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Productivity Styles
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to productivity. You have to personalize your productivity strategies and tools based on your Productivity Style. Outlined below are productivity best practices by Productivity Style but I recommend finding what works best for you!
The Prioritizer
Characteristics
Logical, analytical, fact-oriented, realistic, efficient
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The Prioritizer is a highly efficient worker who moves with decisiveness
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Built with a keen sense of what matters most,
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Prioritizers can zero in on the primary task and complete large amounts of work in a short span of time
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They’re laser-focused on outcomes and love to dive deep into the data
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Walk into their office, and you’re likely to find a professional setup that is functional, clean, and free of excessive decorations
Strengths
Goal-oriented, consistent, decisive
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Determining the level of importance of each task and project Analyzing and solving problems
Blind spots
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Tendency to be controlling and rigid
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Excessive competitiveness
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Valuing speed over excellence
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Focusing on project over the process
Communication style
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Always focused on doing work quickly and effectively
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The Prioritizer would rather skip the chit-chat—just give them the facts
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Never one to overshare personal information
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They may keep conversations short, and even their emails typically contain only a few sentences
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The Prioritizer can give and receive feedback without any emotion attached to it
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They focus on data
Prioritizers tend to ask ‘what’ questions
What are the facts? What’s the bottom line? What is the margin of error?
TIPS FOR YOUR PRODUCTIVITY STYLE
Time yourself
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Do you know how long it takes for you to prepare for a meeting with your team, respond to twenty emails, or complete your weekly report? Most of us are abysmal at knowing how long tasks and projects actually take to complete. Time yourself. Once you know how long it actually takes for you to complete a task, you can more accurately allocate your time. And you can now set a time goal enabling you to complete the task faster. For example, if it takes you 23 minutes to process 20 emails, can you do it in 20 minutes? I bet you can.
Here is a GREAT tool to help with this!
Protect your 90
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Protect 90 minutes of your day to work on your goals, objectives, and high-value tasks and projects. Now, this does not have to be 90 contiguous minutes. It can be any time combination that works for you. Three 30-minute blocks of time or a few 20 and 10-minute blocks of time. However, it must be 90 total minutes each day. Why? Because 90 minutes adds up to 7.5 hours in a work week. Protect your 90 and watch your productivity soar.
The Planner
Characteristics
Organized, detail-oriented, conscientious, punctual
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The Planner has a penchant for schedules, list-making, and deadlines (which they never miss!).
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They’re excellent project managers.
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When planning any project they’re particularly conscientious about sticking to the rules, regulations, and protocol.
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Their workspace is pragmatic and free of clutter, and it’s not unusual to find framed degrees or certifications proudly displayed on their walls.
Strengths
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A bias toward action, consistency, and practicality
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Spotting the flaws in plans or processes
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Keeping data organized
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Creating thorough processes and plans
Blind spots
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Rigidity
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Might miss opportunities because they don’t want to deviate from the plan
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Lack of spontaneity
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Excessive attachment to the outcome
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Valuing process over project
Communication style
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There’s nothing a Planner loves more than schedules and action plans
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If you want to get the point across to a Planner, do it in writing and make it detailed and step-by-step.
Because they focus on process, Planners tend to ask ‘how’ questions
How will we complete these tasks? How will we resolve this issue? How can we improve this process?
TIPS FOR YOUR PRODUCTIVITY STYLE
Use a 15 minute list
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As a Planner, you’ve never met a list you did not like. Use a 15-minute list to capitalize on the micro-segments of your days – when you are waiting for your conference call to start, you’re sitting in the dentist's office or waiting on a friend for coffee. The 15-minute list is a list of all of the tasks you can complete in less than fifteen minutes. For example, call the vet to schedule the dog’s annual check-up, prep for the one-on-one meeting with your direct report or schedule your haircut. Not only will this list enable you to leverage all of the minutes in your day to get work done, it can also be a great tool to overcome the powerful pull of procrastination. So, the next time you feel like procrastinating, pull out your 15-minute list and complete one task. It will be easy to complete and you’ll get the satisfaction of crossing something off your list. Now, you are ready to tackle the rest of your list.
Here is a GREAT tool to help with this!
Batch or group similar tasks
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Improve your execution efficiency by batching or grouping similar tasks on your to-do list. For example, group all of your phone calls, emails to send, spreadsheets to complete, and blog posts to edit. This will make it easier for you to quickly complete similar tasks – which is the most effective and efficient method to get your work done.
The Arranger
Characteristics
Expressive, supportive, collaborative, team-oriented
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Expression, emotion, and teamwork fuel the Arranger.
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They love to collaborate with others on projects, and with every decision
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They strive to understand how a choice will affect everyone involved.
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Much like their productivity style, an Arranger’s office is welcoming and filled with personal touches—from family photos to music to artwork.
Strengths
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Effective communication
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Awareness of others’ emotions
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A strong intuition
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Persuasion
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Teaching
Blind spots
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Missing key details because of incomplete planning
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Lack of awareness of how their style affects others
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Excessive involvement with people; taking too much responsibility for other people’s problems
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Nearsighted, losing focus on the end results
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Valuing people over the project
Communication style
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Talkative and warm.
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The Arranger prefers in-person conversations where they can make full use of their body language and tone of voice to connect with their teammates.
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They tell stories to get their point across and like to know how a project or task will affect others.
Because they focus on people, Arrangers tend to ask ‘who’ questions
Who’s involved with this project? Who’s in favor of this decision? Who can help with this task?
TIPS FOR YOUR PRODUCTIVITY STYLE
Turn off your new email notification alarms
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Arrangers crave connectivity and work most effectively with others. However, the constant interruption of new email messages wastes your time and undermines your productivity. Turn off all of your new email notification alarms – the pings, buzzes, cursor changes and message previews – so you can focus and get your time done.
Here is a GREAT tool to help with this!
Align the execution of your tasks to your energy level
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I can’t share strategies to maximize your time without also considering your energy. Because, if you’re tired, hungry or pissed off, you’re fighting an uphill battle with your body- which you will lose. Ensure that you stay energized and focused throughout your work day by staying hydrated and eating healthy meals and snacks. Your brain is over 70% water and requires glucose to function properly. After you’ve had a difficult conversation with a client or colleague and feel angry, frustrated or even disappointed consider going for a quick 5-minute walk, listening to your favorite song or watching silly cat videos on YouTube. Each one of these will help you reset your emotions so you can focus on your next task.
The Visualizer
Characteristics
Holistic, intuitive, integrating, synthesizing, big-picture thinking
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Often serving as a catalyst for change, the Visualizer keeps their eyes on the big picture and dislikes being bogged down by details, structure, and tradition.
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They have a knack for connecting seemingly disparate pieces of information and can run wild with creativity.
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Peer into their office, and you’re likely to find a desk piled high with papers, personal items, and collectibles.
Strengths
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Open-mindedness
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Seeing the big picture
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Innovation
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Creative problem-solving
Blind spots
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Tendency to overlook the details
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May fail to plan ahead and end up turning in work late
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Excessive spontaneity and impulsiveness
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Valuing possibilities over the process
Communication style
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Not surprisingly, the Visualizer likes to use visual words when communicating, such as “see,” “envision,” and “the big picture.”
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Using metaphors and visual aids will help get your message across to the Visualizer.
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Further, the Visualizer appreciates knowing how a task or project will fit into the overarching goals of your company.
Because Visualizers focus on long-term vision, they tend to ask why questions
Why does this matter to the company? Why are we going with this option? Why did we decide to pivot?
TIPS FOR YOUR PRODUCTIVITY STYLE
Act like a sprinter, not a marathoner
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As a Visualizer you do your best work in short, quick bursts – like a sprinter. Plodding along like a marathoner is a productivity death march for you. If you spend too much time on one task you can become bored. And, boredom is one of your biggest productivity drains. Focus on working in 20 – 30 minute sprints and see how much you accomplish.
Here is a GREAT tool to help with this!
Intersperse boring work with creative, inspiring work
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There is work you enjoy doing and work you dread doing. Move quickly through the uninteresting work by intentionally staggering the types of tasks you work on throughout your day. Oscillate between mind-numbing and exciting tasks and projects to ensure that you efficiently get your work done.