Top 5 effective ways to increase business productivity

From time-saving tips to how to motivate your team: here are 5 effective ways to increase productivity and achieve your business goals!

When they started their business, companies, small businesses, and freelancers had a clear vision of what they would offer their clients and how to improve their lives thanks to a product or service. Once decided, they hired people and started producing.

To reach the clients’ necessities and adequately develop the products in the smallest amount of time, managers focused on productivity, the best methodologies to do so, and, consequently, how to reach talents and make them stay in the company.

These give importance to business KPIs, pay attention to work-life balance, and create a happy and stimulating workplace.

As stated in the following Forbes article, happier employees “are up to 20% more productive than unhappy employees. When it comes to salespeople, happiness has an even greater impact, raising sales by 37%”.

Productivity is intensely tight to motivation and happiness at work.

To increase productivity is essential to have a plan knowing that productivity takes time, patience, and a lot of work in terms of improvement. The effort must first come from top managers who need to prioritize activities, know which ones lead to greater productivity, have a mid-long-term vision, and, last but not least, be able to build a friendly environment.

This article will show the best and most effective ways to increase productivity at your office and for your remote teams, hybrid teams, and even at home.

5 effective ways to improve productivity at work

1. Less is more.

To elaborate a detailed and insightful productivity plan, it is vital to know what it is for, how a greater level of productivity might help the company or increase the profits and what activities allow it.

Managers must know that working on only some business activities can increase productivity.

Indeed, at first, the goal is to focus on the activities that can impact the business and generate profit.

Later on, the managers can decide to also focus on other business activities and increase the level of productivity for them too.

Project management should remember that the planning has to be clear, measurable, and doable.

You have probably heard of SMART goals, an acronym that stands for:

• Specify (significant, simple, sensible);
• Measurable (motivating, meaningful);
• Achievable (attainable, agreed);
• Relevant (result-based, realistic)
• Time-based (time-sensitive, time-based, time/cost limited).

Smart goals theorization is to be addressed by Peter Druckers’ that in his book “The Practice of Management,” wrote about Management by objective (MBO), which is given importance to the fact that employees’ objectives need to be aligned with the organization’s goals.

When managers aim to increase productivity, it is essential to set intelligent goals since an activity to succeed has to follow a methodology

2. Set reminders.

Increasing productivity is a daily task, and it cannot be limited to the end of the year, before the annual financial report, or when data shows that incomes are decreasing.

Increasing productivity is a day-to-day activity that needs to be taken care of and monitored.

Installing reminders, using a calendar, and relying on project management and time trackers help managers keep an eye on increasing production.

Lucen Track, our time tracking software, helps managers and employees monitor their prioritized activities regarding increasing productivity.
With Lucen Track, you can open the projects you are working on to boost productivity and divide them into phases. This feature helps you to see better how they are going and if they are following the plan.

Lucen Track also helps you to remember the things you need to focus on, thanks to the so-called “Suggested Entries.” An Entry is a section in the workspace where the time data gets stored, and it is possible to export it in detailed timesheets.
Your Lucen Track web app starts to learn from your entries addressing your activities to a daily routine, and, in this way, it pops up a suggestion in your calendar dashboard.

If you want to avoid Lucen Track helping you with Suggested Entries, you can easily modify them from the Register Time dialog.

3. Revisit your goals regularly.

As our first bullet point mentioned, goals are the core of every project and objective, even increasing productivity.

For this reason, keeping an eye on progress or eventual stops is essential after setting clear and measurable goals.

If something needs to be going differently than supposed to, there is still room for improvement if managers and employees check the status of the activity while still working on it and not at the end of the process.

4. Reduce time-wasting tasks.

Losing focus can happen whether you work at the office, at home, or in hybrid mode. That's why it's essential to identify and reduce the activities that drain your time without adding value.

Social media: the junk food of productivity

Social media is a common culprit. We pick up our phones for a quick break and end up scrolling feeds far longer than intended. Like junk food, the satisfaction is immediate but there's no real nutrition.

A better alternative? Step away from your desk entirely. A 15-minute walk to grab a coffee does more for your focus and motivation than five minutes of mindless scrolling.

Unclear expectations breed procrastination.

Time-wasting often stems from poor organizational culture. When managers don't set clear expectations, employees feel frustrated and unsure. The result is postponing tasks and second-guessing decisions out of fear of making mistakes.

Defining what's expected from each person and department goes a long way in eliminating this.

Tame your inbox.

Emails can consume hours and derail your entire day. A practical approach:

• Reply to urgent emails as soon as you read them
• Return to important (but non-urgent) emails when you need a task switch
• Leave low-priority emails for when you have spare time

Beyond individual habits, managers should foster a culture where emails are only sent when necessary, and non-urgent updates are saved for scheduled team meetings.

Keep meetings short and focused.

Meetings are one of the biggest time drains, yet this often goes unnoticed. Inviting everyone regardless of relevance wastes collective hours. Meetings should be specific, include only the right people, and ideally last no more than 30 minutes.

5. Build team motivation.

Motivation and productivity go hand in hand, yet many managers treat productivity as something owed in exchange for a salary. In reality, it's shaped by the environment you create.

Motivation vs. competition: know the difference.

A motivational environment is not the same as a competitive one. Rewarding high performers while penalizing low output creates pressure, not productivity. Instead, aim for a space where employees feel free to work in the way that brings out their best.

Some people focus better at home in silence. Others thrive when surrounded by colleagues, with music in the background. Giving employees autonomy over where and how they work benefits not just their happiness, but the company's output too.

Listen, then assign.

Ask your team which tasks they enjoy and which they find draining. Where possible, balance assignments accordingly. Employees who work on things they find meaningful are naturally more engaged and productive.

Recognize and reward, but don't stop there

Promotions and salary increases matter, but they're not enough on their own. Pair them with a culture of collaboration, open communication, and the freedom to work without judgment, whether that means skipping the office, taking outdoor breaks, or putting on headphones.

There's no universal recipe.

No single method works for every team. Managers should combine practical frameworks and productivity strategies with strong team management skills, including the emotional intelligence to truly listen to and support their people.

Conclusion

Put these five strategies into practice and you'll find it easier to boost both productivity and your company's results.