journey

6 | If I’m working on a task at my desk,
for a break, I:
A. Walk or stretch every 90 minutes.
B. Don’t pay attention to breaks. I keep going until I
burn out.
C. Can’t concentrate for longer than 20-30 minutes at a
time, so I’m always taking breaks to check Facebook or
social media.
10 | Whenever I have a firm deadline for an
important project at work or home, I:
A. Am organized to meet it. I schedule tasks in a way that
allows me to complete them on schedule.
B. Procrastinate—I don’t worry about deadlines because I
know I can get it done at the last minute, before it’s due.
C. Have a hard time meeting deadlines—everyone knows
that about me.
Get carded,
alum.
7 | Although it varies, when my day is over,
I generally:
A. Feel relaxed and satisfied with how I’ve managed my
day.
B. Am glad to be done, but worried that I wasn’t
productive enough.
C. Feel burned out and frustrated—like I need a martini.
8 | When I sit down to work on a project, I:
A. Get right to work.
B. Read the day’s news or social media for at least 15
minutes first.
C. Usually just putter for an hour or more. I need windup
time.
9 | When I’m faced with a long task
involving paperwork and digesting many
documents, I:
A. Use techniques such as skimming and note-taking to
identify key points.
B. Start at the beginning and read every word from
start to finish.
C. Stare at the wall for a while before I get started, and
then start over a few times.
TALLY YOUR SCORE
Time to assess your productivity. Count up your answers
by giving yourself 10 points for each A answer; 5 for each
B; and 0 for each C.
65–100 Super Producer
Excellent! You’re probably very productive already.
But every process—even yours—can be improved. Have
you ever thought about batching similar types of work
activities together? The brain can sometimes focus better
when engaging in the same activity repeatedly, such as
making phone calls or replying to emails. You also might
benefit from seeing which time of day you work best,
and then schedule more challenging tasks during that
timeframe.
30–60 Room for Improvement
Adequate. You’re good at getting some things done,
but you can likely do much better to increase your
productivity. It may be helpful to realize that when you
interrupt yourself to start another activity, it can take
23 minutes, on average, to get back to the same level of
concentration that you had before you shifted gears.
Although many people think multi-tasking is helpful for
productivity, many experts say the reverse is actually
true. Consider sticking to one project at a time to see if
you achieve better results.
0–25 Stuck in a Rut
Whoa! Your low score indicates you may be struggling to
focus on your objectives to achieve effective outcomes.
Perhaps you need to reexamine your goals. People who
take the time to organize and plan their work days are
more productive. Think about sitting down to make a list
of daily goals—you may be surprised at your results.
Need to show proof of your alumni status?
Get your own ID card now at alumni.phoenix.edu
16 PHOENIX FOCUS | Spring 2016
alumni.phoenix.edu 17