5 EFFECTIVE STEPS TO INCREASE EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY

Are you a Boss or a C.E.O and wondering how to make your employees more productive? You see, the cost involved in hiring and training new employees is so expensive and time consuming that managers of organizations need to ensure that they bring onboard innovative ways that would increase the productivity of employees. It is not enough for employees to have an office to work in and get a cheque at the end of the month. Less productive inputs and lower efficiency levels are bound to affect the business and jeopardize its sustainability and survival. In this post, i share with you one of the plethora of articles i have written for How to Plaza. I hope it helps you boost the moral of your employees

 Below are some techniques you can take to increase employee productivity in your organization.

• Give out achievement awards:  Employees are motivated by the need for social recognition; hence, giving achievement awards to outstanding employees is an excellent way to improve productivity. These achievement awards can take the form of plaques, certificates, prizes, or even special parking spaces, and are handed out to employees who meet certain performance standards.

• Encourage and Motivate: Employers must make it a habit to always have words of encouragement for his employees. Encouraging employees helps them move forward and do even better, and makes the worker feel happy. Innovative ways of motivating them spurs them even more. For example, offer holidays or paid conferences to staff that prove to be outstanding in their field; these motivate them immensely and encourage others to give off their very best.

• Operate an Open Door policy: Keep communication with employees open. Listen to their complaints and pay attention to the problems going on in the workplace. To increase productivity, you should spend time listening to their suggestions and add comments if necessary 

• Use a Monetary reward system: Use money to keep employees from looking elsewhere. Regularly offer small bonuses or raises to loyal employees. Set up a raise schedule, so that employees can see what awaits them if they choose to stay.

•  Courses and improvement options: Employees are delighted when they can enhance their skills and get additional learning opportunities sponsored by the employer. This helps them learn, feel indebted for the money being spent on them, which also adds to their resume, and are obliged to perform better by applying all the knowledge gained in these courses.

WHAT NEXT?

Well, these are not all the steps you can take to increase the productivity of your employees, if you have more ways;kindly share it with us. And remember, if you are an unproductive employee;you just have two options, either YOU LOVE THE WORK OR YOU QUIT!

HOW TO STOP PROCRASTINATION AND INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY

Have you ever thought of doing something just to put it on hold for the so called right time?The most common problem we all have to deal with is procrastination. We know what we want to do and should do. But still we end up spending hours upon hours escaping through social media(  guess this Facebook Thing isn’t stealing your time) watching videos, and surfing the net( obviously just looking for something to release them of the boredom). At the end, we become very unproductive which intends lowers our self esteem. If you believe procrastination is an old thief of time, and you desperately need help. Then, this post is right for you.Today I share with you how to overcome procrastination in some simple steps.Enjoy!

• Make a list of all things you procrastinate

First thing to do to learn how to stop procrastination is make a short list of the tasks you have been procrastinating. Next to each task, write a sentence or two describing the benefits you will get from undertaking such tasks. This first step will give you the impetus to start doing it.

• Start doing, stop planning

It is common to spend time and time again planning and thinking over what we want to do. A bit of planning can certainly help you to achieve what you want to achieve. A lot of planning and thinking tends to have the opposite effect. Take the next step; you have planned enough, start doing all that is on the drawing board. For a journey of thousand miles would always begin with the first step.

• Break your work into little steps

When you do the hard jobs first, the easy one would take care of themselves. Break your work into little steps. Part of the reason why we procrastinate is because subconsciously, we find the work too overwhelming for us. Break it down into little parts, and then focus on one part at the time. If you still procrastinate on the task after breaking it down, then break it down even further. Soon, your task will be so simple you can finish it in no time.

What Next?

Remember,Procrastination has always being named as the number thief of time; don’t allow it to cripple you.

5 Simple Ways to Increase Your Intelligence

Your brain needs exercise just like a muscle. If you use it often and in the right ways, you will become a more skilled thinker and increase your ability to focus. But if you never use your brain, or abuse it with harmful chemicals, your ability to think and learn will deteriorate. Here are 5 simple ways anyone can squeeze a bit more productivity out of the old gray matter.

1. Minimize Television Watching – This is a hard sell. People love vegetating in front of the television, myself included more often than I’d like. The problem is watching television doesn’t use your mental capacity OR allow it to recharge. It’s like having the energy sapped out of a muscle without the health benefits of exercise.
Don’t you feel drained after a couple hours of TV? Your eyes are sore and tired from being focused on the light box for so long. You don’t even have the energy to read a book.
When you feel like relaxing, try reading a book instead. If you’re too tired, listen to some music. When you’re with your friends or family, leave the tube off and have a conversation. All of these things use your mind more than television and allow you to relax.
2. Exercise – I used to think that I’d learn more by not exercising and using the time to read a book instead. But I realized that time spent exercising always leads to greater learning because it improves productivity during the time afterwards. Using your body clears your head and creates a wave of energy. Afterwards, you feel invigorated and can concentrate more easily.

read self help books

3. Read Challenging Books – Many people like to read popular suspense fiction, but generally these books aren’t mentally stimulating. If you want to improve your thinking and writing ability you should read books that make you focus. Reading a classic novel can change your view of the world and will make you think in more precise, elegant English. Don’t be afraid to look up a word if you don’t know it, and don’t be afraid of dense passages. Take your time, re-read when necessary and you’ll soon grow accustomed to the author’s style.
Once you get used to reading challenging books, I think you’ll find that you aren’t tempted to go back to page-turners. The challenge of learning new ideas is far more exciting than any tacky suspense-thriller.
4. Early to Bed, Early to Rise – Nothing makes it harder to concentrate than sleep deprivation. You’ll be most rejuvenated if you go to bed early and don’t sleep more than 8 hours. If you stay up late and compensate by sleeping late, you’ll wake up lethargic and have trouble focusing. In my experience the early morning hours are the most tranquil and productive. Waking up early gives you more productive hours and maximizes your mental acuity all day.
If you have the opportunity, take 10-20 minute naps when you are hit with a wave of drowsiness. Anything longer will make you lethargic, but a short nap will refresh you.
5. Take Time to Reflect – Often our lives get so hectic that we become overwhelmed without even realizing it. It becomes difficult to concentrate because nagging thoughts keep interrupting. Spending some time alone in reflection gives you a chance organize your thoughts and prioritize your responsibilities. Afterwards, you’ll have a better understanding of what’s important and what isn’t. The unimportant stuff won’t bother you anymore and your mind will feel less encumbered.
I’m not saying you need to sit on the floor cross-legged and chant ‘ommm’. Anything that allows a bit of prolonged solitude will do. One of my personal favorites is taking a solitary walk. Someone famous said, “All the best ideas occur while walking.” I think he was on to something. Experiment to find the activity that works best for you.
Conclusion –
I hope you aren’t disappointed that none of the techniques I’ve proposed are revolutionary. But simple, unexciting answers are often the most valid. The challenge is having the will to adhere to them. If you succeed in following these 5 tips, you’ll be rewarded with increased mental acuity and retention of knowledge.

Credit:Pick The Brain

5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Watch Ghanaian Movies

agya koo Salamatu

At the close of work each week; taking a stroll on the principal street of Kumasi, I can’t help but take notice of the numerous posters plastered on every corner of the city. Interesting enough, most of these posters display Ghanaian movies that are designed to whet the appetite of every Tom, Dick and Harry. From titles such as All Die be Die, Agya Koo Salamatu, Bonsam kukukoo,Asem aba Ghana, Ampe Bre,Ataa Mortuary man and the latest Gargantuan 1 and 2 ; these posters find their way to the living rooms of most Ghanaians not as posters, but as CD ready to provided entertainment to many a household. After being in the ever increasing traffic situation in Kumasi popularly known as “go slow”, what do I see when I switch on my TV? The same movies being advertised but this time, in motion pictures. So which people have been patronizing such movies and what do they get from it? These are but questions I have been seeking answers to. In this article I would love to share with you five reasons why I think you should not watch Ghanaian movies. If you are set, then let’s enter:

• Not intellectually stimulating

Most of the Ghanaian movies are not intellectually stimulating; you can easily predict the end of the movie from the beginning. Just look at this concept: Agya Koo (Ghana's finest movie star) who grew up in a small village is not making head way in life. His childhood friend who moved to the city some years ago came back to the village and is driving the latest sports car. Agya Koo desires to be like his friend; he envies his friend and seeks for alternative to be at par with him. He seeks for advice from another colleague who prescribes sacrificing his 11 year old son as an alternative. He followed the advice, the wealth and fame starts to pour on him. Suddenly, the ghost of his daughter appears and keeps hunting him. Agya Koo is given three days to confess his sins or gets mad. What would agya koo do? Grab your Copy now! That is a typical storyline of most Ghanaian movies. With such kind of movies parading on the street of Accra and Kumasi, even a class three student from my basic school, stands a higher chance of predicting the end and even writing the other parts of the story if given the chance. Why should you spend two hours of your valuable time on such movies? Unless of course, you do not see the monetary value of time or have no dream to accomplish. 

• Use of Foul or abusive language

About 90% of the local movies shown on Ghanaian television contain very abusive and foul languages. It is not uncommon to hear one person shout out such words such as “Wu ye aboa”,”wu a gyi mi” etc which when translated into English means “You are an animal” and “you are a fool”. These words are said in the typical Ashanti way that makes you feel the punch even behind your television. Because we can exercise little control over the words we hear, these verbally abusive words sink into our hearts, our kids learn them and they reproduce the same kind of words in their dealing with friends and even parents. Now, I don’t think this is the kind of values you want your kids to learn from watching local movies.Do you?

• It Makes you Poor

It’s amazing, you find the ordinary Ghanaian go to a movie store to purchase the latest Ghanaian movies and later that same person complains of poverty in Ghana. They have at least 5 cedis to buy a movie to watch but lack the same discipline to invest ₡ 5 on a regular interval in a chosen investment package. On the average, you can count not less than ten CDs in the living room of every Ghanaian, assuming each CD cost₡ 5, then you have ₡50 or more lying waste on the shelves of the average Ghanaian room. If that same 5 cedis was channeled into an investment package that provide a minimum of 10% return per annum. In three years you would probably have ₡66.55p in your account. This is reasonable considering the fact that there is no return on investment on your CDs, they are liabilities.

• You watch others get Rich:

Closely related to the fact that watching movies (i.e. buying them) makes you poor, you watch others become rich. I bird whispered to me that on the average an accomplish actor or actress gets about ₡ 4000 per movie. So what is in it for you? Why spend time and resources watching someone make money whilst you do not get a dime from it? The only benefit I can point out is, the joy you get laughing your heart outs. Why don’t you channel your time and resources in productive activities? An activity that would translate into monetary equivalent if done well and with perseverance. What do you think?

• Exposure to intense Nudity

For those who would not go for the Agya koo kind of movie, they are served with intense nudity. The so called elite Ghanaian movies have nothing to offer but nudity. Sex sells, you know, so let’s put more sexually stimulating contents in it, and we would get our money back, this has being the slogan of the producers of such movies. What a shame. So can’t the producers and directors of Ghanaian movies bring as more educative movies. Movies that teach the moral lessons of life and help solve the numerous situations facing the ordinary Ghanaian, i.e.  Divorce, unemployment, suicide, financial crisis?

Till Ghanaian movie producers realize they can change the world with their movies, Ghana would not move forward and we would be just marking time.

 

What Next?

If you think of watching any Ghanaian movie over the weekend, just pause and ask yourself this question. What is in it for me?  Drop me your comment if you find an answer and let’s keep sharing.