4 + 1 productivity hacks to get more things done, on time.

You have a project. You start working on it. Then another one comes in. Then another. And another. Work keeps pilling up and deadlines overlap each other. One of the hardest things to do when self-employed and have a remote team is to keep track of your tasks and actually get things done, on time.

Check these 4+1 battle tested tips, to enhance your productivity and get things done, on time

Organize — plan ahead

When we receive a brief the first thing we do is to analyze approximately how many hours the project needs until completion. Then we create a timeplan on how many hours a day we can allocate to it, in order to be ready on time but on the same time don’t burnout our team and let other projects fall behind schedule. For example, a site redesign that needs around 80 hours of work cannot be completed in 10 days of 8 hours each. Depending on the current work schedule and the short term expectations we have for future projects we will instead plan shorter time slots per day in order to deliver on time and don’t interrupt our existing workflow.

Prioritize — your time is limited

Every Monday morning we start our week with an alignment meeting, where we set our tasks for the next 7 days. We discuss major and minor things. We usually come around a list with lets say 50 objectives. Some major, some minor and some “nice2have”. Then we trim it down to about half. Then we define the 20% of the objectives which will produce the 80% of the results we want and commit to them. This is our “do or die” todo list for the week. Firstly we make sure that these tasks are done and then we proceed to the rest of the list. This way no matter what new or urgent comes along, ongoing projects are flowing smoothly.

Set quantifiable goals/ assign who does what and until when

Just by placing tasks in a to do list doesn’t mean they will be completed automatically. For example: “Create content for customer X” is a task, but its deliverable is not clear. It is important to identify who does what and until when. A clear task would be something like:

“Jim will have to create 3 posts for Facebook until Thursday @12.00. To be reviewed by end of business day and go live by Friday @11.00"

Now it is clear for everyone in the team what has to be done so every member can plan its schedule accordingly, we save time from unnecessary back and forths and the client gets served on time.

Follow up — follow up — follow up

Your clients and your partners just like you have a lot of things to juggle through the day. Chances are that they forget or postpone some “not urgent at the moment”. Not because they don’t care, but because they have a lot in their minds. This is why following up is very important. Whether it is a short email like “hey, do you have any update on the below?” or a brief phonecall, it increases your chances of getting a response on your requests on time. You don’t become pushy by that, you just work your way higher on their todo list!

Don’t set undoable goals / don’t punish yourself for not achieving them

I almost never complete all my tasks in my todo list. There are numerous reasons for that. Procrastination, new urgent tasks that come up, bad time estimation, you name it. It’s normal. Don’t punish yourself for that. Instead plan your day smart. For example, if you have 8 hours of work don’t make a todo list with tasks that take 8 hours. That is equivalent of 8 hours of 100% productivity which is a bit ideal. Plan for half of your available hours, not only because an average person’s productivity is around 50–60% but also because there always will be extra stuff that need to be done and you could not have estimated them beforehand. The important thing here is consistency. Plan for 50% of your available time and define your “do or die” tasks. Start by completing them first and then move to the rest. Usually these tasks are the most difficult or “boring”. By finishing them first, not only you have secured your daily output but you also get a nice confidence boost to get you through the day! ;)

So this is it, my first article! I hope you find it useful!