Fine-Tuning Productivity

Maximizing productivity is the goal for everyone. But then we complain about work-life balance being out of whack. Hacks refer to magic shortcuts or workarounds from the basic rules, programs, constraints, routines, and demands that limit functioning. Therefore, academics search for that one golden tip that will minimize long work hours and maximize productivity. Such a thing does not exist. Probably the most effective productivity hack I can give is to stop reading articles about productivity hacks and use that time to get something accomplished.

Productivity Foundations

Efficiency-increasing tactics are methods of fine-tuning along the fringes of a strong foundation of productivity. Typically, the foundation consists of seven stages. 1) goals: articulation of the end state or result of productivity efforts; 2) priorities: because you can only do one thing at a time, goals must be sorted into a sequence from immediate to long-term; 3) scheduling: a to-do list of goals and priorities without a time scheduled and dedicated to complete the tasks is nothing more than a wish list; 4) habit: professionals do not run on inspiration, they run on habit and discipline. Productivity requires consistent effort whether the mood is there or not; 5) execution: during the time required to work on goals there must be effort, focus, and single-minded energy directed to the task; 6) follow-up: when the task or work is complete for the day, the final step is to develop a new plan for what comes next; and 7) revisions: no set of goals, priorities, and scheduling will be perfect. Unexpected demands, bad days, and external pressures may require revising the stages of the foundation of productivity. Understanding that revising the plan is part of the plan helps to reduce stress, self-flagellation, and overall feelings of failure when events interfere with the original foundation.

Four Fine-Tuning Tactics

Investment. All goals require significant behind-the-scenes work to support them. Investment of time and energy is something that is always ignored, underestimated, or not considered in the time budget for any project. Investments include things such as reading literature; researching appropriate target journals for manuscripts and grant funding outlets; receiving input from peers; manuscript preparation; troubleshooting errors in data, coding, and analysis; maintaining a laboratory or idea notebook; monitoring the most recent research; and revising multiple drafts of product. All projects require an investment of time and energy that is often thankless and necessary. Failure to plan for investment is why the time allotted for a project is nearly always underestimated. Develop a schedule that accounts for the investment of time and you are less likely to be frustrated, timelines for achieving goals will be more accurate, and the quality of work will be better.

Focus. There may be time scheduled, but monkey mind frequently gets in the way. The focus bounces from one task to another. The basics are to make sure that you have eaten, your bladder is comfortably empty, your door is closed, and you are at an ergonomically effective workspace. Remember your priorities and work on the current and most urgent project with full focus. Usually, this is enough to stay on task. During challenging times, I close all tabs on the computer and switch to the Pomodoro method, which requires 25 minutes of intense time on task followed by a five-minute break.

Sometimes I even put on headphones with a metronome running in the background. If I am really struggling with monkey mind, then I take a five-minute break for simple breathing meditation that helps to manage intrusive thoughts. You can only do one thing at a time, so focus and do it well and efficiently. Only when one thing is finished, can you move on to the next thing. Thinking about a large number of projects ahead is the enemy of focus.

Downtime. Everyone requires downtime during the day. Forcing yourself to work every second of the day is not realistic. During the day, downtime is used to play Candy crush, mindlessly scroll through Twitter or Facebook, stare into the void, or otherwise waste time. My advice is to ensure that your downtime is full and restful. Semi-working or multitasking between productivity and downtime means that you are not using your downtime for effective rest or achieving productivity effectively. This is the worst of both worlds. Examples of a full downtime include a 20-minute nap, in-office yoga session, going for a walk, or another form of full relaxation and removal from activities. Make sure that you use your downtime well.

Time scraps. We all have 10 minutes or so here or there, multiple times in the day. Waiting for meetings to begin, waiting for a late colleague, 30 minutes between appointments, time saved by eating lunch at your desk, and many other time scraps. Most of us waste time scraps and treat them as inefficient downtime. Not coincidentally, most emails and administrative tasks require less than two minutes for full completion. Before the day begins, collect mini-tasks and have them at the ready. Then use your time scraps for emails, filling forms, signatures, and simple administrative tasks.

Conclusions

These four tactics can fine-tune your foundations for efficient work and are not hacks. There is no magic or a new way of thinking. These are simply easy approaches that can make the core process of productivity work a little bit better. Productivity hacks are usually ways of deluding ourselves into thinking that somehow, we can beat the system to improve our work-life balance. Most often this effort is a fool’s errand and increases the imbalance of work and life. The best way to have a quality life and a strong career is to have developed a strong foundation for productivity and to develop a set of tactics to fine-tune your efficiency. Not hacks, but smart habits.