Productive Archives - Appointment - Online Appointment Scheduling Software

Sharpen Your Calendar Skills to Increase Productivity on Social Media

By John Hall | Time Management | No Comments

Productivity on social media is not as difficult to achieve as one might be led to believe, and can be done in a few simple steps. Doom-scrolling, on the other hand, is the last thing anyone wants to waste time on, as this is a task that does not provide any productivity value. This‌ ‌is‌ ‌particularly the case if you are unsure which of those tasks actually produces‌ ‌results. After all, time is too precious to waste on useless‌ ‌tasks.

And, this is especially true when it comes to social media. After all, the average daily social media usage is 2 hours and 27 minutes.

Like most of you, I have limited time to spend on social media each day. ‌As a result, I’ve got to use that time wisely. ‌This means figuring out which social media tasks produce results and how to do them most efficiently.

Although ‌it sounds easy, being more productive on social media has taken a lot of trial and error. ‌The best thing I’ve found is to sharpen your calendar skills.

Set goals and understand why you use social media.

How can you practice ‌more‌ ‌productivity ‌on‌ ‌social‌ ‌media? ‌First, understand why you’re using those channels.

In other words, you shouldn’t just scroll through a feed of updates when you log into Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. ‌Instead, it should serve a single‌ ‌purpose. If you’re unsure, you could ask the following questions:

Would you like‌ ‌to‌ ‌gain‌ ‌followers?
Do you wish‌ ‌to‌ ‌increase‌‌ ‌‌brand‌‌ ‌‌awareness?
Are you seeking‌ ‌referrals‌ ‌or‌ ‌connections?
Are you interested in sharing‌ ‌resources‌ ‌with‌ ‌your‌ ‌followers?
Do you want‌ ‌to‌ ‌drive‌ ‌traffic‌ ‌and‌ ‌leads?

Aim for greater productivity on social media:

To reach your own social media productivity success, you may find that you need a mix of platforms and goals. ‌Having multiple channels might serve different purposes. ‌First, make sure you are clear about the results you want.

There are so many ways to break down a business goal once it’s clarified, such as:

Decide on an overall goal. ‌Maybe it’s to reach more ideal clients and to increase‌ ‌sales.
Assess how you’ll measure the result. Then, find out how you will know if you have met your‌ ‌goal. ‌For‌ ‌instance,‌ ‌grow‌ ‌your Instagram followers by 10% by the end of the quarter.
Break‌ ‌down your specific goals into action steps. Then, you need to do what it takes to achieve it. Maybe it’s posting five days a week or running a poll.

Make sure your actions match up with your goals. ‌‌‌Taking time-sensitive approaches will also keep you from getting overwhelmed.

And most importantly? Add your social media goals to your calendar. You’ll be less likely to give up on them when you do.

Always batch.

“Task batching allows you to take all of your tasks for the day and very carefully and methodically determine similar and repetitive actions performed within each task,” explains Calendar’s Angela Ruth. “In short, you’ll be ‘reverse-engineering’ each task you have on your list and coming up with the most efficient combinations of activities.”

It might take a while to get started. ‌But it’s worth it. ‌After all, batching will save you brainpower ‌throughout‌ ‌the day. ‌And, when your mind is sharper, you’ll be have increased productivity on social media.

Yet, that is only‌ ‌scratching‌ ‌the‌ ‌surface. Batching also simplifies tasks and reduces transition time. ‌Instead of multitasking, you concentrate‌ ‌on‌ ‌just‌ ‌one‌ ‌task‌ ‌at‌ ‌a‌ ‌time. ‌As‌ ‌a result,‌ ‌there is no time wasted in transitions.

Using batching will help you avoid forgetting important tasks. ‌This can include social media postings or blog posts.

I should add that there are a variety of ways you can save time when it comes to social media by batching.

Think of‌ ‌post‌ ‌ideas‌ ‌all‌ ‌at‌ ‌once. ‌The goal is to accumulate a wealth of social media post ideas you can refer to as needed.
Regularly schedule posts. ‌You’ll save a lot of time if you schedule all your posts at the beginning of each week or month. ‌Then, you can adjust your schedule throughout the week or month if something special arises.
Engage in social media only during designated‌ ‌times. ‌Check and respond to critical social media posts and messages once or twice a day. If you don’t want to get sucked in, set a timer for 10-15 minutes. ‌It’s amazing what you can do when you set strict limits.

Choose your distractions.

Social media is inherently distracting. ‌Staying connected and being available are some reasons, according to one study. Also, avoiding a task can play a role.

Social media was ranked fourth on Atlassian’s list of main workplace distractions. ‌So you will inevitably be distracted by social media tasks.

As a result of distractions taking over our day, we are less productive. But, at the same time, navigating distractions can be a challenge. So, what can you do?

Well, utilize your calendar.

To be more productive on social media, put batching on your schedule, for example. That’s what I do every Monday. From 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., I schedule all my posts for the week. Now that I’ve got that out of the way, I turn off social media notifications until I’m scheduled to check them. Do this after lunch and right before I’m done work for the day.

Also, plan for distractions as well. ‌Unfortunately, there is no way‌ ‌to‌ ‌prepare ‌for‌ ‌every‌ ‌distraction. ‌However, you can schedule a buffer time to ‌accommodate‌ ‌them.

Create a content calendar.

“A content calendar is simply a planner, spreadsheet, or calendar that details the content you’ll be publishing for weeks or months in advance,” Abby Miller writes in a previous Calendar article. “This not only gives you a quick overview of your content schedule, it can also be shared with your team so that they’re aware of deadlines and project details.”

“Content calendars will help you stay on top of content creation schedules, generate new ideas, and encourage team collaboration,” Abby adds. ‌Furthermore, a content calendar helps ensure accountability, utilize different formats, and identify the type of content your target audience responds to the most.

Don’t worry if you haven’t created a content calendar before. Here’s how to get started:

Brainstorm content ideas. ‌Topics should fit your brand persona, address concerns or questions your audience has and establish your authority in the‌ ‌industry.
Determine your publication channels and frequency. You can use social media channels to promote content, build brand awareness, and engage‌ ‌with‌ ‌your‌ ‌audience. “The frequency changes between channels as such; Facebook no more than twice a day, Twitter 3 times daily, LinkedIn once per day, Instagram 1.5 times daily, and Pinterest 5 times daily,” she adds.
Use a spreadsheet and calendar to map everything out. You should include details like publication date, title, content description, and where it’s going.
Define the workflow. As a part of your content strategy, this should include overall goals, editorial guide, best practices, and assigned responsibilities.
Schedule, publish, promote, track, and tweak your content. Review your analytics so that you can make proper adjustments.

Put the right tools to work.

One of the best ways to increase your productivity? You’ve got to use the right tools. ‌For example, you can use a digital calendar to manage your time. It’s also handy if you want to track your time and plan‌ ‌meetings.

Moreover, you can take your productivity to new heights when paired with project management software, video conferencing apps, and social media.

As‌ ‌far as productivity on social media goes, specific tools can help you get more done. It’s all about choosing the right tools for the job, though.

There‌ ‌are‌ ‌several tools available to you that can help you accomplish the following:

Schedule your social media posts ahead of time.
Become a better listener and responder.
Keep track of the metrics you chose when selecting your goals for social media.
Analyze your social media metrics to improve ‌productivity‌ ‌and‌ ‌results.

However, it’s important not to get distracted by every new shiny tool you see. Instead, find out what works best for you, your goals, and your process by reading reviews, using free trials, and testing tools.

De-stress.

Stress can cause shallow breathing, whether at work or elsewhere. ‌Therefore, the brain receives less oxygen, making you even more stressed and unable to think clearly.

Feeling stressed and overwhelmed on social media will make you less productive. According to the American Institute of Stress, an estimated $300 billion is spent annually by U.S. industries due to stress.

Develop a daily productivity checklist of your social media activities to reduce stress and overwhelm. ‌Plan it based on your goals and the tasks you need to accomplish daily or weekly.

Also, you may want to add activities that can help you de-stress to your calendar as well. For example, you could go for a walk after lunch before diving back into your social channels. You could also carve out time for self-care and ‌pursuits that you enjoy doing.

Efficiency is built on templates.

It is unquestionably true that templates are incredibly useful today. An example is calendar templates. Why? Because they’re real-time-savers.

Make it easier on yourself by using a pre-made calendar instead of making a new one every time. ‌Just fill in the blanks, and you’re set. Calendar template examples include tracking the progress of goals, a to-do-list checklist, or a social media content calendar.

Moreover, you can create templates specifically for your social media efforts. For example, you can use successful headline templates rather than coming up with new headlines each time you create a new social media post idea. For example, “X Ways To Do X.”

Another idea? ‌Take advantage of Canva’s social media templates. You can even use templates for social media posts. Again, I’d head over to Buffer for more info on how to create a social media report.

Block out time to check your metrics.

Determining how you’ll measure your success with social media is essential.

Consider scheduling a weekly or twice-weekly review. And, consider recording your key metrics on your calendar. ‌These‌ ‌might be follower counts,‌ ‌views,‌ ‌comments,‌ ‌likes,‌ ‌and‌ ‌shares.

The reason? ‌Monitoring your metrics regularly will help you see patterns emerge. Additionally, you’ll be able to make better decisions about what to post, when‌ ‌to‌ ‌post,‌ ‌and‌ ‌how‌ ‌to‌ ‌engage‌ ‌with‌ ‌your followers. For example, let’s say you’ve been posting daily at 7:30 every morning. After a month, however, you ‌discover that your posts have more engagement at 4:30 p.m. As a consequence, you begin scheduling content at that time.

Whatever metrics or feedback you choose to use, tracking your progress will allow you to see progress‌ ‌in‌ ‌your‌ ‌channels‌ ‌over‌ ‌time. ‌As a result, you will be able to adjust as required to become productive‌ ‌on‌ ‌social‌ ‌media.

Image Credit: Cottonbro; Pexels; Thank you!

Sharpen Your Calendar Skills to Be Productive on Social Media was originally published on Calendar by John Hall.

What is the Most Productive Day of the Week?

By Deanna Ritchie | Knowledge Base | No Comments

Throughout the years, I’ve learned a lot from music regarding days of the week. For example, according to Robert Smith and the Cure, Friday you’re in love. However, for Rebecca Black, Fridays are when you get down. Elton John proclaimed that Saturday’s alright for fighting, which you definitely should do. And, Sundays are usually for lazing (Queen), hanging out in the park (Van Halen), or maybe just taking easy on a Sunday morning (The Commodores).

But, what about a tune about the most productive of the week? Well, I don’t have a song for that. I do, however, have some research that may help answer that question.

Monday, Monday

Let’s not sugarcoat it. Mondays are a drag. I would probably say that most of us dread Mondays so much that it causes the Sunday scaries.

“Scientific studies basically confirm that Mondays suck, but the real question you need to ask yourself is why Mondays suck,” writes Choncé Maddox in a previous Calendar article. “Mondays suck because we make them suck.”

“Monday often signals the time when we need to get serious and focus on getting up early, mastering difficult work projects, having tough meetings and other tasks we may not want to do,” she adds.

At the same time, it’s also been found to be the most productive day of the week.

Why Mondays are the most productive day of the week.

An online survey from Moneypenny found that on Monday at 10:54 a.m. is when most Americans state that they’re most productive. The poll asked, which was answered by around 2,000 U.S. adults, what day are you most effective and what time of that day are you most productive?

Of course, this isn’t true for everyone. For instance, if you’re a night owl, you aren’t going to be most productive in the morning. However, there are valid reasons why Monday mornings can be so productive for a lot of people.

“Because you’ve stepped away for a couple of days, these back-to-work mornings are the most memorable for the rest of the week,” workplace and productivity expert Lynn Taylor told CNBC.

As such, Taylor urges leaders not to schedule Monday morning meetings on Monday mornings. After all, why would you want to distract your team when they’re at their productivity peak?

“Do as much of it as you can on Monday and Tuesday,” advises time management expert Laura Vanderkam, “because you know that stuff is going to come up.”

“It could be good stuff. It could be bad stuff,” Vanderkam says. “But by planning the week ahead and putting what matters to you into your schedule first, you vastly increase the chances that that stuff gets done.”

Entrepreneur Jeff Shore also maintains that taking a break from work during the weekend prepares you for a strong Monday return.

“When I take an entire weekend off, I am a beast on Monday morning,” he wrote. “I do my most creative work on Mondays when my brain enjoyed a full weekend off from work. So get ready for a huge productivity boost.”

Everything’s Tuesday

Not to be outshined, several studies have found that Tuesday is actually the most productive day of the week.

Every year since Accountemps began surveying in 1987, Tuesdays have been the most productive day of the week. “Many workers spend Monday catching up from the previous week and planning the one ahead,” said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps. “On Tuesday, employees may begin to have time to focus on individual tasks and become more productive. The goal should be to maintain the positive momentum established on Tuesday throughout the week.”

Based on the results of a 2019 Accountemps survey of more than 300 HR managers, employees are most productive on Mondays and Tuesdays, especially in the morning. Over half of workers surveyed in Canada reported the beginning of the week was their most productive time, with Tuesday (35%) beating out Monday (25%). However, employee productivity drops after Hump Day (18%), followed Thursday (12%) and followed by Friday (10%).

The Redboth survey.

A much larger study was conducted by Redboth, a company specializing in task management and communication. And, they found similar results as Accountemps.

Redboth’s tools allowed them to track productivity data, which helped them identify productivity patterns. According to their findings, Redbooth users created 1.8 million projects and 28 million tasks.

The report indicated that Monday and Tuesday were the most productive days of the week. Both days were extremely close, although Monday had a slight lead. Again. this may be because people are coming off of the weekend where they were able to rejuvenate and relax. As such, they weren’t physically and mentally drained like by the end of the week.

Redboth also found;

Typically, the majority of our tasks are completed around 11 AM (9.7%)
Our productivity decreases after lunchtime – and then completely drops after 4 PM
Most of our tasks are completed at the beginning of the week, on Monday (20.4%).
Friday is the least productive day (16.7%), and very little is accomplished on weekends (Saturday + Sunday, 4.7%)

Rockin All Week For You: How to Be Productive Every Day

It makes sense why Mondays and Tuesdays are often considered the most productive days of the week. However, you can use the following tricks to make every day just as productive.

Trim any excess fat.

First, create a to-do list for the day. Then, minimize it to your top priorities by cutting it in half.

It’s all too common for us to overfill our to-do lists calendars with tasks we want to complete in a day. Unfortunately, we become discouraged by the lack of progress we ultimately make. Being more productive will be easier by creating a smaller, more realistic to-do list so that you have wiggle room for setbacks and unexpected projects.

What about everything else on your to-do list? Personally, I’m an advocate for the 4 Ds of time management.

In short, this means that you must do your priorities and defer or delay essential but non-urgent items. You can also delegate tasks to those better suited to someone else’s talents. And anything that’s a waste of your valuable time and energy needed to be deleted.

Don’t multitask, monotask instead.

“Although the idea of multitasking sounds amazing, only a very small percentage of the population can actually do it,” notes Calendar’s Howie Jones. “You might still disagree and believe that you are an effective multitasker.”

However, science has consistently demonstrated the inefficiency of multitasking, such as splitting your attention and time costs. And, even if you’re in the minority of people who can multitask, it’s still causing you to lose productivity.

Instead of dividing your focus and jumping between tasks, do one thing at a time.

Know your personal production peaks.

Because we all have different circadian rhythms, we have other times when we’re most productive. As such, when you’re at your prime time is when you should tackle more challenging responsibilities. On the flip side, when your energy begins to drop, you would focus on less-pressing tasks.

If you aren’t aware of when you’re most productive, you can use a good, old-fashioned time log. You could also review part calendar data or time tracking tools. There are also techniques like calculating your biological prime time and following the three predictable stages throughout the day; a peak, a trough, and recovery.

Block out distractions.

The simplest way to do this is to turn off mobile devices and sign out of your e-mail and social media accounts. That way, you can focus all of your attention on what you’re doing. Likewise, notify your colleagues or housemates politely that you do not wish to be disturbed — or just share your calendar with them so that they know when you’re busy or available.

Build your energy.

Want to become a lean and mean productivity machine? Then you first need to build up your energy, just like an athlete training to run in a marathon.

Some of the best ways to go about this include;

Get quality sleep by sticking to a schedule and keeping your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet.
Fight fatigue with the proper diet and physical activity.
Closing any open loops that distract you from work.
Decluttering your calendar and saying “no” to timewasters.
Removing toxic individuals who drain you emotionally from your life.
Listening to music that puts you into the zone.
Take frequent breaks throughout the day to stretch, go for a walk, or indulge in a bit of self-care.

Image Credit: Karolina Grabowska; Pexels; Thank you!

What is the Most Productive Day of the Week? was originally published on Calendar by John Hall.

What Makes Companies Like Apple and Google so Productive?

By John Rampton | Knowledge Base | No Comments

According to Bain & Company, companies like Apple, Netflix, Google, and Dell are 40% more productive than the average company. Think about that: 40% is not a small margin, and the tech giants use many of the same tools that enterprises in other industries do. So, why are the top tech companies so much more productive? Here is what makes companies like Apple and Google so productive.

It’s easy to assume that big-name companies are more productive because they attract the best candidates. But Bain & Company found that 16% of these companies’ staff are star players — just 1% above the norm of 15%.

So what do the top performers have in common? To maximize productivity high, they emphasize:

1. Employee Happiness

The attitude that employees have about their work can significantly increase their output. Research shows that no matter the role, happiness boosts workers’ productivity by 12%. The happier employees are, the less time they spend stressing or worrying.

But happiness isn’t built with any single job attribute or perk. It’s created through a combination of:

Flexibility

Flexible employers give employees the option to work when and where they prefer. Flexibility makes workers feel appreciated, encourages work-life balance, and opens the door to non-traditional applicants.

Just look at Dell’s “Connected Workplace” initiative. By improving technology and boosting collaboration, the tech company skyrocketed employee satisfaction. Dell reported the program innovated how it does businesses and benefited the individuals, leadership, and company as a whole.

Trust

Organizational drag can waste a lot of employee time. But while processes like spending limits, audits, and employee time tracking can seem significant, they should be minimized whenever possible.

Netflix is an excellent example of a corporation giving its employees the trust and freedom to act in the company’s best interest. Believe it or not, Netflix has no expense policy. Its only guide is to “Act in the best interest of Netflix.”

People do not join a company to rip it off. Employees rely on their employers to put food on their table, so they typically think twice before taking advantage.

Pay

Not all companies can pay top dollar for talent. But there’s no doubt the tech giants know it’s essential for productivity.

In 2018, Amazon raised its minimum hourly wage to $15, while the federal minimum wage was only $7.25. Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and others are known as some of the top-paying companies in their space.

Paying higher wages does attract better candidates, but it’s not the only reason to do so. Employees who are paid more tend to be more motivated. And when those employees leave, their replacements are waiting at the door, drastically reducing recruitment costs.

2. Employee Investment

An engaged employee is 44% more productive than a satisfied employee. Engaged employees feel a sense of buy-in because they feel invested in the company.

Here, too, Dell gets high marks. On its careers page, Dell emphasizes training to help employees gain experience and learn through mentorship, coaching, feedback, and rewards. The reason likely traces back to that “Connected Workplace” study, which found sales teams led by an inspiring leader were 6% more productive than teams with an average leader.

Inspiration is not innate. Take a genuine interest in employees’ lives. Be not just a coach, but a listener and empathetic leader. Give your team members a reason to want to come to work every day.

3. Teamwork

Individual talent is vital during the hiring process, of course. What company doesn’t want the cream of the crop?

But once the hiring process is over and onboarding begins, companies must stress the importance of teamwork. When successes are shared, everyone in the organization works to lift each other. Getting ahead becomes something the team does together. In that sort of environment, productivity is about the organization’s advancement, not just “getting ahead at work.”

A great example of a team-oriented company is Apple. When Apple was developing iOS 10, it put 600 engineers on the project. Also, it did not reward any one person’s success. No one on the team could receive an exceptional appraisal unless everyone on the team did.

Microsoft, on the other hand, stacked 10,000 engineers on teams to develop its Vista operating system. Microsoft ranked the teams and rewarded 20% of every team with an excellent review and compensated individuals on their performance. Apple’s team-based approach resulted in a fully developed, debugged, and deployed software in less than two years. Microsoft’s software took nearly five years to develop, debug, and eventually retract.

Just because these tech companies have big names and even bigger budgets does not mean smaller firms can’t follow their examples. Boosting productivity is a matter of investing in people, keeping them happy, and helping them work well with others. Superstar workers are essential, but superstar teams make the difference.