Productivity at work: increasing efficiency without sacrificing concentration

25/3/2025
Productivity
Article
5 min
Productivity
Article
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Productivity at work: increasing efficiency without sacrificing concentration

Productivity at work: what are we talking about?

Breaking out of clichés for a better understanding

When we talk about productivity in the workplace, we often think of a series of tasks to be completed at top speed, in a logic of pure performance. But this vision is simplistic. Being productive doesn't simply mean working more, but working better. Above all, it's a search for sustainable efficiency, combining performance, quality and relevance.

True productivity rests on several pillars: the quality of the work delivered, its strategic impact, its consistency with corporate objectives, and theoptimization of resources - be they time, energy or skills mobilized. In other words, a productive day is not one in which you tick the most boxes, but one in which you have a concrete, measurable impact.

What are the key indicators of productivity at work?

Measuring professional productivity involves much more than simply counting the number of tasks performed or hours worked. To truly assess the efficiency of an employee or a team, several qualitative and quantitative indicators need to be taken into account, such as :

  • The real added value of the actions carried out: A task can be carried out quickly without having any significant impact. What counts is what it brings to the organization.
  • Contributing to collective objectives: Being productive also means moving in the same direction as your team and the company, by actively participating in the achievement of common goals.
  • The effect on overall efficiency: An employee can be very fast individually, but if his work generates errors or complicates that of others, he slows down the overall dynamic.

Better manage your time and energy

The best ally for productivity is focus. To achieve this, you need to know how to organize your weeks to optimize your time and protect your concentration, and this involves two essential points.

1. Ritualize your diary

Identifying recurring slots and reserving them in advance is essential for maintaining productivity. For example, your recurring meetings may include team meetings, cross-functional meetings or individual weekly reviews. These dedicated times help synchronize efforts and maintain fluid communication within the organization.

In addition to meetings, schedule recurring individual work time . These times can be set aside for "deep work", accomplishing small tasks ("to do") or preparing for upcoming meetings. Organizing these times allows you to concentrate fully on important tasks without interruption.

And don't forget to set aside time for recurring availability. This time, often neglected but precious, allows you to optimize the organization of your week and avoid being constantly solicited by other colleagues. You can indicate your availability for meetings or for your team, as well as specifying your days of presence in the office. By clearly defining these time slots, you can better structure your schedule and increase your overall productivity.

2. Finish your diary on Monday morning

Taking 20 minutes on Friday afternoon or Monday morning to plan the week ahead is an effective practice that can significantly improve your productivity. During this time dedicated to planning, you have the opportunity to take stock of the tasks accomplished over the past week and evaluate the objectives to be achieved for the following week. By taking a close look at your diary, you can identify the right times for your "deep work" sessions, those time slots when you devote yourself fully to complex, high-priority tasks. By planning these sessions in advance, you ensure that you can tackle important projects with full concentration, uninterrupted by less urgent tasks.

What's more, this planning period gives you the opportunity toassess the need for upcoming meetings and organize them strategically. You can determine whether a meeting is really necessary, or whether the same communication can be carried out asynchronously. By optimizing your schedule in this way, you can avoid wasting time and focus your energies on activities that really contribute to your objectives.

To discover all our tips and strategies for better managing your time and energy, download the Numa Focusing Resource Kit now. This kit brings together the best of our training courses designed to help you optimize your use of time and protect your focus, enabling you to achieve unrivalled levels of productivity.

Training for greater productivity

1. Prioritize

NUMA's prioritization training teaches you how to choose where to focus your efforts, whether collectively or individually. By prioritizing your tasks effectively, you maximize your impact and efficiency.

During this training course, you will learn about 2 key aspects of prioritization:

  • Prioritize collectively: how to define ambitious yet realistic objectives? How do you decide whether to stop a project?
  • Prioritize individually: How can you spend the most time on what's most valuable?

2. Learn to manage time and energy‍

NUMA's Time and Energy Management Training offers a comprehensive approach to optimizing your productivity and protecting your focus. By enrolling in this training, you will empower yourself to organize your weeks strategically, focusing on value creation and making wise choices to maintain your focus. The pedagogical objectives of this course are clear: to teach you to manage your diary as your main communication tool in hybrid mode, to preserve your time and energy, and to direct your energy towards the tasks that really matter.

You will learn to :

  • Manage your diary and protect your time by reserving uninterrupted work periods and distinguishing between in-depth work periods and "to-do" work periods.
  • Know where you want to create value, and make the right choices to maintain or abandon your focus depending on the situation.
  • Learn to say no in a positive way to coach your teams and use asynchronous meetings to reduce the number of meetings.
  • Manage your own energy and that of your team.

3. Fewer but better meetings

Training to reduce the number of meetings and make those that remain more effective is an ideal solution. Learn how to limit non-essential meetings, prepare and run productive meetings, and maximize time spent together for faster, better decisions.

During this workshop, our NUMA coaches will give you the keys to :

  • Limiting meetings: a series of cases in which participants propose alternative communication formats to replace meetings they can do without. Voice notes, video messages, regular newsletters, ... and tips on how to use each format.
  • Refuse meetings without rushing the organizer.
  • Prepare and run a meeting: analyze, criticize and improve an invitation to a meeting (title, framing, objectives, participants, agenda, etc.).

By adopting these solutions and investing in your professional development, you can significantly improve your productivity at work. Ultimately, better management of time and resources benefits the whole company, promoting sustainable growth and optimal performance. To find out more about our approach and how we structure our training courses, click here.

Productivity at work: what are we talking about?

Breaking out of clichés for a better understanding

When we talk about productivity in the workplace, we often think of a series of tasks to be completed at top speed, in a logic of pure performance. But this vision is simplistic. Being productive doesn't simply mean working more, but working better. Above all, it's a search for sustainable efficiency, combining performance, quality and relevance.

True productivity rests on several pillars: the quality of the work delivered, its strategic impact, its consistency with corporate objectives, and theoptimization of resources - be they time, energy or skills mobilized. In other words, a productive day is not one in which you tick the most boxes, but one in which you have a concrete, measurable impact.

What are the key indicators of productivity at work?

Measuring professional productivity involves much more than simply counting the number of tasks performed or hours worked. To truly assess the efficiency of an employee or a team, several qualitative and quantitative indicators need to be taken into account, such as :

  • The real added value of the actions carried out: A task can be carried out quickly without having any significant impact. What counts is what it brings to the organization.
  • Contributing to collective objectives: Being productive also means moving in the same direction as your team and the company, by actively participating in the achievement of common goals.
  • The effect on overall efficiency: An employee can be very fast individually, but if his work generates errors or complicates that of others, he slows down the overall dynamic.

Better manage your time and energy

The best ally for productivity is focus. To achieve this, you need to know how to organize your weeks to optimize your time and protect your concentration, and this involves two essential points.

1. Ritualize your diary

Identifying recurring slots and reserving them in advance is essential for maintaining productivity. For example, your recurring meetings may include team meetings, cross-functional meetings or individual weekly reviews. These dedicated times help synchronize efforts and maintain fluid communication within the organization.

In addition to meetings, schedule recurring individual work time . These times can be set aside for "deep work", accomplishing small tasks ("to do") or preparing for upcoming meetings. Organizing these times allows you to concentrate fully on important tasks without interruption.

And don't forget to set aside time for recurring availability. This time, often neglected but precious, allows you to optimize the organization of your week and avoid being constantly solicited by other colleagues. You can indicate your availability for meetings or for your team, as well as specifying your days of presence in the office. By clearly defining these time slots, you can better structure your schedule and increase your overall productivity.

2. Finish your diary on Monday morning

Taking 20 minutes on Friday afternoon or Monday morning to plan the week ahead is an effective practice that can significantly improve your productivity. During this time dedicated to planning, you have the opportunity to take stock of the tasks accomplished over the past week and evaluate the objectives to be achieved for the following week. By taking a close look at your diary, you can identify the right times for your "deep work" sessions, those time slots when you devote yourself fully to complex, high-priority tasks. By planning these sessions in advance, you ensure that you can tackle important projects with full concentration, uninterrupted by less urgent tasks.

What's more, this planning period gives you the opportunity toassess the need for upcoming meetings and organize them strategically. You can determine whether a meeting is really necessary, or whether the same communication can be carried out asynchronously. By optimizing your schedule in this way, you can avoid wasting time and focus your energies on activities that really contribute to your objectives.

To discover all our tips and strategies for better managing your time and energy, download the Numa Focusing Resource Kit now. This kit brings together the best of our training courses designed to help you optimize your use of time and protect your focus, enabling you to achieve unrivalled levels of productivity.

Training for greater productivity

1. Prioritize

NUMA's prioritization training teaches you how to choose where to focus your efforts, whether collectively or individually. By prioritizing your tasks effectively, you maximize your impact and efficiency.

During this training course, you will learn about 2 key aspects of prioritization:

  • Prioritize collectively: how to define ambitious yet realistic objectives? How do you decide whether to stop a project?
  • Prioritize individually: How can you spend the most time on what's most valuable?

2. Learn to manage time and energy‍

NUMA's Time and Energy Management Training offers a comprehensive approach to optimizing your productivity and protecting your focus. By enrolling in this training, you will empower yourself to organize your weeks strategically, focusing on value creation and making wise choices to maintain your focus. The pedagogical objectives of this course are clear: to teach you to manage your diary as your main communication tool in hybrid mode, to preserve your time and energy, and to direct your energy towards the tasks that really matter.

You will learn to :

  • Manage your diary and protect your time by reserving uninterrupted work periods and distinguishing between in-depth work periods and "to-do" work periods.
  • Know where you want to create value, and make the right choices to maintain or abandon your focus depending on the situation.
  • Learn to say no in a positive way to coach your teams and use asynchronous meetings to reduce the number of meetings.
  • Manage your own energy and that of your team.

3. Fewer but better meetings

Training to reduce the number of meetings and make those that remain more effective is an ideal solution. Learn how to limit non-essential meetings, prepare and run productive meetings, and maximize time spent together for faster, better decisions.

During this workshop, our NUMA coaches will give you the keys to :

  • Limiting meetings: a series of cases in which participants propose alternative communication formats to replace meetings they can do without. Voice notes, video messages, regular newsletters, ... and tips on how to use each format.
  • Refuse meetings without rushing the organizer.
  • Prepare and run a meeting: analyze, criticize and improve an invitation to a meeting (title, framing, objectives, participants, agenda, etc.).

By adopting these solutions and investing in your professional development, you can significantly improve your productivity at work. Ultimately, better management of time and resources benefits the whole company, promoting sustainable growth and optimal performance. To find out more about our approach and how we structure our training courses, click here.

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