An old-fashioned secret can boost our productivity and kill procrastination
- Sérgio Pantaleão
- Nov 2, 2019
- 3 min read
I have always considered myself a tech-savvy person and early adopter of new technologies. My first smartphone, for example, was a Nokia running Symbian operating system. I remember well when Apple came with the iPhone, and I defended my Symbian as being the best of all.
I also remember being the first in my circle of friends to use Waze. I indicated the app to everyone as a revolutionary idea that would warn us of real-time traffic events: accidents, traffic jams, pit lane and even robberies. Interestingly, at that time, this was not happening yet, as there were not enough users to issue the alerts. But the idea was so good, it couldn't go wrong.
In my professional life, of course, technology has never been lacking either. I worked for a long time in the digital whiteboard industry, at a time when touching and interacting with big screens seemed like science fiction.
In the corporate environment, we want and need to be increasingly productive
Obviously, I always counted on technology to help me work productively and avoid procrastination. And over the years I've been using and testing a big number of features that would keep me focused when needed. From a simple post-it simulation software, to organizational solutions (like OneNote and Evernote), Excel spreadsheets, and even complete project management applications, I've always looked for the perfect tool for productivity.
In practice, what really happened was that I jumped one solution to another, but always saw myself in the middle of a work shift, losing focus, or failing to accomplish a task.
Why do we always look for the solution, in technology?
After many years in the interactive whiteboard industry, I started working at Moleskine. Yes, the legendary Italian black notebook. But back then, I was not into notebooks at all. My mindset was 100% digital. Even to take notes at meetings, I dismissed a Moleskine, and wrote everything down with my iPhone.
This started to annoy my boss, for two reasons: First, because as I wrote it down, it seemed like I was distracted doing something else on my cell phone, like talking to someone in the middle of the meeting. And also, as a brand employee, I should be a good example of product user (totally agree).
So, she took me to the office showroom and said: choose what you want, how many you want.
Nowadays, understanding how much this brand is loved by fans, I see it was a lucky day. I couldn't resist a Rolling Stones Limited Edition, with the Jeans cover, the English flag on the inside, and the iconic tongue-out mouth on the cover.
What now? How do I handwrite?
At first it was weird, because I didn't even understand my own handwriting. But, after a while, that object was no longer just a showcase of the brand in my hands at meetings. I wrote down all the tasks I needed to do. I wrote down the insights that came to my mind. The ideas, the dates, the people’s names, the references, the deadlines, the checklists were all there. That tool worked for me, better than any technology. And it still works.
In digital marketing, productivity is key
When we work with digital marketing, productivity makes a big difference. Setting up a search engine campaign or performing SEO tasks requires a lot of attention and constant focus. Whether working with social media or setting up an e-commerce, no task can be overlooked. No detail can go unnoticed. And time is money, right? Then procrastination, not even think about it!
If you work in digital marketing, you know how important is testing and retesting Test all the tools available, then find out which one can keep you most productive. Go for it and find your procrastination killer. Me? After many years, ended up finding the solution in a very old-school tool!
How about you? What techniques do you use to be productive?
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