Everyone who works on something will always want to be more productive in everything that they are doing. How can you improve the productivity and productivity of your team members?

Why Improving Productivity

Normally, we want to do more things with better quality and quicker. That means better productivity. You don’t want to waste your time. You don’t want to lose even a second of your time. This is the case because you know that today, your time is the most expensive resource you own.

But that’s easier to say than to implement in everyday work. Why is this the case? Because you have tons of tasks to do. Additionally, you have tons of ideas ready for implementation. But, also, you have tons of distractions around you. That’s why it is easier to say than to implement.

How can we become more productive persons in such a messy world in which we live? How can we improve productivity? The answer is simple: we need to be self-disciplined, better organized, and ready to change things around us to improve our productivity.

Prepare Yourself to Improve Your Productivity

Let’s start with your personal productivity and your preparedness to take specific steps to improve yourself and then your business when it comes to boosting productivity.

1. You are in charge

First of all, you must understand that, in large part, you are in charge of improving your productivity. There are many things that will make you an unproductive person, regardless of whether it is procrastination, physical and mental health, experience, or anything else. You can, and you must have control over your own time that will directly impact your personal productivity.

So, you can blame anything around you, but still, nobody else is in charge of your own personal productivity instead of you. Yes, you get notifications from social media on your phone, and you find yourself opening it and spending 5 minutes or half an hour leaving the important things you want to do that YOU create as the biggest priority on your to-do list.

Also, constant email alerts pop up on your computer or phone that simply break your focus. The research shows that it may take over 23 minutes to fully recover our focus after a slightly raised interruption.

However, social media apps and emails are not guilty because of that. You are guilty because of your own habits of working on important tasks without canceling the notifications on your phone. So, you are in charge.

As an entrepreneur, you can not expect to achieve a higher level of business productivity without first ensuring your own productivity. The same is true when it comes to employee productivity because, as a leader, you are the person who will be watched and imitated by your employees. So, your own habits as an entrepreneur will impact labor productivity in your business and, in the end, your overall business productivity.

2. Don’t exclude your physical and mental health

The second important thing you must keep in mind is not to exclude your physical and mental health activities from your list to improve your productivity. I’ve seen this as one big mistake, and I’ve made it in the past many times.

For example, regular exercise contributes positively to mental health and work performance, making it an essential part of maintaining productivity.

A 2022 study found that employee mental health positively impacts job performance, with this relationship mediated by innovative behavior and work engagement. Also, poor mental health, particularly depression and anxiety, not only brings a low level of maintained focus but is also associated with lost productivity in the workplace, including both absenteeism and presenteeism. Also, research supports a connection between mental health disorders and decreased work productivity, with treatment for conditions like depression shown to improve productivity.

As you can see, scientific research consistently demonstrates that both mental and physical health significantly influence personal productivity and efficiency. Workplaces that promote good mental health and support individuals with mental illnesses are more likely to reduce absenteeism and presenteeism, thus increasing worker productivity.

3. Motivate you and everyone around you

Everything starts with your motivation. If you are motivated to do the things you must do, then you will be a more productive person. According to Herzberg, there are two motivational drivers: intrinsic and extrinsic.

Related: The Complexity of Today’s Employee Motivation

However, intrinsic motivations, such as achievement and recognition, are a stronger predictor of performance than extrinsic motivators, like compensation. This is because intrinsically motivated employees are happier in their roles and more productive.

Related: Uncovering the Psychologists’ Theories of Motivation: What Drives Human Behavior?

So, if you want to increase your own productivity and then workplace productivity, you must have a strong vision about your business. That vision and small achievement toward it, will be the biggest motivational driver firstly for you, which later can be incorporated into your business to increase your overall business productivity.

Also, career growth opportunities are crucial for motivating employees and boosting overall productivity, so fostering such opportunities can further enhance your team’s performance.

4. Define your most important tasks

What are your most critical tasks as an entrepreneur? Yes, I know that there are many things that can be classified as important tasks. But the question is, are you the only person that can do them?

I always tell my clients and students to do what they love the most to do and can do it in the best possible way, then delegate the rest of the tasks.

It is ok to start as a solopreneur, and 2024 was the year of solopreneurs because of the easiest ways to start a business using social media and AI tools. Still, after some period of time, you will need people who can help you and to whom you will delegate tasks.

Also, your roles will change over time, so your technical skills will need to be changed with more conceptual skills as a business developer who will manage the company. So, you must delegate tasks from your to-do list to your team members.

In such a way, you are not only boosting productivity for you but also increasing motivation and engagement, recognition, and feeling of appreciation in your team members. So, this will also increase your overall business productivity.

5. Learn about productivity measures

Productivity measures are specific productivity indicators, or productivity rates, that are usually calculated by dividing inputs by outputs. When we talk about personal productivity, in most cases, we think about the rate between things you have done in a specific period of time, such as day, month, or year.

Related: 10 Key Indicators of Productivity to Ensure Your Company’s Growth

This is important because these measures will impact the type of productivity strategies you will use to increase your personal productivity. However, these indicators will also help you to improve specific areas inside your company to increase your business productivity.

If you want to succeed in maintaining productivity at the highest possible level and ensure high work performance, you must incorporate your own systems to track and improve your personal and business productivity.

For example, if you track employee utilization as one productivity measure, you will know how effectively your employees are using their time and if there are any potential areas for change. So, you will conduct a closer review to find the root causes for the low value of these indicators and then work to remove those causes.

6. Examine every aspect of your workflow

What is your workflow?

This is important because we use some specific workflows and productivity tools to help us increase productivity. Sometimes, those workflows can be the source of our partial productivity.

For example, when you analyze your average day and the workflows you use to accomplish the work, you can find out that you use some steps that are not so important for your company. They not only take your time, but they also take your energy, and both impact your productivity level.

When you finish with an analysis of your workflow and find areas for improvement, implement those improvements and continue to measure to see if they are effective and how much you have increased your productivity.

7. Stop multitasking

Many people use multitasking, believing that in such a way, they are more productive people. However, multitasking is, according to my own experience, one of the worst productivity strategies you can choose to improve your productivity.

For example, if you are working on two projects at the same time, you are likely to spend more time until you finish both of them. As you can see from the image below, the time it takes to complete one project is much longer than, or better said, twice as long as, the time it takes to complete one project first and then the other one.

There are also two projects at the same additional catch here if you include cash flow, keeping in mind that you are spending money for two projects at the same time. And both of them, until they are completed, will not bring money into your business.

Related: What To Do When You Feel Overwhelmed With Awesome Ideas

Time Management to Boost Your Productivity

8. Group similar tasks

So, to start using time management techniques effectively, look at all the tasks you do regularly and group similar tasks. For example, if you are writing emails, list all the emails you need to send in a day and group them all into the same group.

Why is this important?

It’s important because you can focus on one group of tasks at a time. This way, you avoid multitasking and make sure you complete one group of tasks before moving to the next one. It also helps you to prioritize your tasks and focus on the most important ones.

For example, you can group your emails into the same categories: client, marketing, and administrative. Then, you can focus first on client communication; for example, send a discounted offer as a priority. So when you send one email (it can be a phone call or anything else related to client communication), you are still in that so the second will be easier because you already did one before. This way, you save time and increase your productivity.

9. Define high-priority tasks

When you already have your most important group of tasks, you can put a level of prioritization on all of them. Without prioritization, you will start working on low-priority tasks that, in most cases, can be delegated.

However, the biggest mistake is that in such a case, you will postpone your first priority tasks to the next day, when you will also have important things for that new day.

Many people have at least one task on their to-do list that they postpone each day because it seems awful to start them. However completing tasks like these can be daunting, but it’s crucial for your productivity and success.

So, the best way to handle this is to use a time management matrix (also known as the Eisenhower Matrix or Covey time management matrix) to categorize your tasks into four categories:

• Urgent and important (do immediately)
• Important but not urgent (schedule)
• Urgent but not important (delegate)
• Neither urgent nor important (eliminate)

Related: Time Management: A Guide to Prioritizing Tasks with the Time Management Matrix With Examples

As you can see, this method helps you focus on what truly matters and ensures that you don’t get bogged down by trivial tasks.

You can also analyze all your tasks according to specific workplace performances using the 80/20 rule, or the Pareto principle, which says that 20% of the tasks on which you are working (it doesn’t matter, it can be 30, 40, or 50) are critical few the rest of them can be delegated. Successful business leaders know about the importance of prioritizing tasks, and that’s what makes them different from average leaders.

10. Delegate tasks

Ok, previously, you have identified all your important tasks or areas where you can bring the most for your company, now, you can delegate the rest of the tasks from your to-do list.

Probably, you find yourself in a position where some of your tasks require repetitive tasks. For example, for publishing on social media, you must do:

• create a plan for each social media profile based on your business social media strategy,
• develop a weekly publishing schedule,
• create social media posts for the whole week,
• schedule the posts
• follow performance
• repeat the process.

However, when you look at these tasks, for you as an entrepreneur, a high-priority task even is not on this list. As a person who practices entrepreneurial management, your most important task here is not even on the list. It is to develop and ensure the implementation of a social media strategy for your business. All of these other tasks listed here can be easily delegated.

11. Take action even for the most dreaded tasks; don’t procrastinate.

Procrastination is the biggest productivity killer.

Why?

Simply because it leads to missed opportunities and wasted time for you as an entrepreneur.

So, let me share a personal example. A few years ago, I was working on a new business idea and kept putting it off, thinking I would have more time tomorrow, next week, next month, and so on. Simply, I look at that project with a fear, or like the most dreaded tasks for me.

But one day, I decided to take action and start working on it right away. Simply, I was tired of rescheduling my tasks and not making progress. That day, I sat down, outlined my plan (the first step to stop procrastination), and began implementing it. The plan was simple in several small steps to start with, but also something that motivated me to keep going until the end.

You know what? There is no better thing than the feeling of accomplishment when you finish a task you’ve been putting off.

Related: 8 Techniques to Overcome Procrastination and Win on Your Entrepreneurial Journey\

12. Eliminate Distractions at Workplace to Increase Your Own and Your Employee Productivity

You must improve each place in your business to improve your own and your employee’s productivity at work.

A clutter-free environment helps a lot. When I first started my business, I had a small office with papers and half-finished projects everywhere. It was overwhelming, and I would get distracted by the mess. So, I decided to declutter my workspace using the 5S methodology.

A clutter-free environment not only reduces distractions but also helps you think more clearly and produce better results.

I started by sorting through all the papers and putting them into folders. I also got rid of anything I didn’t need and kept only what was essential. This made my workspace more organized, and I could focus better on my tasks without wasting time on distractions or looking for something.

Also, a distraction-free environment is crucial for productivity. You must ensure that when you work on your most important tasks, you are not interrupted by unnecessary things.

You can read more about how to eliminate distractions and improve your productivity in our comprehensive guide on eliminating distractions in the workplace.

Productivity Tools

13. Productivity apps

Productivity apps are tools designed to help you manage your time and tasks more efficiently. In the most basic form, they can be as simple as a to-do list or as complex as a full suite of tools for project management, time tracking, collaboration tools, and automation.

However, when it comes to running a business, especially a startup, the right productivity app can be a game-changer for you.

You can start with a simple app for managing to-do lists, like Todoist, OmniFocus, or Things, which can help you keep track of your daily tasks and deadlines when you start as a solopreneur.

However, as your business grows, you might find that you need more advanced tools, which I will discuss in the next section.

14. Project management tools

Managing growing business operations requires more than just to-do lists. Everything that is done in your company can be seen as a project, so you will have many projects implemented on different levels and different cross-functional teams.

So, you will need a project management tool like Asana, Trello, or any other that suits your business’s unique needs.

For example, you will need a tool that allows you to assign tasks, track progress, and communicate with your team members.

When it comes to project management software, Gantt charts can be particularly useful for visualizing timelines and dependencies of different tasks, managing allocated resources, and ensuring that everything is on track.

The project management software you choose will depend on the size of your team, the complexity of your projects, and the specific needs of your business.

For instance, if you have a small team, you might find some tool that supports using Kanban board for visualization and tracking the progress of your projects.

15. Collaboration tools

The next important aspect of productivity apps is collaboration. As you know, today’s businesses are not limited to a single office or even a single country. Collaboration is an important aspect of running a successful business.

So, you will need a tool that will boost collaboration in and outside your company and allow you and your team to collaborate effectively, no matter where you or your team members or outside collaborators are.

For example, you can use Slack for instant messaging, Microsoft Teams or Google Meets for video conferencing and meetings, and Dropbox or Google Drive and whole Google Workspace for file sharing and collaboration on documents.

Simply ask yourself what type of collaboration is important for your business and what features you need in a tool to support it.

Use Technology to Increase Productivity and Boost Efficiency

16. Make a list of the technology you are using

Now, we are talking about improving your overall business productivity. So, the most logical thing is to start with the analysis of your current technology, it doesn’t matter if it is in production processes or financial departments.

So, make a list of the technology you are currently using and relate it with the exact processes that use that technology.

When you have such a list, think about the goals of each process that use some type of technology and ask yourself if there is some new technology that can make the process more efficient, with more quality outputs, etc.

Simply, you must ensure that you use the best technology for your business needs.

17. Improve the processes

I’ve seen many times company leaders jump directly to technology to increase productivity. However, if they use the technology to automate current processes that already produce errors and defects, automation will not eliminate them.

So, before you buy new technology, first improve your processes to escape automating nonefficiency inside your processes.

Related: Essential Process Improvement Toolbox: Top Tools to Improve Efficiency and Productivity

18. Automate everything that you can automate.

Now, when you improve your current processes, you can implement new technology to automate everything that can be automated to boost your productivity.

As you already know, today, you can easily implement automation using AI agents that will do the work instead of you or your team members. But, if you don’t have documented processes or processes without mistakes, the AI agents will make the same mistake.

Because of that I recommend you first improve your processes and then automate them.