When business is poor, it's crucial that sales-driven organizations like distribution companies get the most productivity possible out of their existing employee base. Here are some ideas for boosting your personal performance.

It is possible to double your productivity. The formula you need is easy to explain, but it takes effort and determination to implement. It is simply this: Perform more and more tasks of higher value and delegate, delay, outsource and eliminate tasks of lower value.

The starting point is to think through your work before you begin. Your first responsibility, the primary job of a knowledge worker, is to determine what is to be done. The more accurate you can be about the "what," the more productive you can be when you begin on the "how" and "when."

Five questions for superior performance
There are five questions you must ask yourself regularly if you want to perform at your very best:

1. What am I trying to do? 
Define the ideal goal or outcome you are striving for before you begin. If you are working with others, make sure everybody is crystal clear about the desired result before anyone starts work.

2. How am I trying to do it? 
Make sure that this is the best way. Ask whether there could be another way. Always remain open to the possibility that you could be wrong. Think through and analyze your approach to be sure that it is the very best way to approach your goal or objective.

3. What are my assumptions? 
Are you making any assumptions with regard to the market, the actions or performance of other people, the underlying motives of the key players or the outcome of future events? Remember, as time management expert Alec Mackenzie wrote, "Errant assumptions lie at the root of most failures."

4. What if my assumptions were wrong? 
What if something that you believed to be true turned out not to be true at all? Perhaps someone you are negotiating with is only using this negotiation with you to get a better price or deal from someone else. Always be willing to question your most cherished assumptions.

5. What would I do differently if my key assumptions were wrong? 
What would you do if this approach failed completely? What are your alternatives? If you were not doing it this way, would you start it over again? Always be willing to ask, "How else could I go about achieving this same result?"

Use the ABCDE method daily
Use the ABCDE Method to set work priorities. Place one of these letters before each task on your list before you begin.

An "A" task is something that is important. It is something you must do. It is something for which there are significant consequences if you do it or fail to do it. If you have more than one "A" task to do, organize them as A-1, A-2, A-3 and so on, in order of importance.

A "B" task is something that you should do. There are consequences if it is done or not done, but it is not as important as an "A" task. Never work on a "B" task when there is an "A" task left undone. Refuse to work on a lower priority when there is a higher priority waiting.

A "C" task is something that would be nice to do but has no consequences at all. For example, reading the paper, going for coffee with a coworker, or calling home to see what’s for dinner are all "C" tasks. They contribute nothing to your job or your success. Never work on a "C" task when there is a "B" task left undone.

A "D" task is anything you can delegate to someone else. The rule is that you should delegate everything that can possibly be done by anyone else so that you can free more time to do the few things only you can do.

Ask yourself, "What can I and only I do that, if done well, will make a real difference to my company?" Delegate as much as possible so that you can spend more time working on the one task that is the answer to this question, the one task that can really make a difference.

An "E" task is something you can eliminate altogether. Doing it or not doing it has no consequences at all. It is something that may have been important in the past but that you can discontinue today with no real effect on your job or your future.

Separate the urgent from the important
Another way to set priorities before you begin is to separate the urgent from the important. An urgent task is something that seems pressing or timely, such as a phone call or an emergency. An important task is something that can have serious consequences if it is done or not done.

Something that is both urgent and important is a task that is "in your face." This is something you have to do immediately. Your job may depend on it. The consequences for nonperformance of an urgent and important task can be serious. This type of task is always associated with external demands and other people. This type of work, urgent and important, is where most people spend their time.

Tasks that are important but not urgent are usually tasks on which you can procrastinate at least temporarily. These are also the tasks that can have the greatest possible consequences, positive or negative, for the long term.

For example, writing a key report, pursuing a course of study, spending time with your children when they are growing up, and even exercising to keep fit are all tasks that are important but not urgent. You can put them off until later, and you often do. But they can have significant positive or negative consequences in the long term.

These tasks and activities can give you tremendous leverage and enable you to multiply yourself and your efforts. The more time you spend on tasks that are important though not urgent, the more effective and productive you become in the long term.

Tasks that are urgent but not important include ringing telephones, coworkers who want to talk to you, and incoming mail. These tasks appear pressing, but in terms of consequences they are not important at all. Most people spend an enormous amount of time doing things that are urgent but not important. While appearing busy, they often delude themselves into thinking that they are doing something of value, even though this is seldom true.

Tasks that are neither important nor urgent are largely a waste of time, especially when they take you away from more productive activities. Many people spend half their time doing things that are neither important nor urgent. They make the mistake of thinking that they are doing something of value just because they are at work when they are doing it.

A major key to high productivity is for you to focus on completing all your urgent and important work and then to concentrate on activities that are important but not urgent. Meanwhile, you must delay, defer, delegate and discontinue all other tasks. You must discipline yourself to stop doing the things that are urgent but not important and those that are neither urgent nor important.

Seven keys to higher productivity
There are seven additional ways to increase your productivity, performance and output, either alone or in combination with others.

1. Work harder at what you do. 
When you work, work all the time you work. Don’t waste time. Don’t look at the workplace as a place to socialize with your friends. Instead, when you come to work, put your head down and work full blast for the entire day. This practice alone will enable you to double your productivity.

2. Work faster. 
Develop a sense of urgency. Get on with the job. Don’t waste time. Develop and maintain a fast tempo in your work activities. Deliberately move faster from task to task. You’ll be amazed at how much more you’ll get done just by deciding to pick up the pace in everything you do.

3. Work on higher-value activities.
Remember that the number of hours you work is not nearly as important as the value of the tasks you complete, the quality and quantity of results you achieve. The more time you spend on higher-value tasks, the greater results you will obtain from every hour you put in.

4. Do things you are better at. 
When you work on tasks at which you are especially skilled and experienced, you can accomplish much more in a shorter period of time than could an inexperienced person. In addition, work at getting better at the most important things you do. Nothing will increase the quality and quantity of your output faster than becoming excellent at performing the most important tasks that are expected of you.

5. Bunch your tasks. 
Do several similar activities all at the same time. By writing all your letters, filling out all your expense reports, or preparing all your proposals at the same time, you get better and faster with each task. You move more quickly along the learning curve. Each subsequent task takes you less time. You can reduce the amount of time it takes to perform a particular task by up to 80 percent by doing several similar tasks one after the other.

6. Simplify your work so that it is easier to do. 
Consolidate several parts of the job into a single task so that there are fewer steps. Eliminate lower-value activities altogether.

7. Work longer hours. 
Notwithstanding my points elsewhere regarding time off from work, it is true that if you start a little earlier and stay a little later, you will be more productive. By starting your day earlier than the average person, you beat the traffic into work. By staying a little later, you leave after the traffic. By doing both, you can add two or three hours to your productive working day without really affecting your lifestyle. These extra hours are all you need to become one of the most productive and highest-paid people in your field.

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