to many successful and incredibly productive engineers in my time here are the key the key productivity ideas they all seem to agree on.

1. Have a plan

Old fashioned maybe; yet it works. Better to at least start the week with a plan that you can focus on rather than bouncing from one thing to the next. One engineer I know has a Friday end of week meeting with himself. He reviews what he has achieved, what were his learning's and what where the three big things he needed to achieve the next week. That gave him structure and a real focus of what needed to happen next.

2. Email management

A few years ago there was a trend that suggested only looking at your emails once a day. Great idea though not particularly practical. First you need to get them organised. Forget what anyone says folders work no matter what email service you are using. You may or may not have the luxury of having some admin support that can do this for you. If you do, great. If not bite the bullet and just do it. You will be surprised how fast you can get things organised. There is a great book called how to be a productivity ninja that has great tips on how to do this. For what it is worth. I look at emails three times a day and time myself.

3. Rituals and batching

Having rituals in your life works. A strange word maybe only it seems to describe what I am about to share really well. Rituals are an age old concept that works. For those of you with Children you will know the benefit of the 'rituals' or habits you have put into place. Food at a certain time, baths, playtime etc. It works and as human beings we are wired that way; yes even as adults. So how about a ritual about how often you review projects, talk to the team. This leads me onto an important productivity tip.

4. Energy and exercise

If you have a busy role (and who doesn't?) you need to be physically and mentally fit enough to get it done. Don't underestimate the power of giving your body what it needs. Firstly decent food at regular intervals and plenty of water. You might not be a gym person that doesn't matter at least take a walk at lunch time. Your body responds to fresh air and exercise. Take regular breaks. Get away from the desk or bench. A recent study said that

5. Get it out of your head

If you are anything like most busy people I meet you will have a million and one things running around in your head. Hot tip; get them out. Just do a brain dump and put them down on paper. You will them be able to see the 'wheat from the chaff' in other words what are quick actions , what are projects and what can be delegated or wait.

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