We’ve probably heard or read about what I’m about to talk about. You may already know how to handle situations like this. The question is, are we practising it? With so many productivity tips available on the internet, have you figured out what works best for you and keeps you productive?
The beginning of the year is usually hectic; companies set goals that must be met for every quarter. If part of your 2023 goals is maybe to launch a new feature in Q1, how far have you gone? If your answer is not far, then you should find ways to meet up before your PM asks for the millionth time while staring at Jira, "Where are we on this?"
So you can ask Google "how to stay productive at work", and you will get an unending list of articles to show you how. But if you stick around, since you are already here, you can get the full gist of how I have learnt to handle this kind of situation.
It was one particular design review meeting I had with my manager earlier this year that inspired me to write this. Mind you I have had several review sessions and I know the drill. But this one I felt the pressure because I was building a new feature and was working with a very tight deadline. After the review, I had so many comments on Figma for adjustments I had to make that I just closed my laptop and went for lunch.
I couldn't sleep well at night because that's all I could think about, all the adjustments I had to make and the pending tasks from another project I was working on.
Spoiler: I did meet the deadline in the end, but I believe we always do.
Here's what I did and still do,
Prioritization. Even before this particular incident, I struggled to work on multiple projects at the same time even when I had interns I could delegate tasks to. It still felt too much. I remember watching a Youtube video where a Product designer talked about reaching out to our managers and asking them to assist in prioritising the projects we have been assigned to. And that's what I did, so when I have tasks from different projects screaming for my attention, I know which one is a top priority.
I started my day early and I still do. Before now, it was my reminder for the 9 am stand-up that woke me up. But now, weekends aside, I wake up at 6:30 am or 7:00 am if I didn't get enough sleep. (I'm not Wonder woman, so there's a tendency to still wake up a few minutes to stand up). My point is waking early allowed me to prepare for the tasks I had to work on before Stand-up. Staring at the Figma file for some minutes to get an idea of what I'll be working on for that day is how I prepare mentally, checking for tickets assigned to me on Jira also prepares me mentally for the day. I also work on tasks during this period.
I made a list (pen and paper) of all the adjustments I had to make. I drew a checkbox and the task beside it. Yes, there were already comments on Figma but I discovered that I work well having a list written down.
Delegation. In my previous roles, it's either I'm the only designer at the company or the only designer assigned to a project. Assigning tasks to others was new to me but I did and it allowed me to pay attention to other tasks. 2 capable hands on Figma are better than one!
Take short and long breaks. A short break to take a walk outside or scroll through social media and a long break to eat or run errands outside work.
I won't stop there, I'm on a journey of discovering more ways to be productive at work (you should too). One soft skill I'm developing this year is time management. I'm hoping when I am able to hack it, I will share that with you.
Have a productive day!