Deepak Chopra's Guide to Being More Productive

One of the top business buzzwords, no matter what size the company, is productivity. Increasing productivity ensures more gets done, tasks take less time and every part of a work day is filled with useful activities. Unfortunately, improving productivity levels is often easier said than done.

Author, public speaker and medical doctor, Deepak Chopra is a world-renowned thought leader with some interesting and helpful ideas surrounding improving productivity. Not only can these benefit your business as a whole, they can also improve personal productivity, which supports the idea that changes are made at the top.

Here is his guide to being more productive in business:

Work out your motivation

To begin with, you need to know what your motivation behind the business is as this will be what drives your success and helps you be as productive as possible. Understanding exactly why you are doing what you're doing will aid you in terms of being happier in business, which can be a bigger boost than profit.

Dr Chopra explained "To sort out your underlying vision, passion and motivation in business, start by asking yourself, ‘What is my real motivation for being successful in business?’ ‘What does it mean to me to be successful in this realm?’"

Knowing what your motivation is and communicating this with employees will ensure everyone is pushing in the same direction.

Promote well-being

Feeling tired and stressed can really hamper productivity, often resulting in you getting less done and not working to your best ability. Negativity that is born of stress can also affect other people, pulling down the whole attitude of the workplace.

Promoting well-being can help to boost the overall mood, as well as ensure individuals take some time to step away from work and recharge. Dr Chopra notes that "The more positive the input your body receives, the more positive its output."

This means adding things to the workplace, such as an area to sit down for lunch, some form of entertainment and healthy snacks, which can all be beneficial to overall worker well-being. Not only will this ensure everyone enjoys working at the company, it will improve productivity too.

It isn't all about the outcome

When it comes to productivity, you need to put a focus on the processes rather than the outcome. Dr Chopra states that "If you're not enjoying what you're doing, you won't enjoy the outcomes, either."

Not putting effort into the processes and instead putting all the pressure on receiving a set outcome can mean that you end up dragging your feet as you try to get through a task. Working with others, taking on board opinions and creating more effective, less stressful processes can all be beneficial steps to take.

It may also be that you are able to change the outcome target to something more realistically achievable.

Make workers feel valued

One of the most effective ways of ensuring all employees are as productive as possible without extra stress is to ensure they all feel valued. Reward good work and put the focus on positives rather than negatives to show that everything your staff achieve is appreciated.

Beyond this, creating a company culture that rewards workers for small things can help to drive productivity and overall employee morale. Regular social events, free communication and allowing for honest feedback are all beneficial and could mean that you are better placed to deal with any issues before they become full-blown problems.