Happy birthday to Key Steps, 15 years, 15 productivity hacks…

Today, Key Steps is 15 years old. My heart is filled with gratitude. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US 😊. We are so grateful to reach this milestone and know that we get to do work we are deeply passionate about every day. We are excited to celebrate today by sharing our top 15 #productivityhacks with you. But first…

A BIG thank you to YOU for your loyalty and support. We are because of all our special clients and that means… YOU!

At this time of year, we hear so many clients across the globe pushing hard and trying to be as productive as possible to get things ‘over the line’ before the holidays and end of the year. With only six weeks left until January 2023, let’s take Key Steps to…

‘be the difference that makes the difference.’

1. Be self-aware and create healthy routines. Getting up and showering every morning even when you won’t be seeing people, can be a great trigger for productivity. It is important to know yourself and what works and does not work for you. I’m concerned about the number of people I am encountering on the verge of burnout. If burnout sets in, your productivity and self-belief will decline. Sadly, many individuals and employers may then misinterpret this as poor performance rather than a person in crisis. Do you berate yourself for not performing as well as you think you should rather than being self-aware and implementing self-care? See a medical professional if you are in doubt as to whether you might have symptoms of burnout and take Key Steps to…
2. Manage your energy. Refill your tank. You don’t let your cell phone or laptop run out of battery. Even with loadshedding, you make a plan to keep your tech as charged as possible. When will we treat ourselves with the same care? Six months ago, I took drastic action to manage my energy as the 18 months prior (including two bouts of Covid) had really depleted my energy levels. I had to get them back up. I’ve transformed my diet and redefined my pace of work. It is finally paying off and I am back in the green. I can’t wait until I no longer need to turn myself onto low power mode (because I currently still do), meaning less people and more rest.
3. Plan, plan, plan and limit the number of goals you set while planning your day. Find a system that works for you. Planning helps you to bring the future into the present to do something about it now. Imagine how the quality of meetings would go up if everyone just planned properly. While setting goals just remember that they must challenge and stretch you without overwhelming you. Burnout is typically where the demand outstrips the resources. Be realistic with yourself and acknowledge your limits (one of my hardest ones).
4. Set boundaries and say NO. You might be able to do everything, but you can’t do it all at the same time. When you say YES to something, you are saying NO to something else. How do you make sure that you are saying YES to the ‘right’ things? Life is a delicate dance of choices and limits.
5. Write down your top three priorities for the day. To do lists can be great but they can also be overwhelming. Make sure that you start your day (or do it the evening before) by writing down the three most important things you must achieve for the day. If you know what your non-negotiables are, you’ll be less negotiable. And make sure that you, your family, and your friends feature in this list of priorities.
6. Know where your time goes and work at the right time. I’m really not a morning person. Where I can help it, I never do arduous tasks in the morning. I know that it takes me much longer. I’m much better in the evening. I am not the person that gets up at 5am and uses the ‘extra’ time while people are sleeping… that would be a life of torture for me. I’m the one sleeping at that time! You can see that we are back to point 1 here: Know yourself. Keeping a time log, to see where your time goes and noting your energy levels throughout the day, is a super hack. Play to your strengths and…
7. Eliminate or manage your distractions and time/energy wasters. You can use apps to block social media, use your ‘out of office’, set your MS Teams status to busy, tell colleagues when you need to be left alone and so on. This really helps if you have the tendency to procrastinate, which brings me to…
8. Act! Don’t wait for inspiration. This is one of my superpowers… to rise above my moods and, whether I feel like it or not, I do it anyway. I am writing this on a Sunday afternoon, where I’d rather be napping but hey… I took Friday afternoon off to play with my daughter and we’ve been having fun all morning so now work duty calls. I always remind myself that I just need to start. I don’t have to see the whole staircase; I just need to climb the next step and before I know it… it’s done.
9. Have breaks between meetings. When EEG’s monitor electrical activity in people who have four back-to-back meetings versus breaks between meetings (5 minutes is enough, 10-minutes is preferable), the stress levels (measured by looking at the beta activity across subjects) were much higher when there were no breaks. No surprise there! What will it take for you to ensure more pauses in your day that enable you to think better, be better and do better? We need to slow down to go faster.
10. Use fun techniques and gamificiation. This could involve using the Pomodoro technique where you set an alarm and work for 50-min that is followed by a 10-min break. Challenging yourself, in a fun way, to see how much you can get done each round of 50-min, is great for your brain and is known to significantly increase productivity.
11. Do not multi-task — rather write things down. When you lose focus and your brain starts side tracking you with all sorts of thoughts, write them down so you can park them to come back to later. This ensures that you don’t lose any of your mind’s magic while allowing you to ‘let go’ of the thoughts and clear the highway of your mind. There are of course times when you need to shift focus and stop doing what you were busy with because something more urgent comes in and takes priority. Remember to really question what the best use of your time and energy is, and do not try and do two tasks that require cognitive resources at once. Both suffer!
12. Focus on the big picture. Make sure that each day is anchored into the context of the week, the week into the month, and the month into your year and the year into your life. As Covey says, there is no point in climbing the whole ladder, just to realise that it was against the wrong wall. This concept works for me in everyday tasks too. When I’m stuck in the middle of a programme design or big client proposal, and feel I’m not being my most productive, I stop and refocus on the big picture. This is a sure fire way to re-energise and become productive.
13. Manage your environment. I like lots of light and space and, while I don’t like clutter, I don’t like my papers moved around while I am in the middle of something. I also like to match the type of work I do to where I do it. I can design slide on my couch but I need to write proposals at my desk. Getting up from my desk, going for a walk, drinking water and eating well are all part of my routine and help me make my environment work for me.
14. Consider adding red or blue to your workspace
    .These colours are known to help improve cognitive performance. A recent and interesting productivity hacks is to use more red and blue in your work space. Blue seems to encourage calm, clarity and creativity, while red enhances attention to detail. This is because our brains are conditioned to perceive red as a sign of danger. This makes our minds more cautious, vigilant and attentive.
15. Clear backlogs. It is very hard to be your most productive when you are worried about backlogs. Watch out for perfectionism that might keep you stuck fixating on things that don’t really matter (go back to point 4). But if the backlog really is a priority, see point 7 and just do it! Clear your mental energy so you can be focused and resourceful. The choice is in your hands. Your life, your success and your happiness are in your hands.

Thank you for being on this journey with me. I really look forward to walking another 15 years with you and promise to bring many more Key Steps #hacks.

I am curious… What Key Steps will you take this week to… ‘be the difference that makes the difference.’

Namaste,

Sharon