Explorations With Productivity
Pub.002 Updated 03.14.2023
A Constant Reliable System
Before we dive into specific productivity tools for website functionality, we want to talk about productivity on a more general level and how we approach getting the things we need to do done and getting the things we want to do accomplished as well.
The year 2020 was in our opinion one of the weirdest years of all time as it relates to work, time management, and working with team members and clients, we feel confident that a majority of folks would agree with us on this point. Though change, regardless if caused by a global pandemic or something more common like a promotion, moving, or going to work for a new employer, can easily impact our productivity.
Having a constant, reliable organization system can certainly help manage the intruding chaos of day-to-day work and competing priorities. Having a plan and knowing what’s next helps keep you centered, and calm and clear headed so you can make well informed choices for your business and what tools will best meet your digital needs, stream line your process and help you interact in more meaningful and impactful ways with existing and future clients or customers.
Tools for Staying Routinely Organized
Analog, Digital or Hybrid Planners
Analog Planners (a.k.a Paper Planners)
They come in every shape and size you can think of and are capable of capturing any ideas, due dates, and deadlines that might otherwise get misplaced or fall through the cracks. We’ve been big proponents of the humble planner for decades. For some of us it’s akin to a personal Library of Alexandria for all the who, what, when, and where info, ideas and questions that float around in our heads.
Personally, we find that paper or even “digital” paper helps us the most in staying clear on goals, keeping an eye on pending or in-process tasks/projects and is, by far, our best memory prompt when we need to track down that stray idea that jumped into our head a few weeks ago.
A paper planner is tactile, easy and quick to flip through. We think paper over digital solutions help us record, expand and evolve our ideas into actionable processes and paper (or writing things down) seems to make recall of our ideas and actions easier. Turns out, there is plenty of data to support our opinion. Give the internet a quick search and you will find a plethora of information and studies about how writing by hand improves memory and brain function.
When away from our desk/planner, we find the notes app on our mobile device is a good way to capture ideas. Just be sure to remember to check your device. Alternately, there tiny pocket sized go planners like Field Notes.
The main planners we use on a day-to-day basis are from Baronfig and Moo. Their planners fit our workflow the best because of how simple and flexible they are.
Digging The Digital Planning
Although for our overall business and personal planning we give good old fashioned paper the number one slot, there is certainly a place and need for digital planning and organizing. Maybe you just aren’t that into analog planners, or you need to collaborate with a team, or have a place to share info ideas with clients, or perhaps you are just wanting to conserve paper, well good news there is no shortage of digital planning tools.
In fact, you will find a myriad of different apps and web services that can act as the perfect planner for your needs. For a short while, we recommended Notion because of how adaptable it can be for various workflows but for us it quickly became more management of the tool than getting things completed.
Finding a good fit for a digital planner can be a bit tricky and really depends on what your needs and workflows are. We’ve tried a variety of tools that although all very good and helpful for collaboration they didn’t work for our day-to-day and overview planning as well as paper or “digital” paper.
Not into physical planners or wanting to save paper? There’s a myriad of different apps and web services that act as the perfect planner for your needs. We recommend Notion because of how adaptable it can be for every type of workflow. You can also use a notes app like Apple Notes or even your average calendar app to keep everything you need in one place and in order.
Desk Organization and Work From Home
The age old adage of "a cluttered desk is a cluttered mind," is often too true in some cases. Distractions constantly attempt to interrupt our workflow. We can try all we want but we won't be able to get rid of all the distractions in our work day. However, we can take control of our environment. At the end of the day it's the smaller things that make the biggest impact. Putting sticky notes into your planner or journal, keeping papers organized and in a drawer, grabbing a cup just for your pens and pencils are all everyday practices that keep our desk a little more organized. For productivity, it makes perfect sense. Less time searching for that one damn sticky note and more time in that productive state of flow.
Desk organization doesn't stop at your physical desk, it should also be applied to your digital desktop. Now don't get me wrong, when it comes to desktop organization I have my bouts where my desktop looks like the wild west of documents and applications. Eventually I have too many of those "what the hell did I do with that document?!" moments and decide to organize and clean up my desktop.
– A Good Chair –
Every captain needs a good chair. Kirk had one. Picard had one. Hell, Solo had 2 for him and Chewy. The point is, you need a good chair to get sh*t done. The last thing you need in your work life is back pain (or butt pain) to interrupt your work. A good chair goes a long long way. Whether your'e at home or in the office, you deserve a solid chair that keeps you comfortable and in a position to get your work done.
Mindful Practices for Productivity
Stand Up Reminder
The hardest thing about working is knowing when to take a break and walk away. Working for as long as we can leads to burnout and trying to brute force your way through a problem leads to discouragement and wasted time. Sometimes you just need to stand up and walk away to gain clarity or to catch your breath and come up with that next awesome idea. If you struggle with taking breaks, try setting an alarm to remind yourself when it's time to take a walk around the office.
Avoid Burnout
While this might fall under the "duh, obviously" category, burnout can be something that just sneaks up on us. The rough part about burnout is that it comes from working too much, whether you're being productive or not. The best way to avoid burnout is to plan ahead to add structure to your work day. At the end of the day, planning is just organizing your time and when you organize your time you're setting yourself up for success. Spreading out your workload can make tasks seem less daunting and knowing what you're working on every day helps you focus in on what needs to be done. Avoiding burnout can be easy as long as you work smarter not harder.
Just Keep Going
You're already doing great. All you really need to do is to look up and keep moving forward. Keep that momentum going and keep on keeping on. Tackle your day one cup of joe at a time. So friends, we're more than halfway through this year. Take these tips with you through the rest of the year and absolutely crush it at work.
Until next time.
