There are 24 hours in a day. No more, no less. It just feels that way. The daily busy-ness at home and at work can be overwhelming. Despite an increase in technological tools and apps designed to streamline work, true productivity improvement is mostly achieved through changes in human behavior—our own. Here are a few changes to consider:
Adopt the “one touch” method. When cleaning a house, the “one touch” method means if you touch an item, avoid putting
it down instead of putting it away. For example, when washing pots after a meal, once
a pot is cleaned, instead of putting it into a sink drainer, dry it and put it away.
One touch on tasks means when you choose an accomplishable or single-step task from
the to-do list, complete it and cross it off before moving on to a more-complex, multi-step
task.
Focus on One Task. Choose one task to work on from start to finish. This might mean chunking a project into smaller pieces and working on one small piece. It may also mean delegating tasks to others if the project demands their expertise instead of yours (it’s okay, your ego will survive!).
Stop filling calendars with meetings. When possible, trade meetings to phone calls, emails or Teams message threads. If multiple stakeholders are involved, set a video meeting, limiting the time to 45 minutes, use an agenda and capture notes using an AI notetaking app like Zoom AI Companion or Microsoft Copilot in Teams.
If a meeting is required to get a project going, have the meeting, assign responsibilities and agree on deadlines. From there, create time and space for people to do the work. If check- ins are needed to ensure every element of the project is moving forward, use Teams, Slack, or project software like Click-Up for tracking, tagging and hand-offs.
Focus on action items and decisions. When great ideas arise that are adjacent to or possibly distracting from the project or task at hand, put them in a “parking lot.” If multiple people are involved in the discussion, agree where the ideas will be kept (in a shared Box note, on a physical white board in someone’s office, in a pinned Teams chat, etc.) and rhythm for revisiting.
Manage email overload. Look in your inbox and tackle emails that can be done through “one touch” – read and delete or read and respond. For emails that require thinking and a longer response or multiple stakeholders, set aside time each day to address these. If necessary, block time on the daily calendar or add a personal meeting to your calendar specifically for responding to these emails.
Practice the Pomodoro Method with a timer that allows various time increments. Bonus tip—a timer can be used with each of the hacks above.
This article was originally featured in the teams@work newsletter. Read the full newsletter.