Long to-do lists, staying busy all day, waking up early and going to bed late, doing several things at once, thinking that resting is a waste of time. All of these can, at some point, look like productive behavior. If you've had, or still have, any of these thoughts, it's time to rethink what productivity actually means.
Being productive can be the difference between succeeding or not, and the topic becomes even more relevant when you're planning to internationalize your business. It's worth remembering that an economy like the American one is used to working at a completely different pace, and has no time to lose.
Below, we've listed some tips for staying productive and keeping your teams engaged:
1) Plan your day the night before:
It sounds like a cliché, but stopping for five minutes before bed to plan the next day will give you organization and clarity. List everything you need and want to do, put the tasks in order of priority — this list doesn't need to, and shouldn't, be long. It needs to be objective and achievable.
Going to sleep with your day already planned will bring you a sense of security and focus, which helps you hit your deadlines.
2) List the hardest tasks first
Beyond ordering tasks by priority, try to place the hardest ones at the top of your list. As the day goes on and the more challenging tasks get crossed off, the rest of the day gets lighter.
3) Identify your most productive periods
We all have a time of day when we're most productive. Some people focus best in the morning, others in the afternoon, others at night, and some are early risers. Analyze and schedule your hardest tasks for those moments. That way, your simpler, quicker tasks get done with less effort.
4) Don't try to do everything at once: one thing at a time
If you have tasks that require a high level of concentration, stay focused on doing them one at a time. Don't try to multitask in these cases, because the work might get finished quickly, but it can lose quality and lead to errors along the way.
5) Prioritize what needs to get done
Do urgent things first. Don't fill your list with tasks that aren't urgent, or your list will look impossible to get through.
Always evaluate the things you do and what that says about their real importance at that moment. Cut or postpone those tasks from your list and daily habits to focus on what really matters.
There's a rule called the 80/20 rule, which refers to the phenomenon where 20% of actions lead to 80% of results. So, identify what that 20% is and focus on the tasks that generate 80% of the results.
6) Turn your list into a habit of control
A to-do list lets you quickly identify everything that needs to get done in your day, reducing the mental effort of remembering it all. Some urgent tasks will pop up along the way. Add them to the side of, or below, the task you're currently working on so you don't forget them.
If something isn't that urgent or important, it can be added to the next day's list. Throughout the day, many things will demand your attention, and to avoid losing focus, keep adding those less urgent tasks to the list.
These are usually small tasks that don't take much time, but can still be quite important.
7) Don't put off your tasks
The habit of putting off what needs to or can be done right now is a major time-waster, leads to big pileups of tasks, and to procrastination. To help change this mindset, whenever you think about postponing a task out of unwillingness, laziness, or difficulty, remember how much you could have gotten done if you never left anything for later.
Over time, this practice will become a habit, and your personal productivity will increase remarkably.
8) Use productivity tools
There are tools, both software and hardware, that help boost productivity and organize your time and tasks. You should use them.
9) Practice meditation
Meditation helps clear the mind, calms anxiety, awakens your awareness of priorities, and helps you focus on work. The greater your mental clarity, the more you'll be able to concentrate on tasks, and productivity will rise in quality.
10) Sleep well
A good night's sleep can considerably increase productivity levels. Remember that it's not just the number of hours slept that matters, but the quality of sleep. Your to-do list already eliminates much of the worry about remembering what needs to be done the next day. So, before going to sleep, try to relax.
Stay away from the TV, computers, phones, and any other device that grabs your attention. You can use this time to practice meditation and clear mental clutter. You'll see how much better you sleep.
11) Eliminate your distractions
During the day, many distractions can affect our work performance. Social media pages, TV, radio, phone, side conversations, and other time-wasters should be removed before you even start working. Close your social media tabs; if you have more than one email account, only open the one you'll actually use, and keep the rest closed.
If you don't need the internet to carry out certain tasks, cut off access entirely.
12) Have fun while working
You spend a good part of your life working, so it needs to be enjoyable. Find a more pleasant and fun way to get things done, and you'll see how much more exciting work becomes.
You can turn it into a game by timing how long certain tasks take and always trying to beat your own record.
13) Learn from the best
Identify the professionals who are the best at what you do. Follow them, learn from them, understand the best practices they use, adopt them, and adapt them to your own habits.
This will influence your learning curve, making you a more well-rounded, up-to-date, and efficient professional, increasing your chances of career success.
14) Delegate tasks
Many of the tasks you carry out can be done by other people. Evaluate what you do to figure out whether any activity could be handed off to someone with more available time and/or more skill to do it.
Make the most of your time by delegating those tasks.
15) Learn to say no
No can be a powerful tool! Some people have a hard time saying no, but sometimes it's necessary. Saying yes to every person and thing you don't want to do, to tasks that aren't important, and to activities unrelated to your goals, will hold back progress on what really matters or what you actually want to do.
16) Create a supportive environment
Your work environment plays a key role in performance. Make sure you're working in a personal space that motivates you. Set up an environment that's organized, clean, comfortable, quiet, or with ambient sounds that support focus and relaxation.
17) Limit your thoughts
Don't worry about hypothetical scenarios that haven't happened yet. Many negative thoughts and feelings are generated unnecessarily by these worries, since many of these situations will never actually occur. Avoid living in a bubble with these thoughts. Instead, focus on solutions for each situation, in case they do happen in the future.
That way, you'll feel more secure and confident.
18) Keep track of your team's well-being
Productivity and well-being are intrinsically linked. Well-being is a priority for many organizations today, since it's a key driver of both individual and organizational performance. Take time to check in on how your team is doing.
19) Align expectations
Set up a weekly team meeting about tasks — hold a 30-minute meeting with your team at the start of the week to delegate and align priorities for the week ahead. Set delivery dates and celebrate with your team when goals are reached.
When leading remotely, you won't be able to lead everything all at once — build trust and empower your team to take action and learn from their own mistakes. Maximum productivity comes from trust in the team that delivers it.
20) Use tools to help with organization
Use an online platform to organize and prioritize tasks in a way that's visible to the whole team.
