How I Quadrupled My Productivity in 30 Days

Productivity is the #1 problem of many people nowadays. Especially, if you are working mostly online, you have to come up with smart solutions to increase your productivity.

There are so many books, articles, blog posts, tools and software out there to help you increase your productivity. You have to do your research and find the tools you really need to increase your productivity.

I won’t try to teach you anything, instead I will share How I Quadrupled My Productivity in 30 Days, briefly.

Finding the Bottlenecks In Your Workflow

For each individual, the bottlenecks will be different. You have to start finding the constraints and the bottlenecks in your workflow one step at a time. Get a pen and a paper, and start making a list of all the bottlenecks that slows you down.

There is no out of the box solution for increasing productivity. Everybody needs to do their own homework. You cannot solve a problem unless you know exactly what the problem is.

This is exactly what I did. I have found the main constraints during my daily workflow, then went out looking for the right solutions.

Main Constraints I had that Kept me From Increasing My Productivity

After making a huge list, I picked the top 2 constraints I had. These are the bottlenecks that kept me from increasing my productivity.

1. Starting to work on a project without properly and visually planning it.
2. Losing so much time with forgotten passwords, and bookmarks

I Knew My Constraints, It was Time to Find the Right Solutions

I started with my #1 constraint:

Starting to work on a project without properly and visually planning it.

My #1 constraint was thinking about a great/cool idea and jumping on the development part without visually and properly planning it.

I was doing my research, taking my notes usually in Google Docs, and delegating the project to my staff right away.

Something was missing…

And it was; Mindmapping. Without proper, and visual mindmapping, it was hard to see the big picture for most of the projects. A good friend of mine has recommended several solutions for mindmapping.

I have started using Flowchart.com which is a free online flow chart and mindmapping tool. There are some better, paid solutions out there which might help you create better mindmapping diagrams. I have been testing some of them and will update this post if I find a better solution.

But for now, Flowchart.com has solved my problem and it is 100% free. What can beat that?

I’m so glad I have started doing mindmapping before starting a new project, even tiny side projects.

It was time to find a solution for my #2 constraint.

Losing so much time with forgotten passwords, and bookmarks

I have tried so many tools, firefox addons, software and websites for organizing my bookmarks. Always, there was something missing. I didn’t know what it was. Also with increasing number of membership sites, emails, websites, hosting control panels, etc. I was having some serious problems with managing my passwords.

I’m always the skeptical guy when it comes to my passwords. I didn’t want to upload all of my passwords into a 3rd party software.

Until it became impossible to manage all of my passwords.

Then I have found the dream solution (after several recommendations from friends) called Roboform.

I have no idea how I’ve managed so many passwords, bookmarks and forms without Roboform for so many years. I have gained so much time otherwise I’d be losing with this piece of software. I’m using the firefox plugin and the USB version of the Roboform now and I’m absolutely loving it.

Even though I’m using the paid version of Roboform and it’s well worth it, you can simply keep using the free version for good (with some limitations I believe).

It is Your Choice to Quadruple Your Productivity or Not

Whether your constraints are similar to mines or not, take some time out of your busy schedule, identify the constraints that keep you from increasing your productivity, and start finding the right tools and approaches to overcome your productivity problems.

Tagged as: Increasing Productivity, Personal Productivity, Productivity Tools