The days are getting greyer, there’s a chill in the air, and that vibrant orange autumn that Pinterest promises us turns out to be a bit… mushy. As the New Year looms menacingly close on the horizon, you’d be forgiven for your productivity levels slipping. Or, to quote last year’s omnipresent New York Times article by Adam Grant, you might feel like you’re languishing. Whatever the cause of your meh-ness, don’t despair: we asked the wider P&Co family to share their favourite productivity hack to keep us on track this autumn. 

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Here’s what they had to say. 

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#1 Try an online tool

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“Whenever I'm hopped up on caffeine (it doesn't take much) but I know I need to sit my ass-ets down to focus on one specific task, I use Focusmate,” says Gigi Rodgers, a user experience enthusiast and product marketing manager based in the US. “There's something about having that accountability partner there that focuses me for a good 60 minutes. I continually get my deep work done during these sessions so that sometimes, I'll book sessions back to back & crush my work day.” 

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#2 Write your to-do list backwards

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“I tie down my to-do lists to 3 important things each day, listing them out 3, 2, 1,” says Tom Jepson, design consultant and coach for creative rebels. “This way I am very unlikely to add any more on (who wants a list that goes 3, 2, 1 4?!) and will almost always complete everything because hitting that No. 1 spot feels like a win every time.”

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#3 Set up a juicy reward

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“I take a leaf from the parenting handbook and reward myself with treats,” shares Steph Chapman, Operations Manager at Publicover & Co. “I’ll tell myself that if I get this task done, I can have a sweet treat, or watch a show I love. It’s a simple one, but it works surprisingly well, and you can tie the size of the reward to the difficulty of the task for extra incentive.”

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#4 Look at the bigger picture

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“When I'm feeling unproductive, I often look at what is the reason for it,” says Kim Jose, Head of Brand & Experience at a boutique design and innovation consultancy. “I name that reason, and more often than not, my ‘lack of productivity’ is a lack of clear direction or goal. So, my top ‘productivity hack’ is to get in touch with a colleague or my manager, and inject some purpose/direction on my tasks for the day. ‘Does it inform the overall picture? Alright, let me get on it then.’” And for a quick win? “Start with 2 easy but meaningful (to my goals/role) tasks first before moving on to the hard ones,” advises Kim. “Doing so helps build confidence that I indeed can do awesome things and the nagging (Debbie Downer) voice in my head is powerless.”

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#5 Put your shoes on

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Let’s end on a quirkier note from me, Phoebe, Head of Content at Publicover & Co. If you’re working from home and feeling just a little too cosy, putting your shoes on really helps. I don’t know whether it’s because you’re tricking your brain, or just because it makes working from the couch that much harder, but putting on shoes (or at least clean Birkenstocks!) really helps me. And if I’m delivering a workshop or need some extra confidence, I’ll pick my highest heels. Bonus: I don’t need to go anywhere whilst wearing them!

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Looking for your next lead-generating sales script? Maybe you’re after an A to Z LinkedIn strategy. P&Co has just what you need: head to our Resource Library to browse. For more information about what we do, take a peek at our website. 

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