Time Management and Productivity Tips

Whether your team is working remotely, in the office, or a combination of both, productivity can be a challenge.

No matter where you work, there are a host of potential distractions and time-suckers that can hinder your productivity. The world of eCommerce moves fast, and it’s imperative that your team manages its time effectively to succeed.

You don’t need a 20-step morning routine or a brand new office to improve productivity. Using the simple tactics below, you and your team can work better and get more done no matter where you work.

Focus on One Thing at a Time

Multitasking is nice in theory, but it doesn’t work. Multitasking just sucks the attention and time you can put into each task. Instead of getting more done, you end up spending hours on your phone and barely getting anything done.

Instead of multitasking, focus on one task at a time. Keep it short, you won’t be able to focus for hours on end. Pick a task and stay focused on it for a set time, maybe 10 or 30 minutes. During this time, no emails, no Slack, no phone. Just the task at hand. 

Some more tips for the single-task approach include:

• Set phone/email on do not disturb.
• Put your phone out of view.
• Set a time and try to beat the clock. Funnily enough, work expands to fit the time we have. By giving yourself mini-deadlines, you can work faster and get more done.
• Try the Pomodoro technique. This technique involves working on a task undistracted for 25 minutes, and then taking a 5-minute break. Every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break.

Limit Decisions

What flavor creamer? What’s for lunch? When should I send this email?

Seemingly small decisions like those add up, and they cause decision fatigue. The more decisions you have to make throughout the day, business or otherwise, the more tired you’ll get. Save your brainpower for the more pressing decisions and tasks by limiting your decisions. Here are some ways to do that:

• Build powerful habits and routines. No more deciding when to work out or figuring out the best time that day for emails. Create smart habits to limit decisions.
• Let go of the reigns. Too many business owners and entrepreneurs try to wear all the hats. More hats mean more decisions. Mass on some responsibilities to your team, allowing them to make some decisions.
• Prioritize decisions. Figure out the small decisions that you can let go of.
• Reversible vs irreversible decisions. Not all decisions deserve equal weight. Reversible decisions are ones you can delete, edit, or easily change (like a blog post or social media post). irreversible decisions are a lot harder to change, but not all of those are even consequential. Consider the reversibility and consequence of a decision to determine the weight and time to give it.

Order Your Tasks

There’s conflicting advice in the productivity world about the order you should do your tasks. Some advocate to “eat the frog” and handle your difficult tasks first, while others suggest you start with some easier tasks to get into the day.

The answer lies somewhere between. Saving your more difficult task for the end of the day is a recipe for disaster unless your most productive time is in the late afternoon or evening.

For one, you should consider when you work best. Some people are most productive early in the morning, while others may be night owls. Ultimately, you want to handle the most important tasks when you are most productive.

Consider doing the one task that is preventing your team from moving on first. Whichever task will unlock the door for your team is the one to take care of first. From there, it depends on your preference and work style. For most people, it makes sense to tackle a few quick tasks and then dive into the challenging task before your energy is drained.

Separate Work and Home

One of the biggest challenges we face with remote work is the blurring of work and home life. Even those who work in the office can have a hard time disconnecting and being present at home.

Create a distinction between the two, even if you are working at home. If possible, use a spare room as a dedicated office space. If this isn’t possible, you can still create the distinction with a “work corner” or space that’s only for work.

Dirty dishes and piling laundry can distract you during the workday. Build a night routine that helps you wake up and work in a tidy space. Save TV time for after work, and leave work at work. Set a time to log off, and once that time hits, turn off notifications.

The truth is that many of us aren’t working as well as we could. With the simple productivity tips above, you and your team can work more efficiently and grow your business. For more eCommerce tips and tricks, head to the Listing Mirror blog!