productive – user's Blog!

Working from home can be a little tedious, and it’s too easy to let distractions take the place of work. The start of a new year is the perfect time to take a look around and see what you can change to ramp up your productivity.

Let’s take a look at 3 key areas most people can stand to improve.

Spruce up Your Environment

Start with your office space. Is your chair comfortable? If it’s time for a new chair, get one. Find an ergonomic model with great lumbar support. Simple comfort makes a huge difference in your ability to concentrate.
Throw out all the stuff you’re hoarding. Be brutal, who really needs paper? Scan all your old records to the cloud and store the paper copies in the attic if you must. Anywhere but sucking up real estate in your workspace. Once you’ve cleared the clutter, rearrange your area so everything you need is close at hand.
Spruce up with some colorful art, flowers, or living plants. Decor doesn’t have to be expensive to be awesome.
Improve your air quality. Plants are a great choice. They’re cheery and help clean your indoor air of pollutants and allergens. If you can breathe better, you can work better.
Create ambient noise. If TV and music are too distracting, try working to the sound of rain. Ambient noise – some soothing sound in the background that doesn’t command your attention – will normalize other distracting sounds, like your neighbors doing yard work or school buses coming and going.
Get out of the house. Once in a while, take your laptop or smartphone and find a change of scenery. Take precautions when using public Wi-Fi, but get out there. Spend a few hours a week somewhere there’s scenery, greenery, and really good coffee.

Tighten up Your Routine

Get enough sleep. When you work from home, unplugging can be a real challenge. When you’re scheduling your time, set an end time…and keep it. Make sure you get the quality sleep you need to perform your best.
Set deadlines and keep them. You may not have to turn work in on a schedule, but putting things off can result in poor work habits, low productivity, and loss of income. Self-imposed deadlines are not as effective as external deadlines, but they do help control procrastination.
Tie your project milestones to your goals or budget. Make a realistic projection with an end goal. A concrete idea of how much work needs to be accomplished to meet a financial or professional goal will help you stay on track.
Break each project into steps. No matter how small your business, Insightly’s project management feature can help you manage your time and your tasks.

Harness a Psychological Edge

Get up, get dressed, get going. Some people need a psychological push to get their head in the game. Start the morning the same way you would if you’re going to an office. Have a shower, coffee, breakfast, and get dressed for work. Even if your work outfit is a clean pair of flannel jammies and fuzzy socks.
Have a morning meeting. If you work alone, enlist a friend to be an accountability partner. Discuss your schedules and what you plan to accomplish today. Check in at regular intervals to see how it’s going. Accountability is a powerful motivator. No one wants to report in that they are off-schedule, even if it’s just to a friend.
Take breaks. The positive effect of breaks was first noted by Lithuanian psychologist Bluma Ziegarnik in 1927. Many studies have been conducted since, and the conclusion is solid. Regular breaks results in higher productivity. The popular Pomodoro Method calls for 25 minutes of work followed by a 5 – 15 minute break, but other research suggests that 90 minutes of intense work followed by a 15 minute break is optimal. Figure out what timing works best for you, and make sure you grab some down time.
You’re a multitasking superstar, able to juggle multiple tasks at the same time! You’re switching between scheduling a meeting, talking to a client on the phone, writing a blog post, answering emails, and checking your web analytics. Unfortunately, science says you’re doing it all badly…but you feel good about it. Be more productive by doing one thing at a time.

We all get stuck in a rut now and then, and need to shake things up, jumpstart our productivity, and realign our goals. Whenever you feel like you’re spinning your wheels, it’s time to find new ways to get back on track.

At Insightly, we offer a CRM used by small and mid-sized businesses from a variety of verticals. Learn about Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial.

Uber-Sales — Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com

You don’t need to turn into everyone’s least favorite boss to crank up the productivity of your salesforce. Even if you’ve already got an excellent sales team, you can do a few things to make them more productive.

Talk to your Sales Force

Before you start making any changes, ask your team about it. Find out what works best for them. Ask them to be honest about what slows them down or complicates their work flow. Consider surveying your team at regular intervals. This lets you continually evaluate and adjust as necessary.

To keep the lines of communication open, adopt an open-door policy. Be sure to clearly define the policy to your team. Be specific about exactly what kinds of concerns they can come to you with. Also be clear that communication with you under this policy won’t negatively impact their jobs. An open-door policy can be a waste of time if you don’t stick to defined limitations. So give this one careful consideration. If you do choose to do so, be smart about how open your door really is.

Hone Your Craft

It’s not just your sales force who must stay up-to-date. You also need to be on top of the best sales practices. Read industry blogs. Check out the best sales books. Take advantage of the wealth of information available from industry leaders. Don’t forget to keep managerial training in mind, as well. Your responsibility to your team is so much more than shoving new sales techniques at them. If your knowledge gets stale, your team’s will too.

Avoid Project Snags

Keep track of every step in ongoing projects. Know who is responsible for each task. Watch deadlines to be sure things are completed on time. Using CRM with project management lets you automatically receive emails when a task is due. You can assign responsible parties to minimize overlap and encourage direct communications between teams. You can even track all email correspondence.

Set Specific Goals

Your salesforce needs more than just a number to hit. Be specific and break down goals into pieces. It’s one of the best ways to meet individual goals and it will work for your team as well. Utilize tasks and deadlines in CRM to make the small goals crystal clear. Assign responsible parties to ensure that tasks are completed by the right person. Follow through on enforcing deadlines. Make sure your sales goals are realistic. Unreasonable expectations will eventually burn out your team.

Measure Productivity

If you want your team to do more, you have to know how much they’re already doing. Collecting data on your employees doesn’t have to be creepy. In fact, it proves incredibly useful if you collect the right data. Looking to shave off wasted time, say in the restroom, is creepy. However, comparing the top reason for lost opportunities by individual is helpful. You can encourage a little friendly competition and add a layer of honesty to your data collection by making the results fair game for all your team to view.

Nix Weekly Meetings

Do you really need your whole team to meet every week or teleconference every morning? Take a hard look at how many times you’re calling your people away from their work. You could be affecting their productivity as much as any other distraction. Really need that face time? Consider shorter, more specific meetings. Meet with individuals or small teams regarding very specific issues and goals. Go in with clear objectives, stay on topic, and avoid distractions.

Reward Success, Critique Wisely

Being recognized for achievements is a powerful motivator. Likewise, helpful criticism can empower your team to work smarter. When celebrating a member of your team, make it personal and heartfelt. Be specific about what they’ve done well. Don’t draw comparisons. Whether you show your gratitude in a meeting or send a handwritten note, make it meaningful. When it comes to criticism, be kind and encouraging. Don’t criticize when you’re in a bad mood. Set aside time for critique and deliver it privately.

Managing your salesforce is hardly just about nagging and enforcing deadlines. It’s your mission to keep them engaged, excited, and wanting to work hard. Treat your team with respect, keep your approach to sales fresh, measure everything, and reward hard work and your sales force will deliver.

At Insightly, we offer a CRM used by small and mid-sized businesses from a huge variety of verticals. Learn about all of Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial.

Tag: productive

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