The existing societies and economic challenges can be met, as a nation, thereby making individuals more productive. The productivity of every citizen plays a crucial role in societal transformation and sustainable economic development.
There are some underlying factors that drive the productivity of individuals who further positively contribute to societal development.
Read more: Productivity now, sustainability forever
Motivation
Motivation is the first important driver of productivity. It is the level of motivation that drives us to complete a task within the stipulated time. An important question may be asked how can we achieve long-lasting motivation. The researchers believe that it is the sense of control that makes an individual motivated in the long run. For instance, we can motivate an individual to read thereby giving freedom to read the book of his/her own choice.
The second important ingredient is the alignment of tasks with core values, which contribute to persistent motivation. We are unconsciously more inclined to perform those tasks that are aligned with our core values to obtain the due credit and respect from peer groups in particular and society in general for personal satisfaction.
Setting Goals
Productive individuals must focus to achieve a set target. This is another important trait of effective people. The focus of an individual is based on the principal of” envision the future”. The focus contributes to the construction of specific goals. However, specific targets make individual more focused. Therefore, the center of focus and setting goals are bi-directional in nature. The researchers believe that there must be two types of goals. First, an individual must set a stretch goal.
Afterward, he/she must design smart (specific, measurable, attainable, and realistic and timeline) milestones to achieve the stretch goal. We can’t live a productive life without a specific target, and then we must brainstorm alternative ways, the potential benefits and hurdles of those alternatives path to achieve the target. It would help us to keep track of our progress. Otherwise, distractions in real life would more quickly detract us from a specific target. The stretch goal is like a destiny and smart goals are different paths to reach the destiny. Therefore, the planning of specific task-based objectives would help the individual to become more focused and avoid unnecessary delays and distractions.
Read more: Enhancing agricultural productivity to tackle food insecurity
Effective Decision Making
Effective decision making is necessary for persistent productive behavior. You must assess the problem at hand with different aspects and envision the outcomes of those scenarios. For instance, you are focusing on whether to improve your write-up or computer programming.
So in this case, you must envision which one is more aligned with your stretch goal. What would be the repercussions of opting for, write-up and disposing of the computer program? Do I need to invest in both areas for professional and career development? So the forecasting of possible outcomes would help you to make a better decision for a productive life.
Be Creative
Innovation is another important driver of productivity. A creative person, also known as an “innovating broker” presents an old idea in a new way and pays close attention to the personal feelings and emotions to distinguish the cliché from real insights.
The pain of stress during the creative process and acknowledgment of critique would reduce alternative blindness.
Managing the Team
The productive individuals effectively and efficiently manage the team members. They empower the team members’ through delegation of power with authority. The delegation of power ensures effective decision making and avoids unnecessary delays. Second, they provide more freedom to those co-workers, who are closely related to the problem. This technique would help them optimize the utilization of resources to resolve this problem. Finally, productive individuals thoroughly analyze the available data.
Read more: Why Being a People Pleaser is Terrible for Your Productivity
They are more experts in making sense of the data, thereby identifying the key patterns regarding a particular problem at hand. This painful process of data absorption makes them more productive and better decision-makers.
The writer is an assistant professor at the Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Rawalpindi. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.