Hi youtube, It’s Marianna from Printful’s marketing team.
Welcome to our productivity series in which we’ll go over tips on how to be more productive.
So make sure you subscribe to our channel and turn on the notifications so you don't
miss the next video!
In this first video, I’d like to share with you some of the productivity tips I’ve picked
up while working at Printful, and get you to skip over the superficial guilt you sometimes
feel for “not being productive.”
So let’s get to it.
Your productivity starts with you!
It might seem that whenever somebody talks or writes about productivity, they're trying
to unlock a single specific way of doing things that will lead you to being “productive”.
It's as if “being productive” were some mythical achievement that can only be unlocked
with either writing to-do lists a certain way or logging all your activities on “the
right” app.
These two suggestions aren't bad, but what's usually missing from the likes of them is
mentioning that productivity is actually something deeply individual, and the feeling of “being
unproductive” often comes from comparing your “productivity” methods to those of
other people and feeling bad about them not matching up.
And comparing somebody else’s productivity style to your own is like comparing apples
and oranges.
However, it’s always good to borrow some productivity tips from people you admire because
the trick with borrowing habits is, you can “give them back”.
You might borrow ideas from someone who’s reached success in your professional field,
or someone from your closest circles, like your friends, family, or coworkers who don't
see themselves as productivity coaches, but you still find inspiring.
A while ago, I came across a rather individual work productivity tip I liked very much.
It was from Kate Lewis, Chief Content Officer at Hearst Magazines.
She says she creates an extensive weekly to-do list and immediately throws it out.
What she remembers is what sticks, and the rest proves to be pointless enough to be forgotten.
Now, this might not be the best approach for work, but it’s definitely worth a try for
errands!
So when sizing up productivity tips,
don’t try to copy and paste someone else's schedule or habits—instead, borrow the things
that you can adapt to your daily life in a way that fits you and helps you work towards
the goals you’ve set.
On the topic of setting goals, here's tip number two: be realistic with them.
Goals tend to take the shape of to-do lists, and one of the keys to achieving the goals
listed on there is prioritizing.
If your to-do list has become too long and with too many things you can’t seem to cross
off, most likely you’re treating every goal as a priority.
And in the long run, that won’t lead you anywhere else, but down a miserable spiral
of anxiety.
My advice is to take a good, hard look at the things that have piled up in your to-do
list (or multiple, let's be real), and be honest about what they mean to you right now.
You can probably place them in these 4 categories: 1.
The “must-dos”: things that are important, but could also be overwhelming or scary;
2.
“Nice to have” tasks, that don’t have a particular reason or value for the present moment
Things you know you’ll do anyway, but you’ve added to your list for the sheer pleasure
of being able to cross them out;
4. Things someone else thinks should be on your priority list.
So if you’re being realistic and honest, you can go ahead and delete the things that
fall under categories 2, 3 and 4: the nice-to-haves, the self-explanatories, and the NOT YOURS.
My suggestion would be to approach your to-do list as a tool for the things you need to
do, not want to do.
So everything else that’s not a priority doesn’t have to be there to clutter your mind
But how to manage all the ‘must-dos’, all those priorities?
Well, you’re going to have to be smart about managing them.
You see, managing your workload does not end with a finished to-do list.
Staying productive is also about how well you react to incoming tasks and ideas, and
how you sort them to single out the most important and time-sensitive ones.
If you’ve been on the hunt for productivity tips, you’re probably familiar with the
“Getting things done” approach by David Allen that’s become, in a way a, defining
methodology of ‘how to be productive’ in the business world.
However, Allen's method overlaps with others, including that of former US president Dwight
Eisenhower.
His method was the so-called Eisenhower Box.
So, for both Allen and Eisenhower, prioritizing is based on four rules:
If a task is important and has to be done ASAP – added bonus if you can complete it
quickly – do it ASAP.
Get to it right away.
Not only will you have one less thing to do, but you'll also get that immediate satisfaction
of doing something right away.
However, if the task is important but can't be completed as soon as you'd like, for objective
reasons, decide right away when you're going to come back to it or set a deadline for completing
the task.
If you look at a task, ask yourself if you're the right person for the job, and the answer
is “no,” find the right person and ask them to take care of the task as soon as possible.
This is sometimes hard to recognize and hard to do, because we want to be self-sufficient
and all-mighty.
But asking for help and collaborating with people is not a weakness, it's a strength.
If something is neither important, nor urgent, drop it.
Otherwise you'll just clutter up your to-do list with those pointless “nice-to-have”
items.
For this kind of task management to work, keep your notes in a single location that
you can easily access and review.
If your tasks are scattered across folders on your desktop, mobile, notebook, and post-its,
you're going to have a bad time and won't be able to prioritize properly.
And there are plenty of great tools out there for keeping your thoughts and tasks all in
one place.
If you prefer the classic, analog lifestyle, stick to pen and paper.
If you want to go digital, there are tools like Evernote, Things, and Google Keep to
help you.
Google Keep, by the way, is my personal favorite: it's simple, easy-to-use, syncs automatically,
and is free of charge.
Our next video will cover a bunch of other productivity tools, so keep an eye out for
the updates on our YouTube channel if you're not happy with your current to-do list situation
or if you're looking for a new to-do list manager.
Divide bigger tasks into smaller ones Remember the first category of to-dos I mentioned
earlier, those important, scary ones?
A productivity tip you’ll often find is to break them down into smaller, less scary ones.
This way, you’re no longer facing a big, overwhelming task or looking at the end goal,
but you’re working through smaller, actionable steps to help you get there.
For example, If I were creating an important email campaign for a new product launch for
my POD store, I would break down the whole campaign into smaller tasks like: “brainstorm
campaign ideas,” “create campaign draft,” “finalize copy and visuals,” “schedule
campaign.”
And once the entire task is completed, remember to monitor the results.
So for the email campaign, I would set a reminder for myself to check on the results after a while.
Work in a team and communicate
We live and work in communities, that's why our individual productivity is also influenced
by the habits of the people around us.
And one way we can help ourselves and each other's productivity is through teamwork.
Solving problems on your own is fantastic and it feels great; but sometimes it’s one
of the least productive things you can do.
If you’re stuck for a long time, you eventually start going in circles around your problem,
and you feel annoyed.
That’s when you need to snap out of it, step away, and ask someone to lend you a hand.
By doing so, you’ll also save precious time and energy.
Say you get stuck during a brainstorm phase of a project—you can't seem to put it into
words, or maybe you're having a hard time deciding if the idea's actually any good.
One of the ways to overcome this is by talking it over with someone.
A fresh perspective never fails: it provokes questions, demands answers, and makes you
think harder.
When you've had your chat, you'll be able to sit down, gather feedback, gather your
thoughts and conquer the first steps of your project.
If you already work in a team, you may have noticed that team productivity is very much
related to team communication.
Work is work, and play is play, so try to be respectful of your teammates' time and
be as brief and to-the-point as possible.
Polishing your communication style is a good mental exercise, it shows courtesy to your
communication partner, and also shows that you're in control.
To give you an example, let's say someone on your team has asked you to share a Google
Doc with them, and you have no idea where it is.
Instead of wasting time replying “Oh no, hold on, I’ve no idea what folder I put
it in, let me check if I can find it in my inbox [+ emoji],” try “On it, I’ll let
you know in 10 minutes.”
Give as many facts as you can as soon as you can, and save the chit chat for your coffee break.
Be mindful of your mobile habits
Have you recently caught yourself “quickly” checking the weather app only to end up browsing
your Facebook feed for 30 minutes?
Or maybe you’ve replied to a message that’s popped up, allowing yourself to get sucked
into a vortex of arranging weekend plans and making travel arrangements?
And you did all that while you were supposed to be working?
If this sounds familiar, it might be the time for you to rethink your mobile habits.
It's nothing revolutionary that we desperately want to be up to date with all the news and
we don't want to be left out of the things that matter to us.
But surely you've noticed by now that online content is often a cunning marketing trick
which often doesn't provide you with any real news or information?
Checking your phone every five minutes doesn't help to become
any wiser, more connected, or more productive.
The big question you have to ask here is, why are you picking up your phone in the first place?
Why go on your phone at a time you’ve specifically set aside for completing a task?
Is the task boring?
Do you need help?
Is something distracting you?
There are multiple ways to deal with app overuse.
You can go with a technical solution to manage your social media and use an app blocker or
a tool like “Mindful browsing” for Chrome.
Another option is to log yourself out of social media and similar apps once you’re done
using them.
Logging back in will take more taps than usual, giving you time to check in with yourself
to see if it’s really necessary.
The easiest solution of all, provided your line of work allows it, is to keep your phone
off your workspace and out of your field of vision.
If you keep your phone screen-up, right in front of your keyboard, the temptation to
see what’s making the screen light up is hard to resist.
So store your phone in your bag or your drawer, and take it out when you actually need it.
Look after yourself
As I said at the beginning of this video, your productivity starts with you.
And that also means you as in, flesh and bone, mind and soul.
The last decade or so has been one continuous promo of self-care, so you're probably well
aware that sleep, exercise, and a well-balanced diet can't be ignored if you want to be in
tip top shape, feel good, and be productive.
Being well-rested is a must in order to have an enjoyable, productive day.
But sleep patterns are as unique as fingerprints - some people need a full eight hours, others
do fine with just six hours of sleep.
Some are power-nappers, others find them draining and a waste of time.
Bottom line is, be mindful of what your body is trying to tell you.
If you notice you've been catching colds easier than before or you feel that people are getting
on your nerves more than usual, it just might be that you've been robbing yourself of rest
which is making you cranky.
There are some other habits that can make you feel tired and slouchy in the long term,
a lot of them have to do with your posture and how you position your body throughout
the day.
These habits can become especially toxic if you spend most of your working day seated.
So Make a deliberate effort to sit up straight, keep your shoulders back, and chin parallel
to the floor.
This will open up your chest and help you get more air into your lungs.
Another thing that we're all guilty of, is crossing our legs while sitting, and shifting
our weight on one leg when standing.
Yes, it's super comfortable and even looks kinda nice, but it's actually causing muscular
disbalance in your body.
Try a little experiment after watching this video, and see if you can spend an entire
day consciously keeping both feet planted on the floor while sitting, or standing firmly
on both legs while waiting in line for something.
You might soon become aware that you're not using your full body strength.
I know that I tend to shift all my weight to my left: when sitting as well as standing up.
For this reason, my right shoulder tends to rise higher than my left, and my right leg
isn't as strong as my left because it's literally not pulling the weight.
So don't be like me and pay attention to your posture.
Another thing I'd encourage you to try after watching this video is eating your meals without
looking at a screen, be it your phone, laptop, desktop, or smart watch.
Then, add just five extra minutes to your mealtime, and see how that affects your productivity
and well-being for the day.
Chances are, you'll chew your food more, eat a bit slower, and return to your work feeling
less sleepy than usual, because your body won't have to shut down in order to help you digest.
And finally, we've reached productivity tip number 8: be OK with procrastination.
You’re a person and not a machine, and there will be days when your brain will need to
take a break.
It happens to the best of us.
We all have days when we feel sluggish, uninspired and unable to focus no matter what we do.
When this happens, don’t panic.
I think we've become borderline obsessed with the mindset that procrastination is practically
laziness, but that's not true.
Just because you're running around like crazy, doesn't mean you're getting much done.
And just because you're sitting still, doesn't mean you're not being active.
To address your issues with procrastination, have a little chat with yourself and ask why
you procrastinate.
Some people do it out of the thrill they get from doing something last minute.
Because there's so little time to complete their task, they become as focused as ever
and produce some of their best work.
Others procrastinate because the build-up that precedes execution is where they generate
their best ideas.
Although it overlaps with those thrill-seekers I mentioned earlier, there's a difference.
The thrill-seeker won't invest any mental energy into the task before that final cut-off;
the idea generator will use procrastination to get to the core of the task and figure
out exactly what they need to do.
And finally, there are lots of people who procrastinate out of fear.
They avoid doing things when they'd actually like to do them because they're afraid of
failure or being judged.
When that happens, kindly ask fear to leave and instead ask your teammates or friends
for a friendly push to help you get you on your way.
Doesn't matter what kind of procrastinator you are, don't be ashamed of it and use procrastination
to your advantage.
So go read that book that’s been gathering dust on your shelf for a while, listen to
a podcast, watch a movie, or learn something new while watching educational YouTube videos.
And put down the things you notice, they just might come in handy when you finally get down
to business.
Bottom line is, just because you’re not doing something you were supposed to do, doesn’t
mean you’re not being productive.
It's all a matter of perspective.
So those were my 8 tips for being more productive.
As you can see, working on your productivity habits actually means working on your personality.
Productivity isn't something that's external to you, it's not an injection or an ointment.
It's a set of your day-to-day rituals, habits, and worldviews.
That's why I'd like you to take this list and any other list with a grain of salt and
not get discouraged by the heaps of productivity tips out there.
Think about the tips we discussed, try some of those little experiments I mentioned,
and see if any of them make you feel better and help you reach the goals you've set for
yourself.
What are your top productivity tips?
Let me know in the comments!
Remember to subscribe to our channel and look out for our next video in this productivity
series where we’ll look at some of our favorite productivity tools and apps.
See you in the next video!