Productivity is a measure of how efficiently a person completes a task. It indicates how efficiently people and businesses at large operate and the term ‘personal productivity’ describes how much individuals can accomplish every day, not just at the workplace but in their personal lives too. In recent times we have seen a massive change in how businesses operate, therefore it is important that as individuals we transform the way we work, understand how to unlock our full potential, and bring our A-game to work. Industry data collected by Gallup shows that an engaged and productive workforce can increase profits by as much as 21%.
It is not about long work hours or having multiple things on our plate, but about working efficiently and having a methodical approach that not only improves the quality of work but also ensures your mental well-being. APPSeCONNECT follows a hybrid work model that allows employees the flexibility to work both from the office and from the comfort of home. We realize that productivity tips can seldom be one-size-fits-all, so we have curated a list suggesting simple tweaks and adjustments that you can make to your routine and witness a growth in your work productivity.
Challenge the Challenges to Productivity
Unleashing productivity is easier said than done, therefore for team members it is essential to keep track of work and use time judiciously, and for leaders, valuing the employees and making sure that their contributions have a positive impact on the workplace can strongly influence their productivity. Below are some of the most common productivity challenges for today’s knowledge workers, and ways to address them.
Employee Disengagement
The biggest challenge to productivity is a disengaged workforce. An all-inclusive organizational culture allows employees to develop a sense of belongingness and attachment to the team and the organization. As a result, leaders need to run the extra mile to make their team feel connected if they want to witness a dramatic spike in productivity.
Not Having a Clear Picture
A study from Gallup says that employees do not have a clear picture of what is expected of them, and ‘Substantial gains in clarity of expectations connect to productivity gains of 5% to 10%’. Such a situation calls for setting goals for team members, checking in with the team members frequently, and making them a part of the bigger picture.
Ineffective Meetings reduce Productivity
An article in Harvard Business Review says, “We surveyed 182 senior managers in a range of industries: 65% said meetings keep them from completing their own work. 71% said meetings are unproductive and inefficient. 64% said meetings come at the expense of deep thinking. 62% said meetings miss opportunities to bring the team closer together.” Many agree that meetings are overwhelming, and it consumes most of their workday, leaving them with 30 minutes in between. Sliced-up schedules interrupt the free flow of ideas, creativity, and innovation.
Simple ways of conducting effective meetings are making sure that the right people are present at the meeting, that the participants are prepared for the meeting and ready to contribute, having a No-Meeting-Thursday, and having silent rooms assigned for people to use when they need to focus.
Multitasking
Multitasking gives us the impression that we are accomplishing more but studies show that multitaskers are much less productive. This is because transitioning between tasks makes us lose time, creates chaos, dilutes attention, and we tend to start more than what we can finish.
Making a list at night about what you want to accomplish tomorrow can help you kick start your day with an action plan in place already. The right approach is to organize tasks based on their priority and accomplish the most challenging assignment first and reward yourself with simpler tasks towards the end of the day.
Mind Hacks to Unlock Productivity
The process of being productive is not about reading life-changing hacks, but about inculcating discipline and trying to include the best practices in our lives. These minor changes in your daily habits can increase your productivity substantially and add more value to your work.
Set Realistic Goals
It is better to bite off what one can chew! Divide your work into parts and practice making a to-do list early in the morning or the night before to mentally prepare yourself for the tasks at hand. Having a to-do list in place would not only help you plan better but striking them off would also give you immense satisfaction, validating your productivity.
Work environment helps Productivity
Be it at home or at the office, if your workspace is chaotic and disorganized, chances are that your productivity might get hampered. There are multiple ways to create an ambience that allures you to work such as making way for natural light, having study music on, using ambient light to set the mood, keeping your workstation organized or having something you love on your desk, be it a plant or your favorite superhero, the possibilities are endless!
Just Get Started
Research has shown that starting a project is the biggest barrier to productivity! Our brain anticipates the hardships and tries to simulate real work by focusing on small mindless tasks. But don’t you worry, because the Zeigarnik effect is a construct of the mind that compels humans to finish a task they have already started. It creates a certain amount of mental discomfort and intrusive thoughts about it. Therefore, the key is to get started with the project and let your mind find a way to accomplish it.
Breaks
Challenging tasks and deadlines compel us to work and focus well past the point of fatigue. If you feel you are too busy to take a break, that is your cue to slow down. The importance of getting breaks can’t be stressed enough. The optimum break length is debatable, and it varies from person to person.
One approach could be getting a 20–25-minute break after working for 90 minutes or one could follow the Pomodoro technique which encourages 5 minutes of break after every 25 minutes of work. It is a time management method for students, perfectionists, and procrastinators of all kinds and can work wonders for both productivity and your mental health.
Communication and Connection
The future is connection-led growth and modern businesses realize the impact of communication and connection. In the new normal, hybrid and remote work has become extremely popular, thus it is even more necessary to have a well-knit organization where there exists a connection between technologies, communities, ecosystems, applications, teams and PEOPLE!
Having a connected tech-stack would not only help you save time but also eliminate repetitive-manual work that leads to monotony and hampers productivity. With an intelligent data integration platform like APPSeCONNECT stay on top of numbers, get a 360° view of processes, remove data silos, enable cross-functional teams to work as one, and unlock efficiency and productivity like never before through connection, collaboration, and communication.
Stay Mentally Healthy While Working from Home
View this post on Instagram
Productivity through Workation
APPSeCONNECT is constantly stirring innovation not only within its products but also in the way its people work! Hence, the concept of team workation was born to amalgamate both productivity and leisure. APPSeCONNECT in collaboration with InHub has become the most desirable workation destination for its people.
View this post on Instagram
In the new normal, the hybrid work model saw a lack in personal touch and team cohesiveness. Therefore, to address this issue innovatively, the concept of team workation was introduced to infuse fresh energy, enthusiasm, and team bonding. Atul Gupta, founder of APPSeCONNECT says, “When a team comes together in a holiday setup and work together, stay together for a week, the kind of bonding and productivity is unimaginable!”. Having said that, InHub welcomes teams from across the world now and encourages productivity.
We at team APPSeCONNECT encourage productivity while keeping the mental well-being of our people at heart, so we wanted to extend our tips, tricks, and hacks of productivity to not only working professionals but for people from all walks of life, trying to find a balance. Hope you find it useful.
Stay safe, stay connected!
