How would you define a successful day? How would you define a productive day? Having a productive day can lead to a successful day. There may be relatively few successful days compared to productive days, but the productive days provide the foundation for achieving successful days.
What does productivity mean?
Productivity is tied to being able to determine what needs to be done and working efficiently within that time frame
Productivity can mean different things in different professions. It can mean good results, coverage of certain ground, working a certain amount to meet a deadline or it can simply mean a good output.
Productivity in patent searching could be viewed through the following lenses:
- The number of references reviewed in an hour
- The number of references reviewed per day
- The number of references reviewed per project
- The number of relevant references located
- The number of CPC headings reviewed
- The number of keyword strings reviewed
Of course, there are more variables, but it’s obvious productivity can be viewed in terms of numbers. A more general concept could be:
Searching through what’s needed to get the best/comprehensive set of results/references.
This may not require looking at absolutely everything and spending weeks on end. Productivity is tied to being able to determine what needs to be done and working efficiently within that time frame.
Rotate the tasks
This can give confidence and a sense of achievement so that when you are ready to start the second period of intense work, your brain is not only ready for it, but you feel and have sense of confidence
The key to productivity in patent searching is the management of time. There are necessary steps that are needed to complete a patent search. This will be different for each search, but it’s important to identify what these tasks are.
Rank these tasks in terms of what will need the most concentration. For example, a spot-on CPC heading might need to be searched in full. This task would likely need more reading/concentration and importantly more time. As this task matches with your concentration, energy and focus, it may not take as long as would be expected. Take advantage of this precious time.
Rank tasks in terms of what will need the most concentration
For each day there a times you can identify for yourself that are most productive. Identify these hours and use these hours to complete your most hard-going tasks. For example, between 9-11 and 1-3 you could focus on going through a concentrated list of references indexed in a relevant CPC heading. Does this mean that the rest of the day is redundant? No! A good trick is to rotate the tasks and focus on other aspects of the patent search that can be completed more easily, such as keyword searches and citation searches. The pivoting away from that intense concentration and performing a ‘lighter’ task relieves the load on the brain and gives a sense of relief whilst still completing necessary parts of the patent search. The task is not ‘lighter’ in the sense of importance. It’s still a fundamental part of the search, but it’s likely to be less concentrated and contain more noise. This means a quicker and faster review. This can give confidence and a sense of achievement so that when you are ready to start the second period of intense work, your brain is not only ready for it, but you feel and have sense of confidence. You are still completing all parts of the patent search, but you are taking advantage of times that your focus is best and saving those times for work that requires intense focus.
The pivoting away from that intense concentration and performing a ‘lighter’ task relieves the load on the brain and gives a sense of relief whilst still completing necessary parts of the patent search
A great piece of advice I received in my employed days was to write the report as the search progresses. It really does focus the mind and constantly brings you back to centre, the goal of the search. A reference located can then be evaluated in the context of the search.
Productivity does not mean rushing through a search. A patent search is a deliberate piece of work, with goals defined as the search progresses. Split your day into sections to accomplish tasks that match your focus and energy. Here is a sample day:
- 6-9 Most concentration (the core part of the search)
- 9:30-11 Citation searches/keywords
- 11-12:30 Most concentration (the core part of the search)
- 1:30-2:30 Report writing
A patent search is a deliberate piece of work, with goals defined as the search progresses
Taking short breaks can reset your concentration and focus. In summary:
- Use time management to match your concentration and focus
- Rank tasks in terms of what will need the most concentration
- Rotate tasks
- Write the report as the search progresses
How do you define productivity? How do you manage this during a patent search?