8 Secrets of Highly Productive Employees

Andrew Conrad profile picture
By Andrew Conrad

Published
13 min read

Increased remote work has challenged our productivity in new ways. Use these pro tips to rise above.

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We all know at least one of them …

That employee who always has a neat desk and signs off by 4 p.m. every day, but still manages to get everything done and then some, exceeding goals and garnering positive reviews every quarter.

Are they from another planet? A cyborg masquerading as a human? Did they make some kind of deal with the devil?

Those are all fun ideas, but it’s more likely that they just have a few secrets that help them be more productive employees.

The more important question for you as a team leader is, how do you get the rest of your team to produce like your most productive employees?

Your team could get more done in less time using fewer resources. And as for what’s in it for your employees, who wouldn’t want to be more successful and have more time to relax?

8 secrets of highly productive employees

What if you could identify some of the habits of your productivity all-stars so that you could share those secrets with the rest of your team and empower them?

Good news: You can. To help you get started, we’ve collected a few of them below.

But don’t just talk about how these practices can help. Use them yourself to lead by example, and show how making a few small changes can yield life-changing results.

1. Highly productive employees do something hard first

Some project managers call it “eating the frog.” But maybe it’s time to retire that unpleasant phrase, along with these others.

Here’s a much less graphic description: As soon as they get to work (yes, it’s OK to get a cup of coffee first) highly productive employees pick one thing from their to-do list, something that most people might dread and put off for days, and they just do it.

This can be scheduling a meeting with a manager, sending an email to a vendor, making a phone call to a difficult stakeholder … you get the idea.

It’s not easy, but the important thing is moving from that negative feeling we get before a difficult task (anxiety, dread, self-doubt) to that positive feeling we earn afterward (confidence, sense of accomplishment, optimism). Highly productive employees use that boost to propel them through the rest of the day.

 How you can lead by example:  Keep a to-do list, and knock out the hardest thing you can before moving on to lower hanging fruit. That way, when one of your employees is struggling with a difficult task, you can relate your experience and explain how the “do something hard first” approach helped.

2. Highly productive employees take breaks strategically

During the MLB Home Run Derby, participants are allowed a 45-second time out during each four-minute round to regroup and recharge. The most savvy competitors time their breaks strategically, right as their pace is beginning to slow, to maximize their output.

We can all learn something from this approach.

Unless you’re an android with computer-aided focus, your attention to detail and alertness will wane over time. A 20-minute break when the momentum is starting to sputter out could be worth hours of regained focus over the course of a day.

According to Meg Selig of Psychology Today, breaks can improve physical and emotional health, help us make better decisions, restore motivation, increase productivity and creativity, and improve memory retention.

 How you can lead by example:  Go for a walk outside, work on a crossword puzzle or sudoku in the break room, or go for tea and invite your employees to join you.

Explain to them that—even if it sounds counterintuitive—they can actually increase their productivity by not working for short, strategic stretches. For an easy way of implementing this approach (and to avoid taking 20-minute breaks for every 15 minutes of work), see secret number four below.

3. Highly productive employees exercise and stretch

For a super productivity boost, highly productive employees combine tips two and three by using break time to exercise.

To be fair, there are plenty of good reasons for not undertaking a full CrossFit session in the middle of the workday: You won’t stop sweating for three hours, even after a cold shower, you’ll look like a showoff to all of your coworkers, or you drop a kettlebell on your toe and spend the second half of the day in the ER.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t get in a quick cardiovascular workout by going for a brisk walk or light jog with your dog, doing yoga, climbing stairs, or performing calisthenics outside.

And how, exactly, do highly productive employees increase their productivity by abandoning their computer to work out for 30 minutes? Because regular exercise has been shown to improve concentration, memory, mental stamina, mood, and creativity.

Julia Dellitt of Self magazine says that squeezing in a workout during lunch has made her “a more productive employee, better able to lead my teams, and most of all, less stressed and more committed to exercise as a whole.”

 How you can lead by example:  Invite your team to have walking meetings where you swap out an artificially lit conference room for the great outdoors. If your team is virtual (for the time being or long term) you can hold an audio-only brainstorm and encourage participants to go for a walk with their earphones in. Let your team know that it’s OK to squeeze a workout in by doing so yourself. Take the opportunity to explain that even light exercise can boost productivity and focus.

4. Highly productive employees use the Pomodoro Technique

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A classic tomato timer used in the Pomodoro Technique (Source)

If you’re an experienced project manager, you’re probably already familiar with the Pomodoro Technique.

Francesco Cirillo developed the technique three decades ago while he was a student, and it is still one of the most popular time management methods in the world.

The Pomodoro Technique works like this:

  • Pick a task you want to complete.

  • Set a timer for 25 minutes—if you want to be authentic, you can buy a tomato timer, but the timer on your phone works just as well.

  • Work on the task until the timer goes off. For the system to work, you have to actually put in focused work for the 25 minutes.

  • When the timer goes off, you can take a five-minute break to take a short walk, get a snack, or chat with a co-worker about “Bachelor in Paradise.”

  • After every four cycles (you can keep track with a notepad, or beads, or whatever works for you), you can take a longer (15 to 30 minute) break to exercise, eat a meal, or unearth some fossils on your Animal Crossing island.

The beauty of the Pomodoro Technique is that it encourages a healthy balance of work time and break time in a very simple package.

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The Pomodoro Technique

If I asked you to sit down and focus on one task for three hours before lunch, you might quickly get discouraged and let your mind wander. But if I asked to focus on that same task for 25 minutes and then take a break, you’ll likely have a much easier time being productive for that entire 25 minutes.

 How you can lead by example:  Buy a box of tomato timers and give them out to your team—you’ll have the perfect platform to explain the benefits of the Pomodoro Technique.

5. Highly productive employees end the day on a productive note

Employees who end their workday by eating a stale doughnut and watching cat videos for 45 minutes are not carrying any productivity momentum into the next day. They leave work feeling unproductive and sluggish and likely beat themselves up about it for the rest of the evening.

In the morning, they have to struggle to catch up, burn out by mid-afternoon, and the cycle continues.

“How you end the day is critical, as it has much to do with how you start the next day,” Lynn Taylor, workplace expert and author, told Forbes.

“They’re like first and last impressions that hold tremendous impact on your view of your work, attitude, and productivity level. The end of your day sets the stage for tomorrow, and the start of your day sets the stage for today.”

Instead of dragging themselves across the finish line, highly productive employees aim to complete one manageable task toward the end of the day. That way, they can shut down their computer with a sense of accomplishment as opposed to a feeling of remorse, and they carry that momentum into tomorrow.

 How you can lead by example:  Before you have happy hour with your team, finish any open tasks and update your to-do list. Explain on your collaboration channel: “Hey guys, I’m just finishing this email and updating my to-do list for tomorrow, then I’ll join you!”

You don’t have to be a showoff about it, but you can explain how doing this has helped you carry momentum throughout the week.

6. Highly productive employees change their space to change their mindset

Working from home has presented unique challenges for everyone, but some people have more options than others. For example, if you have a dedicated home office with an adjustable desk, dual monitors, and a fully-stocked coffee machine, you have a nice setup. On the other hand, if you are now spending 23 hours of each day in a tiny studio apartment, you have a nice setup for burning out and having a breakdown.

That’s why it’s so important to keep your work space and your rest space separate, even when you don’t have a lot of space. If you try to work from your bed or your couch you’ll (A) be more tempted by other distractions, such as the TV or a nap, and (B) have more trouble turning off your “work brain” later that night when you’re trying to unwind. If the idea of vacating your favorite seat for the entirety of the workday sounds cruel, remember that it’s OK to take breaks (see secrets 2 and 4), and if taking that break on your couch is what works best for you, go for it (just make sure it doesn’t become a 3-hour “break”).

You may have to get creative. In my one bedroom apartment, my wife has her desk set up in the corner of the bedroom while I work at the dinner table. I have a coworker whose desk is set up in the garage. If you’re reading this in the post-COVID-19 shutdown future, you may be able to take your work to a coffee shop or the library.

 How you can lead by example:  When you take video meetings, make sure that you’re in an orderly space, whether that’s your home office, your dining room, or your backyard patio on a nice day. If you’re taking meetings from your recliner with a half-full cereal bowl and a pile of dirty laundry in the background, your coworkers will assume that you’ve stopped caring.

7. Highly productive employees use technology to their advantage

If you struggle with productivity, you might be tempted to blame yourself for a lack of discipline or inability to focus. But it’s also possible that your tools are holding you back.

According to a recent Gartner snap poll (full report available to clients), “54% of HR leaders indicated that poor technology and/or infrastructure for remote working is the biggest barrier to effective remote working in their organization.”

If the switch to remote work has deprived you of an external monitor, or a mouse, and you’re struggling to work the way you used to, check with your IT department to see if they can furnish you with those efficiency-boosting tools. It never hurts to ask.

It’s easy to diagnose technology needs for things you’ve already had. But how do you know what you’re missing if you didn’t have it in the first place? For software issues, you can ask your IT department to audit your system to make sure you have updated versions of all necessary tools. They should be able to provide you with the same support for your home office that they would on-site (within reason).

Beyond the required software, it can also be helpful to ask coworkers for their suggestions on tech tools that help them with productivity and adopt those that make sense for you.

 How you can lead by example:  Share your technology wins with your team. This could mean letting your coworkers know that you were able to pick up your external monitor from the office and bring it home, or saying “Hey guys, I found this great, free time boxing app that has really helped me organize my schedule throughout the day.”

8. Highly productive employees tap into the power of their team

Speaking of asking coworkers for help, one of the best ways to be more productive is to leverage your team. This doesn’t mean chatting with your coworkers all day or assigning all your tasks to others. If you try to isolate yourself in an effort to be more productive, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Research shows that we’re more productive when we’re working with our friends. Of course that has been complicated by COVID-19, but luckily there are plenty of tools available to make virtual meetings a snap.

As we all know, too many meetings can be disruptive, so be sure to use your collaboration tool for one-off questions and less formal conversations.

 How you can lead by example:  Don’t just wait for someone to suggest the next virtual coffee catch-up or break the silence by asking a question on your collaboration tool, do it yourself. Be mindful of others’ time, though. Scheduling an hour-long coffee chat every morning is probably overdoing it.

What’s your productivity secret?

By encouraging your team to start the day off strong, take regular breaks, exercise, communicate, and end the day on a positive note, you can make sure that your entire team is performing like your most productive members. And even if they only pick up on a few of these secrets, you’ll see tangible improvements.

What secrets have you gleaned from your most productive employees? Don’t keep them to yourself and share them in the comments!

For more productivity tips, check out these other articles from Capterra’s blog:


Looking for Project Management software? Check out Capterra's list of the best Project Management software solutions.

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About the Author

Andrew Conrad profile picture

Andrew Conrad is a senior content writer at Capterra, covering business intelligence, retail, and construction, among other markets. As a seven-time award winner in the Maryland, Delaware, D.C. and Suburban Newspapers of America editorial contests, Andrew’s work has been featured in the Baltimore Sun and PSFK. He lives in Austin with his wife, son, and their rescue dog, Piper.

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