Our team chats with a lot of leaders each week. We hear from Team & Culture, HR, and DEIJ Leaders that are in the office and many that are working from home.  Regardless, we hear similar sentiments ultimately wondering how to improve your productivity. These feelings show up through thoughts similar to:

• My plate is full!
• I have so many priorities right now!
• My list is growing, not shrinking!
• I can’t get ahead!

When people ask us how we are, we say busy! It is great to be needed by your team and to have a full schedule. We do want to have challenges in life and thrive on the joy overcoming them. That is how we get better and grow! Yet, what if busy is not the right word?

We really want to be productive! That’s the goal. As a fun fact, when we are in a state of “flow” (aka super focused) we perform 500% better. So let’s explore ways to get to a flow state. That will help us become more productive and save us time for the things we love. If nothing else, skip to the section on fun tips, that may or may not make you, at least, slightly more productive.

What is the Flow State

There are many articles written on flow state that are very helpful. It’s a really important concept that we’d suggest to dive in deeper through a few links provided. The concept is to increase your happiness and productivity at work. For that reason, the Berkeley article first mentions to choose work you love and enjoy yourself. This is the foundation to getting into a flow and truly enjoying any work you do. That may seem obvious, yet it’s always a good reminder to start there.

For those that want the exact steps or more practical ones to implement today, we’re here for you too! First, you need to prepare for a flow state. In the Asana article, we see the need to take 3 steps.

1. Establish Goals
2. Clear Distractions
3. Don’t Multitask

It’s important to set the stage for flow and create an office environment that allows you the opportunity to reach maximum productivity. Two very important steps after preparing for flow are also shown in the Timely article. Focus on scheduling time for your most challenging work, or “deep work” and take short productive breaks. Researchers find that short breaks actually help you be more productive and maintain focus for longer. From studying to working, this rings true!

Further Top Tips to Improve Your Productivity

Now that we know how to get into a flow state, what other ideas could help improve your productivity or the productivity of your colleagues. You can always share tips!

Before digging in though, let’s acknowledge that you may already be incredibly productive and simply need to hire additional teammates! By all means, if you need to hire someone, then use this blog to explain your case! We know that’s not always easy and the budget may not be there, yet perhaps you can mention all the productivity steps you’ve already taken to support your position.

Additional tips for improving productivity:

• Time Blocks
  • Schedule time in your day for your tasks. You may have repetitive tasks that don’t take much brain energy. Schedule these tasks differently than your focused work that we mentioned in flow. Think about whether you are best in the morning, midday, or afternoon. We’re not all the same!
• Track your Hydration
  • Especially in the WFH life, we forget to drink. Even in the hybrid scenario, I’ve noticed I drink more on days when I’m in the office and have the water cooler easily accessible.
• Ask your team for Software!
  • Maybe you don’t have the budget to hire someone, yet you could pay 5% of the cost of a new hire for 1-2 new software applications that could help save you time and better engage your team. Maybe think about Selflessly!

Now, The Fun Tips to Improve Your Productivity

Lastly, check out a few additional favorites to add to your office. Buzzfeed can always help for a short productive break! We’ll leave it to you to decide which are worth adding to your routine!

• An elephant Desk Organizer – LINK
  • Our take: an elephant makes life more fun! Oh, and they have the best memory
• A Waterproof Notebook – LINK
  • Our take: In case you do your best thinking in the shower or on rainy walks!
• Use a Desktop Flip Book – LINK
  • Our take: For those times you want to let the zoom room or office colleagues know just how you’re feeling!
• Consider a pair of Floor Cleaning Microfiber Slippers – LINK
  • Our take: Don’t knock it until you try it!

Wrapping Up

Hopefully you have a few takeaways on how to improve your productivity. If one of your biggest issues is finding time to engage employees, let us help! We have awesome software that connects all employees through giving back. Whether you have a remote team, a hybrid team, or you’re all in person. We can fit each scenario!

We can show you how engaged your team is through our software. Whether launching a program from scratch – check out our Onboard case study or simply looking to save time, we have you covered. Reach out today! Martha is the friendliest of them all!

Or email her and mention this blog: Martha at Selfless dot ly! Nobody wants emails from robots… 😊 If that doesn’t work, use the chat on our website!