With us here in Singapore being stuck at home all over again, I’ve spent some time rethinking my productivity and actively sought for ways to improve it.
How I viewed productivity has changed a lot over the years. Pre-pandemic, I couldn’t do work at home with so many distractions (free-flow food, drinks, and my bed…). I’d much rather camp out at a Starbucks, even in the weekends. When staying home became a thing I had to make the best out of my work station at home — and so I decided to revamp my space a little, and more productivity tips and tricks naturally flowed in after. (Oh, the money I would’ve saved from Starbucks coffee if I did this sooner…)
Here are some learnings & tips I’ve picked up and refined overtime:
1. Hour input ≠ work done
I used to allocate time blocks (that go up to half-days) to a project and wouldn’t budge until it was done, even if I end up taking longer than allocated. I realised my brain zoned out after a while. Hence, to keep myself stimulated, I switch projects ever so often within the day, and not through hours. This helps ensure quality work is done in the spurts of time I spend on a particular problem or project. I love multitasking, so this really helped to keep my brain stimulated and to not compromise on work quality.
2. Use To-Do lists (physical post-its or digital sticky notes)
Writing things down gives me some added accountability in getting the task done, and striking them off when I’m done with it helps me feel accomplished at the end of the day. With this, I don’t feel like I lost a day as I jump around projects, since things would get ticked off the list as the day goes.
3. Confront the procrastination
Everyone procrastinates. Sometimes, I catch myself procrastinating on a task way longer than I have allocated time to get it done. I learn to consciously catch myself in this act and dig deep to the root of this — what is causing this block? Am I not understanding something right? Do I need to speak with someone in order to get this task done? After I’ve identified the causes of the blockage, I then break it down to smaller tasks for actionable next steps to keep things moving.
4. Use different windows for different projects
On my MacBook, I typically separate my full-screen windows through the different projects I’m working on. This helps to signal to my brain that I’m focused on one task or project at a time, and everything I need to know about it is within this full-screen window. This also keeps all distractions separate and encourages deeper work.
5. Living my life by Google Calendar
My calendar is colour coded according to work, side projects, workouts, social life and even allocated me-time. This way, I am able to see what my week looks like at one glance — is there too much or too little of a certain colour, and hence is there something I’m doing too much or little of? While imbalances occur every now and then, I strive to evenly distribute them so that I don’t overwork myself, or ensure that I spend enough time with my loved ones to help me recharge in the week.
Some argue that their calendar is in their head. Well, I used to live my life in my brain, but I read that your brain is used to synthesise information, not to hold the boring logistics — which that was a shifting perspective to help me vomit out my appointments onto a platform and free up space in my brain to synthesise more valuable information.
In particular, on working remotely or from home:
1. Invest in a home-office set up
For the first year of work from home, I used a random IKEA foldable chair, padded it with seat cushions, used a makeshift table and called that my “home office”. At that time, I figured working from home was only for the short term.
That evidently isn’t the case anymore! Overtime I started developing really bad shoulder and backaches and realised that my productivity rate has been going down. I then decided to invest in a proper chair & table and my work-from-home life has changed ever since.
2. Know your productive spurts
Identify which times of the day you are the most productive, and block out those times to do deep work. Personally, I spend my mornings reading up or doing less “brainful” work, then spend the afternoon in blocked work or taking calls. Sometimes I take calls in the evening too, given time differences with other parties. I work best at night when everything is still and quiet, so sometimes I flip my work day around if necessary.
3. Communicate effectively
Communication becomes a lot more intentional when working remotely. I’ve learned that asking questions is the best way to synthesise information and demonstrate that you’ve understood the concepts or task correctly. (Not talking about menial tasks here!) Pen your thoughts down as they come and sit on it for some time to synthesise them properly if you must. Don’t be afraid to ask!
4. Documentation is key
With back to back meetings and calls, Zoom fatigue is real. I found taking notes to be an integral part of me catching on with the meeting & staying engaged. I write notes for meetings, 1–1s, and also for coffee chats. This way, I’m able to “revisit” the meeting whenever too.
5. Change in environment
If you aren’t restricted to staying home but are still working remotely, a change in work environment every now and then helps. I try to work out-of-home 2 weekdays a week, with one in the office and another in the library or at a cafe. The 3 weekdays that I spend home would be spent in doing deep work, or taking back-to-back calls that I can’t otherwise take when I’m out. Working in a different environment helps with my creative block too.
Productivity is something that I constantly think about improving. These were some tips that I found to be helpful in shaping my productivity and I hope it helped you. Do share with me some tips of your own, I’d love to have new takes on what I could do to add value to my habits or setups!
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
