How do we stay productive through the holidays?

It’s nearing the end of the year. Vacations are planned, paid time off is scheduled, and the holidays are around the corner.  Needless to say, you are not alone if you are ready for a long-awaited break. Don’t lose your productivity this time of year by following these three simple strategies.

1. Set Useful Deadlines

When working on a team, you want to all be working towards the same goal in order to stay productive. With everyone bringing different skills to the table, having deadlines to work towards are crucial. Here are some ways to stay on track and reach your goal:

• Set tangible deadlines each week
• Create weekly meetings and stick to them
• Put benchmarks in place to hit along the way

Some goals may be overwhelming at first. Setting weekly tangible deadlines will breakdown the big picture. They will also keep yourself and your team members on task each week.

Setting reoccurring meetings to give updates to your team creates accountability. This will help team members stay motivated and bring their best work forward.

To keep it short, benchmarks keep everyone on track. It is easy to lose focus, especially when working with multiple teams — benchmarks solve this issue. As a bonus, it is a rewarding way to show how much the team has progressed!

2. Implement an Efficient 90-Minute Session Rule

Our brains only have so much capacity to learn, focus, and problem-solve on a daily basis. The 90-minute session rule breaks down the 8-hour workday into short blocks of time to maximize productivity.

Set a timer for 90 minutes per task(s), then take a 10 – 15-minute break to decompress and refresh your mind.

This structured workflow helps keep you working smarter by maximizing your brain capacity. If uncertainty arise, make use of this tactic to stay productive.

3. Make an Effective To-Do List Each Morning

How can you be productive if you don’t know what you have to accomplish that day? Utilizing the first 5-10 minutes of each day to make a to-do list makes a huge difference!

Crossing off a task on your to-do list gives you a small sense of accomplishment and will motivate you to complete the next task. Keep your productive momentum going!

Conclusion

There are countless ways to stay productive in the office, and solutions are not a one size fits all. If you notice that you or your team is lacking the motivation that makes your office thrive, start to implement some of these strategies! Be sure to listen to your team members and keep trying new strategies until productivity is at an all-time high!

 

What’s the best way to organize your workday? Check out these 4 quick tips to get started!