On any given day, there’s a finite amount of things we can accomplish. Whether we’re busier or just feel like it, the pressure is on to do more with less time. If daunting to-do lists are part of your everyday, check out our Chief Creative Officer’s tips to make 2018 the most productive year yet.
Create Smart Lists
Not overloading your to-do list with too many high-value tasks is critical to getting things done. The trick is keeping task lists short and manageable. As tasks arise throughout the day, figure out if you can accomplish it in the next two minutes. If you can, do it without adding it to your list. If you can’t tackle it in 120 seconds, add it to your to-do list and address it in order of priority.
Visualize Workflows
Visualizing ideas, classifying tasks, and organizing information increases productivity. Taking the time to map or sketch out a strategy helps balance intuition with logic, leading to more efficient problem solving and effective decision making. We use traditional whiteboards and whiteboard desks to make iterating on the best ideas (and erasing the not so great ones) incredibly convenient.
Adopt a Project Management Tool
Another secret to improved productivity is utilizing project management tools to keep documents, communications, and milestones organized in one central place. There are many project management tools out there, but Basecamp is our lifesaver. It keeps teams on-task and prevents us from wasting time hunting down email streams and assets. It also makes collaborating and monitoring multiple projects’ progress easier and more efficient, even when on-the-go.
Delegate Strategically
One final way to conquer your to-do list and be as productive as possible is to delegate. Delegating maximizes productivity by improving decision-makers’ time management so they can focus on high value tasks. It’s also instrumental in preventing bottlenecks. Before delegating, clearly explain the task at hand and why you are delegating it. The only way to successfully delegate is to not micromanage and to make yourself available to offer constructive, timely feedback.
When it comes to productivity, the little things make all the difference. We hope these tiny tweaks make your work routine more productive this year and for many more to come.