Productivity: 6 tips to improve performance

Productivity is essential for success today. The competitiveness of the market requires that every employee, team and company is constantly chasing their goals. 

Despite this requirement for success, we know that the human body cannot support being active 100% of the time. Therefore, it is important to know how to organize yourself in order to maintain productivity in a healthy way. 

How important is productivity? 

Productivity is the ability to produce more in less time. The concept of productivity has become important for companies as it is directly linked to profit. 

Despite being essential for the success of companies, productivity is also important for any team or employee. People want to be productive in their daily lives. 

This is because productivity offers the “duty done” session at the end of the day. Knowing that tasks were carried out as expected makes people feel useful. And who doesn’t want to feel like they’re contributing to a big project?

Despite this, productivity is useless if there is no efficiency at work. In other words, what was produced must be of quality so that the results are not only delivered on time, but also in accordance with what was requested. 

Therefore, it is important to pay attention to your health – so that the time spent at work is well spent. 

Productivity x well-being: what is the relationship? 

With productivity being encouraged by companies, employees increasingly seek to be productive. This is seen as a way of showing service to the company, demonstrating the value that your work can add. 

With everything, you need to be careful with stimulating productivity. Being “on” at work all the time can be extremely harmful to your health and, in this case, not productive. 

This desire to exceed expectations at all times can mean that employees are unable to make the most of their free time. 

Since you are conditioned to always be producing, in moments of leisure your mind always turns to work concerns. This prevents you from focusing on the present and resting. 

Eventually the employee ends up burning out, unable to be productive and having their mental health compromised. 

Therefore, to be productive, it is important, in addition to organizational techniques, to be aware of our body’s signals and take mental health into consideration.

6 tips to be more productive

This way, it is possible to see how important productivity is for people and companies. However, it is not always possible to be productive.

External factors, such as social media notifications, messages and lack of organization often hinder focus and concentration. 

Adopting some practices can ensure that organizing becomes easier. This way, employees can maintain a balance between leisure and professional life without their productivity being compromised. 

• Plan your tasks 

The first step to maintaining productivity throughout the day is to have all your tasks well defined. With that in mind, organize your tasks for the next day into a list. 

Do this at the end of each day, so that you can always be prepared for what comes the next day. This way, it is easier to define the priorities of each task, thus creating an order. 

Another way to list tasks is to do the most difficult ones first. As they are eliminated, only the simplest ones remain to be performed, making the day lighter. 

Managing tasks is essential to ensure productivity. Therefore, keep them organized to avoid unforeseen events. 

Use software task management to facilitate the organization of activities. 

• Set goals and deadlines 

Setting goals is essential for productivity. They allow employees to know the purpose of each of their activities. It is a reference of where you are starting from and where you want to get to. 

Maintain short, medium and long term goals. This helps maintain productivity during periods and is a form of encouragement throughout the weeks and months. 

• Use productivity techniques 

Using productivity techniques is a way to stay motivated and productive, ensuring a good division of activities. The Eisenhower matrix and the pomodoro are examples of practices to be adopted. 

In the case of the matrix, tasks are organized into important and urgent, important but not urgent, not important but urgent, not important and not urgent. This way, it becomes simpler to define the priority of each task. 

The pomodoro technique consists of dividing the execution time of a task into 25-minute intervals. For every 25 minutes of work, a 5-minute rest is taken. 

Work and rest time can be customized however works best for you. 

• Adopt task management software 

Adopt a task management tool has become essential nowadays. They help organize what needs to be done, according to priority and deadline. 

With Gipo, you have your entire workflow in one place. Your day starts with well-organized and defined tasks. 

With the time tracking feature, it is possible to manage time and find obstacles that are hindering productivity. 

Furthermore, with the different viewing modes of a workspace, the user decides how they want to manage their tasks: whether in kan ban, list or calendar format.

• Take care of yourself 

Always paying attention to work, even when you are resting, can make you feel stressed and anxious. These symptoms contribute to you being unproductive when you really need to. 

Therefore, know how to divide leisure and work. Take advantage of your moments of rest, they will be essential for your productivity. 

Furthermore, take care of your body: eat healthy foods and stay hydrated, exercise and sleep well. 

• Eliminate distractions 

Last but not least: always try to eliminate distractions. We are bombarded with messages and notifications all the time. 

Hold back the urge to look at your cell phone and leave it to check everything that isn’t work-related during your breaks.