Productivity Hacks: How to Achieve More at Work in Less Time
By: Yosniel, Joe
Tags: Productivity Hacks, Time Management, Life Hacking, Self Improvement, Work

Focus on what REALLY matters.

Despite what you might think, not everything is a priority.

Think about what you do daily, from the moment you wake up and go to work, to the moment you go to bed.

How many times during the day did you overwhelm yourself and feel stressed out? How many unexpected things came up during the day that sabotaged your productivity?

I get it, life gets in the way, the boss is breathing down your neck, the kids have activities, COVID is stressing everyone out!

STOP…take a deep breath…and plan out your day the best you can.

Instead of having 10 different priority items, pick the top 3 items and get those done today.

It’s actually unproductive to try to tackle a never-ending to-do list.

After a few days of doing this, I promise you that you will feel better about yourself, your mood will improve, you will be more engaged, and you will be able to get more done.

“Improved productivity means less human sweat, not more.” — Henry Ford

Complete the important tasks earlier in the day.

Whether you’re still going to the office, or you’re one of the lucky few that gets to work from home, you know that the first few hours of the day are often filled with office chitchat and answering emails from the day before.

Usually by 10 am is when you’re trying to crank up some work before lunch, and we know how productivity declines after lunch.

Break the cycle, work on the most important tasks as early as possible while your brain feels refreshed and the caffeine has kicked in.

Make better decisions at lunch.

We all know what happens after lunch, you feel sleepy, coffee isn’t working and your productivity declines as you’re staring at the clock on the wall.

Why is that? Why does productivity decline so much after lunch? If everyone knows this, why does it keep happening? The answer is in what you eat throughout the day, especially at lunch.

Studies have shown that food has a direct impact on our cognitive performance, which is why a poor decision at lunch can derail an entire afternoon.

An article published by the British Journal of Health Psychology highlights the extent to which food affects our day to day experience.

The research suggests that eating fruits and vegetables throughout the day isn’t simply good for the body, it’s also beneficial for the mind.

Plan your snacks throughout the day, eat a healthy and light lunch, stay away from sugary foods, and you’ll notice the impact this will have on your performance and productivity over time.

When in doubt, find help quickly.

Is difficult sometimes to ask for help in the workplace, people might think that we’re not smart enough, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Perhaps this is one of the many things that is wrong with the workplace these days, the majority of people prefer to work on their own and figure things out, even if they’re stuck and can’t complete the task.

I’ve been in this situation more times than I can remember, I would waste a ton of valuable time trying to figure things out instead of finding someone that could help me.

Luckily for me, I learned to accept when I need help and how to approach someone when asking for help.

If you’re feeling stuck on a task, go find someone that can help you.

Better yet, ask them to teach you or explain the topic to you, you’ll be surprised at how much people enjoy teaching others.

Clearly define the tasks to be done.

If you’re in charge of a team, you need to clearly define the tasks to be performed by your team, what the expectations are, provide some high-level direction, and allow your team to operate within a set of boundaries.

When I was in the Navy, I had the pleasure of working for an amazing Chief that taught us the value of explaining things to people the proper way.

Instead of barking orders all day long like the rest of the Chiefs and Officers on the ship did, he took the time to explain what needed to be done, why it needed to be done, what the expectations were, and how to get started.

The last part was the key. He was our boss and ultimately his orders were followed as instructed.

Instead, always approached it as a suggestion, allowing us to operate within a set of boundaries, and that made us respect him even more.

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” — John Quincy Adams

By clearly defining what needs to be done and what the expectation is, your team will be more productive, tasks will be completed faster, and best of all, your team will experience greater engagement.

Keep everything electronically.

I love sticky notes, at any point, I have about a dozen sticky notes hanging from the bottom of my two monitors.

I also love memo pads and how easy it is to jot down notes and scribe things.

Nothing beats the good old pen and paper, having the raw power in your hands to write what you want, how you want to, without any limitations.

Until it becomes useless or you forget, misplace, or lose your notes.

For me, I’ve had to travel for work to meet with clients, and as I would try to recall some of my notes, I would realize that all the insightful notes I wrote down were sitting on my desk back in the office.

Recently I worked for a company that everyone had laptops, and my boss would take his laptop to every single meeting we went to, even to go see someone on another floor in our building.

What I quickly learned was that he always took detailed notes using Microsoft Word, and he would then follow up with an email to recap the conversation.

The notes were always shared with the team, were easily accessible, and we were always in sync.

End your day on a positive note.

Have you ever had an “important task” come through the hour before you’re supposed to be leaving the office? I have, more times than I can remember.

I would feel the level of anxiety elevating, and all I could think about was how crazy my commute was going to be heading home.

For those that live in busy cities like Miami, you know exactly what I mean. A 20 mile community can quickly turn into 1 1/2 hour of sitting in the car, bumper to bumper.

What I started doing was to simply ask if the task had to be completed by the end of the day, and most of the time it didn’t.

Unfortunately, most people think they can’t ask, they think is a form of defiance and the boss will punish them.

But that’s often not the case, and most bosses will appreciate you being proactive and planning out your day, rather than being reactive and dropping everything on a moment’s notice.

Another strategy I would use was to leave some of the least-pressured tasks like light paperwork for the end of the day.

That way it was something easy to accomplish right before I left the office, which gave me a sense of accomplishment and I would leave the office in a good mood.