Increase Work Efficiency:These Productivity Hacks Will Change Your Worklife

We all want to achieve more work efficiency, and there are plenty of well-known productivity hacks out there. However, a lot of them are obvious, more of a hindrance than an advantage, or only applicable to specific scenarios. 

At Bitrix24, we’re big fans of work hacks that actually make a difference — and we want to share them with you. As modern business brings a constant influx of tasks, distractions, deadlines, and technologies, there are always new strategies to optimize your processes. 

Knowing how to be more efficient at work leads to better individual and team performance, less frustration, and an improved bottom line. So if you need some actionable tips for boosting productivity, this is the place to start. 

1. Batch similar tasks together for greater efficiency

Any true life hacker will know all about batch cooking — making a huge amount of food and separating it into containers to eat throughout the week. The same philosophy can easily be converted into workplace hacks, where you group similar tasks together and bash them out in a dedicated block of time. 

Batching work is all about smart time management. For example, you can allocate 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon to reading and responding to emails. Block out your calendar to avoid distractions and give yourself a sense of urgency, and you’ll get a great deal of administrative work done without encroaching on more impactful tasks. 

Batching has the advantage of reducing the mental fatigue and time loss associated with constantly switching between different types of work. Although we’d all like to think we can multitask, one of the cardinal work efficiency rules is focusing on one thing at a time. 

2. Aim for progress over perfection

As the aphorism goes, perfect is the enemy of good, and nowhere is that more true than at work. There are only 24 hours in every day, and if you spend an inordinate amount of that time on the minor details, you’ll miss the bigger picture. 

Letting go of perfectionism — without falling into habits of low quality — is a productivity hack that needs to run throughout your company culture. It leads to faster task completion, reduced stress, and a boost in overall performance. 

Imagine you’re creating an initial project plan. No plan is ever perfect, so once it is “good enough”, any extra tweaks provide diminishing returns while eating into the time that should be set aside to start the project itself. Even the best-curated timelines will need to be adapted when the reality of the workload hits and unexpected events throw you off course. 

Aiming for progress over perfection can be counter-intuitive as we all want to do our best and be proud of our work. However, to work efficiently, it’s better for tasks to be completed rather than striving for perfection.

3. Boost productivity with physical activity

The link between physical and mental health is widely known now, which is why so many companies offer gym memberships and sports subsidies to their employees. As you’ve probably heard of these kinds of productivity hacks before, we’re going to concentrate more on the implementation of physical activities as workplace hacks. 

One of the best productivity tips for work is the famous Pomodoro technique — setting a timer for 25 minutes before receiving a reminder to get up and take a break for five minutes. This is a super-simple work hack to implement and it improves your circulation, reduces your muscle stiffness, and combats the negative effects of prolonged sitting. 

Company leaders should encourage their teams to be active whenever they can, especially with the backing of modern technology. For example, you don’t need to be trapped in a booth to do client calls anymore. Go for a walk, concentrate on the chat, and allow an AI assistant to transcribe the conversation, summarize key points, and create tasks for your next steps, all while you keep that blood pumping. 

4. Practice metacognition to reflect on your thinking patterns

As our understanding of psychology deepens, we’re getting clearer insights into how we approach our jobs, why we make certain decisions, and what environments we work best in. These factors are invaluable in uncovering our weaknesses and takingmaking steps to improve them.

Clearly, this isn’t an overnight fix. Metacognition involves dedication and commitment but brings about better decision-making, enhanced problem-solving skills, and greater self-awareness both inside and outside the office. 

Here are some tactics to promote metacognition:

• Use reporting tools to scrutinize your tasks, identify where the stumbling blocks are, and see where you could spend your time better.

• Keep a digital work journal on the cloud, which you can update on your desktop or smartphone. Reading your notes back will reveal trends and tendencies that aren’t always obvious during your day-to-day.

• Set aside time to reflect on how you approach tasks, what your blockers are, and your happiness levels. Reflection helps you clear out the noise in your head, enhance focus, and improve your mental health in general.

If you’re wondering how to improve employee productivity, too, with a quick fix, metacognition isn’t for you. However, it is one of the most effective, fulfilling, and sustainable productivity hacks for teams that are serious about long-term efficiency. 

5. Question how you spend your time. Does everything really need a meeting?

It’s hard to imagine different realities when we’re so immersed in our own, but more and more companies are realizing that schedules full of meetings interrupt deep work and provide very little benefit. A “no meeting” day is a helpful structure to get your team used to livelife without them, so choose one day a week that your employees dedicate to focused work. 

You can make a gradual shift to eliminating almost all meetings from your company without a drop in productivity. Be sure to gather data on your meetings, such as the time they take, multiplied by the amount of people present. Then, consider how much progress could have been made if those workers were all at their desks. 

Clearly, you can’t just abandon meetings with no recourse. However, task management tools have got to a stage that allows you to communicate an enormous amount of information, such as instructions, responsible people, deadlines, and resources, without the need to gather everybody together. Give it a go and measure the effect it has on your business. 

6. Encourage the power of music to enhance concentration

In a bustling office, it’s difficult to apply 100% of your concentration to the job at hand. One of the best ways to block it all out is through music — and not just any music. While most radio stations will add to distractions with traffic updates, news bulletins, and call-ins, you can find playlists on the web that are specifically designed for deep work efficiency. 

Some of the top keywords to search for when looking for productive music are:

• Classical

• Instrumental tracks

• Nature sounds

• Lo-fi beats

Inside the bubble of your playlist, you can maintain a steady rhythm and get into the flow of your work. Music like this has been proven to reduce stress and improve performance, and it’s too simple a productivity hack to miss out on.

To make it more of a collaborative effort, encourage your team to share their favorite focus playlists on internal chats or your intranet to spread the word, and achieve higher-quality results. 

7. Embrace the challenge of learning from setbacks

It’s easy to get a sense of shell shock when things go wrong and instinctively turn away from the situation. That’s no surprise. Who wants to discuss their mistakes and admit their oversights? Actually, people interested in productivity hacks do. 

Adopting a growth mindset and letting it spread across your team is an excellent resource for learning how to be more efficient at work. An open environment where people feel comfortable owning up to their errors and asking for help significantly reduces the likelihood of the same issues happening again. 

Create an environment where your team embraces opportunities to refine project templates, fine-tune risk management strategies, and integrate cutting-edge technologies. Recognizing the wins resulting from these advancements cultivates a profound sense of achievement and nurtures a culture of ongoing growth.

8. Include energy management in your scheduling

As we’ve seen in other productivity tips, knowing how to increase efficiency and productivity in the workplace often revolves around understanding ourselves. We’re all aware of the post-lunch slump and that post-coffee surge in energy — why not craft your schedules around them? 

For example, you can’t realistically expect many innovative ideas to come from a Friday afternoon meeting. People are tired from the week before and looking forward to a two-day break, so save this time slot for less consequential tasks that can be done on autopilot. 

Go beyond anecdotal energy management and track performance over the week to spot the best times and pinpoint them in team calendars. This will become your prime time for the most important tasks in your week, whether that is energized collaboration or dedicated deep work. 

9. Avoid burnout at all costs!

There’s no point in talking about how to increase efficiency and productivity in the workplace if your team is always off due to stress, so one of the best tips for improving productivity is to keep your people happy and engaged. 

When the pressure is on, it’s natural to want everybody to give it their all, put in a few extra hours, and get your projects over the line. However, continued stress will inevitably have negative consequences for work efficiency. 

Here are a few tips on how to avoid burnout:

• Set clear boundaries between work and personal life. No late-night calls, no take-home work, and no emails to people who are on holiday.

• Plan feasible to-do lists, rather than piling your wish list onto a single person and demanding results. 

• Value your team, recognize successes, offer support, and make everybody feel heard.

• Provide training to give people the confidence they need to perform. 

• Promote, implement, and subsidize stress-busting activities such as mindfulness, yoga, and sports.

10. Continuously improve your processes through monitoring and iteration

The last of our productivity tips for work efficiency involves close analysis, informed testing, and small but regular iterations. Feedback and data combine to show you what’s going well and what needs to be changed. 

Understanding the productivity vs efficiency conundrum allows you to make improvements in both areas. Productivity measures your output over a given period, whereas efficiency refers to the amount of resources you need to complete your task. 

Look at your analysis from both perspectives so you can find better working methods, reduce costs, and cut unnecessary tasks. Be sure to ask for feedback from those on the ground too. As a manager, you may have a clear overview, but each specialist knows their area best and they can often throw up productivity hacks that you would never have considered otherwise.

Bitrix24: Putting your productivity tips into practice

We’ve covered the theory, but knowing how to improve employee productivity is all about making a real impact. 

Bitrix24 is an all-in-one business platform with everything you need to translate your productivity hacks into tangible work efficiency. 

• Task management tools reduce reliance on meetings and streamline communication

• Time trackers block out focus periods and provide data for analysis

• Collaboration apps improve the speed and quality of your productivity

• Analytics help you scrutinize your workflows and identify efficiencies

• Team calendars allow you to create and share optimum schedules

So if you want to implement actionable productivity hacks into your business, sign up for a free trial with Bitrix24.

FAQs

What are productivity hacks?

Productivity hacks are strategies, techniques, or tips designed to improve efficiency and effectiveness in work or daily tasks. They often focus on optimizing time management, reducing distractions, and enhancing overall productivity.

What are the top productivity hacks for work?

The top productivity hacks for work are: 

• Batching similar tasks together 

• Embracing imperfection 

• Incorporating breaks to move your body physically

• Practicing metacognition

• Reassessing how you spend your time 

• Harnessing the power of music

• Cultivating a growth mindset 

• Understanding the ebbs and flows of your energy levels

• Establishing clear boundaries

• Seeking feedback and iteration

Why should I use productivity hacks?

You should use productivity hacks to optimize your work processes, reduce stress, and achieve better results in less time. They are practical tips to enhance focus, manage time efficiently, and maintain a balanced work-life routine, which leads to improved overall productivity.

What is the difference between work productivity vs efficiency?

The difference between work productivity andvs efficiency is that productivity measures the quantity of output produced within a given time, while efficiency focuses on achieving maximum output with minimum wasted resources or effort. Productivity is about volume, whereas efficiency is about optimizing processes to save time and effort.