8 secrets of highly productive remote workers

Remote work has changed the way we work. These pro tips will help you rise above the rest.

We all know at most one of them…
The employee who is always neat at work and signs off by 4:00 p.m. each day. Yet, he or she still manages to accomplish all his goals and receives positive reviews every quarter.
Are they from another world? They are a cyborg disguised as a human. They made some sort of deal with the devil.
These are all great ideas, but it is more likely that they have a few secrets that make them more productive employees.
As a leader of your team, the more important question is: How can you get your team to perform like your most productive employees?
Your team could accomplish more in less time with fewer resources. What’s more, your employees will be more successful and have more leisure time.
8 secrets to highly productive employees
What if you could identify the habits of productivity superstars and share them with your team to empower them?
Good news: You can. Below are some tips to help you get started.
These practices are not enough to help. You can use them to set an example and show how small changes can make a big difference in your life.
1. High-performing employees work hard to achieve their goals.
It’s a term that project managers sometimes call “eating the fowl.” But perhaps it’s time for them to stop using this unpleasant phrase.
Here’s a more graphic description: Highly productive employees choose one thing from their to do list that they are most anxious about and put off for days.
This could be sending an email to a vendor or scheduling a meeting with a manager. Or making a phone call to a difficult stakeholder.
It’s not easy but it is possible. The important thing is to move from the negative feelings we have before a difficult task (anxiety and dread, self-doubt), to the positive feelings we feel afterward (confidence, senses of accomplishment, optimism). High-performing employees use that boost to get them through the rest.
How to lead by example: Keep track of your to-do lists and tackle the most difficult tasks first before moving onto the easier ones. This way, you can share your experiences with your employees and explain how the “do it hard first” approach helped.
2. High-performing employees take strategic breaks
Participants are allowed to take a 45 second break during the MLB Home Run Derby. This allows them to regroup and recharge between each four-minute round. To maximize their output, the most skilled competitors plan their breaks at just the right moment their pace slows.
This approach can be beneficial for all of us.
Unless you are an android with computer-aided focused, your attention to detail will drop and alertness will decrease. A 20-minute break if momentum is starting to sputter could be worth hours of regained concentration over the course of a whole day.
Psychology Today’s Meg Selig says that breaks can improve our physical and emotional health, help us make better choices, restore motivation, increase productivity, creativity, and memory retention.
You can lead by example. Take a walk outside, do a crossword puzzle or sudoku, or simply go for tea with your employees.
Explain to them that–even if it sounds counterintuitive–they can actually increase their productivity by not working for short, strategic stretches. This secret number four will show you how to implement this approach easily and avoid taking 20-minute breaks every 15 minutes.
3. Employees who are highly productive exercise and stretch.
Highly productive employees combine tips 2 and 3 to increase productivity.