10 Undeniable Truths About Productivity Management

Productivity management is an essential skill for those working in an isolated workspace. It would be best if you still got your work done efficiently and on time. As a freelancer or someone working remotely, the kind of monitoring that comes with being in an office environment seems nonexistent.

Though you are still expected to get through your tasks, working in your own space brings a sense of "marching to the beat of your drum." Therefore, you must be able to achieve and maintain high productivity levels on your own by being aware and responsible.

Thankfully, getting to that point is not rocket science, as you need to learn how to measure productivity and what you can do to keep it at its peak. So, how do you get started on that? Below is an overview of 10 facts you should know where managing your productivity is concerned. Establish a sense of familiarity with these, and doing so should help immensely with your productivity levels. 

1. Productivity Management Is About More Than Time Management

First, it's important to define productivity management adequately. Unfortunately, it's very easy for people to get the idea and the required steps wrong. That's because persons tend to equate the phenomenon to time management. 

While time management is undoubtedly a part of the productivity equation, it's not equivalent to the whole. Remember that productivity refers to the output per unit of time. That number is based on factors such as skill levels, equipment, and comfort, which all lie outside the realm of the time management equation. 

When you are in your home office, it's easy to feel like the only thing that matters is using your time as effectively as possible. While such an approach could work in a traditional office space where management is present, you technically become the manager of a single person at home. That's because many of the responsibilities a manager would have to keep things in check now lie with you. 

2. 10 Facts You Should Know About Productivity Management

2.1. Distractions Must Be Managed Effectively 

As you can imagine, with any task, there are potential distractions that can throw off your efforts to get your work done efficiently. In a remote workspace, you must deal with physical distractions, as well as digital ones. Unfortunately, it's much more challenging than usual because of the natural air of comfort that comes from working in your own home.  

The sense of freedom that you get from having so much control over what you do is exciting, but it can be a two-edged sword in this sense. First, you need to look around your environment and ensure that your physical workspace is conducive to what you want to achieve. This may involve putting green plants in the room to create a more focus-oriented surrounding.

Additionally, it would help if you learned to increase your productivity through the elimination of digital distractions. 

2.2. It's Better to Prevent Multitasking Than to Encourage It

Managing productivity means taking the required steps to get through your desired plan in the most efficient way possible. Typically, the job that you must do has a modular structure, which means there are sub-tasks that you can identify. In a bid to get through the said tasks, you may decide to try to do some of them simultaneously for a smoother and quicker experience.

Multitasking, in this sense, appears to be the solution to better productivity. However, you reduce your efficiency when you choose to go about your tasks in this way. Anything that you do throughout your workday requires a certain level of focus from your brain. 

When you do multiple things at once, you may feel like you're more productive than ever, but you cut the level of focus that your brain can reasonably give to each task. Not only does that mean you introduce the possibility of substandard work, but you may even be achieving things more slowly than you would if you focused on one thing at a time.

2.3. Productivity Management Software Is Key

Productivity management is not necessarily a manual process. Doing it right requires you to make proper use of technology. There are more software systems for helping you to remain productive than you can imagine. Some of them don't cost a dime, while others come with a price tag.

As you can imagine, the paid ones usually have better quality, which means that you should look at getting one as an investment in managing your productivity optimally. Productivity management software can work wonders in eliminating wasted effort and inadequate process flows, which allows you to increase your output without needing extra time.

Remember that you take on additional management-type responsibilities just by being in a surrounding that you have complete control over. Therefore, you need all the help you can get to avoid wasting both time and effort. 

2.4. Time Management Is a Job and a Half 

It would be best if you never equate this to the entirety of the considerations that go into maintaining acceptable or high output levels. Be that as it may, time and attention in productivity management are arguably the most critical aspects of the whole.  

Much of what you can get done depends on how focused you are and how you use your allocated time. You may find that the relaxed home setting makes it that much harder for you to keep your attention where it needs to be. This premise goes double for those who need to be managed to get anything done.

Even if you fall into that category, all hope is not lost. Problems with time management afflict many people, but all you need to learn is what works for you in getting through it. Two of the most effective ways to go about it are to write your plan down or to use a calendar application as a point of reference.

2.5. The Work Environment Cannot Be Counterintuitive

Internal factors play a part in the adequate management of your productivity. However, you cannot ignore the importance of the environmental factors that can support you as much as they can hinder you.

Traditional offices are built the way they are to accommodate employees and facilitate focus on the work that needs to be done. Since you usually set up your home office, some of the required considerations that go into the design process may be ignored entirely.

Fortunately, you can boost your personal space to make it a place that influences positive work habits for you. What that looks like for each person is vastly different, but there are some general tips that everyone can seek to employ. 

2.6. The Tools Must Be in Place

If your job description requires a specific set of tools, getting work done effectively means that they must be present. Not all the components you have directly feed into the tasks that go into your work. You must understand that productivity management tools may also be a part of your home office's optimal performance.

While some tools, such as a computer, may be required for the core functionality of what you do, others, such as a desk organizer, may be necessary for a more supportive role. Adequately managing your productivity requires you to identify both sets of tools to ensure that you give yourself the best chance at high productivity levels. Find out the essential desk accessories that you must have on your desk to boost productivity.

2.7. Objectives Set Must Be Measurable and Specific

You can't proceed down any road without adequate direction. Consider making that belief a part of your mindset as you aim to establish and maintain sufficient productivity. Even if you are doing nothing more than writing a daily schedule, there must be some form of objective setting measure that farms a part of your workflow. Sometimes, it only takes establishing practical ways in which you can become more productive than ever before.

Sadly, it's easy to set vague objectives that help nothing. For example, you may say that you wish to achieve job X in an acceptable time. While that may sound solid to you, it's not specific, nor is it measurable. What subtasks go into job X? How do you quantify a good time? If you can't correctly evaluate and measure the target, it's not a real objective. 

2.8. There's a Lot of Trial and Error

While you need to consistently challenge yourself to increase your productivity, remember that there is a lot of touch-and-go that goes into getting it right. How do you even know when you are doing well or what is helping? The equation involves learning about yourself and what you respond to in a home office context.

Being able to establish that requires that you have an adequate evaluation system. Before you start the trial and error, you must learn the art of measuring productivity in your unique situation. Only after doing so can you truly understand what is helping you, what is hindering you, and what is making no difference at all. 

Don't be afraid to make some bad calls as you work on increasing your efficiency. Unfortunately, productivity management isn't a straightforward process, and all you can do is experiment to get better at it.

2.9. Don't Ignore the Personal Aspect

You can't manage productivity properly by remaining focused on things that directly involve your job functions. Such factors involve your tools, environment, approach to tasks, etc. However, you must remember that you are a person before you are a worker.

If you are not taking care of yourself, you become your hurdle. People are most efficient when doing things like taking a 20-minute break after every 90 minutes of work. While this is not so easy to do in the traditional office space, you have complete control over doing so in a home setting. 

Additionally, it would be best if you never neglected areas, such as nutrition and sleep. Studies show that improper sleep alone can slash your productivity by staggering margins. Be kind to yourself if you want to do better work. 

2.10 The Goal Should Always Be to Get Better

Complacency is one of the biggest enemies of the process. Productivity management should always include improvement objectives. Unless you have definitively established reaching the peak of efficiency (which is rare), you should never settle for where you are.

Being able to achieve a greater output makes your work that much more fulfilling and smoother. Sometimes, getting better means practicing more. In other cases, it means acquiring the necessary qualifications to become better at what you do.  

Whatever way you decide to go about it, once you improve, inefficiencies become more easily identifiable and removable. You cannot continue to repeat the same process in the same way if you intend to produce better output.  

Though there is no one watching, you need to take your personal and professional development as seriously as possible.  

3. Smart Tools for Efficiently Managing Productivity

As stated above, a part of adequately getting a handle on productivity means having the right tools at your disposal. The said tools can directly contribute to your job functions or support you in working at an optimal level. For example, developers working remotely may need a desk, chair, and several software systems. 

It's up to you to establish what you need to make your work life more comfortable and efficient. There are various smart technologies and implements that can contribute significantly to your performance. These can range from applications to electronics. Consider time management applications, smartwatches, workflow mapping tools, etc.  

4. How Can Autonomous Offerings Assist with Managing Productivity? 

Autonomous offers various tools and accessories that contribute immensely to the productivity management equation. Comfort and efficiency are essential aspects of your bid to maintain the best possible output. Items, such as the SmartDesk 2 Home Office, L-Shaped SmartDesk, and ErgoChair 2, are all stellar additions to your office space.

On top of that, our upcoming SmartDesk 4 that will be launched in the upcoming time aims to set a new definition of productivity management on grounds of digital integration with Autonomous mobile applications, which will also be launched simultaneously. Inspired from the most popular time management method - Pomodoro, built-in intervals promise to help you manage your time and energy levels at work, SmartDesk 4 adjusts when you need to focus and intuitively reminds you to sit down keeping your energy flowing throughout the day.

Without a comfortable seating, you may find yourself both in pain and practicing lousy posture. Both things take away from your productivity, especially when they are consistent. Additionally, it would help if you had a desk that is conducive to organization and comfort. That may mean having a standing desk, or it may mean being able to adjust it between standing and seated positions. 

The Autonomous office furniture options are excellent for this purpose, and the catalog also includes numerous accessories to help you. 

Conclusion 

When you are working in a remote space, you become highly responsible for your productivity management. Therefore, it's up to you to determine what you can use to help you make the best of it. That may involve getting better furniture, making use of video conferencing, taking breaks, practicing better time management, etc.

The point is to do whatever it takes to maintain a high level of output consistently. Apart from the changes you can make personally, and to the way you work, you should also consider Autonomous product offerings to take your productivity to the next level. Everything is designed to help you do as best as possible in your own space.