HERE’S THE TEA: HOW TO INCREASE YOUR TEAM’S PRODUCTIVITY USING THE TEA FRAMEWORK

April 3, 2020 Guest User

Do you remember your first year at work?

As a newbie, you were probably eager to impress, excited to accomplish your goals, and driven by the idea of getting praised or promoted. This first chapter in your working life was most likely all about beefing up your own work and accomplishments.

But as you climbed the corporate ladder and became a manager, things started to change. You had to look out for your team mates, as well as yourself. It wasn’t only about your own deliverables and workload, but managing an entire team. As a manager, members of your team looked to you for guidance, solutions, and ideas.

One important aspect of management is time. As creative entrepreneurs or managers, we know that it takes time to crack a creative brief, craft the best possible output, go through various levels of approval, and even boost the team’s morale.

The time-consuming nature of creative work often leads to overtime, especially if we are passionate about our outputs and care about our clients. The creative / advertising industry is quite known for the need to render overtime or “OT” in order to finish projects or meet deadlines. This may lead to burnout, fatigue, and a lack of work-life balance. The solution? Managers who are adept at preventing OT.

To minimize overtime, managers and teams must avoid two things: 1) wasted time and 2) things not done right. Errors, repetitive revisions, miscommunications, or the slow production of outputs can all be avoided by keeping the team happy, healthy, and productive. Well-rounded individuals with a good work-life balance will always be more motivated, focused, and creative than burned-out team members. They will also be more receptive to tips and techniques that can boost their productivity (leading to better outputs while clocking out on time).

This scenario sounds beautiful and ideal, yet it is achievable! Want to know how your creative team can avoid overtime work and increase their productivity? Well, here’s the TEA

The TEA Framework

TEA stands for Time, Energy, and Attention. According to The Asian Efficiency Podcast, in order to be fully productive, you must have all three of these things. You can use this framework to see how you can maximize your Time, manage your Energy, and maintain 100% Attention. The following list shows how we do it at #TeamVCS:

TIME

1. Map out your tasks or to-dos for the day / week, and do this as a team, if possible.

2. Hold weekly alignment meetings to discuss project status, align problems and pain points, agree on resolutions.

3. Talk about best practices and priorities, and have post-mortems or feedback sessions after each project. These can be short team meetings, or even just a private message to a team member.

4. Automate processes with forms and workflows.

5. Have templates for timelines and checklists. Set standard turnaround times for project executions or tasks.

6. Provide realistic deadlines. Don’t over promise delivery time to clients or commit to impossible deadlines.

7. Hold physical meetings only when necessary. If possible, discuss via phone or email.

8. Always have a meeting agenda. Summarize agreements and next steps after every meeting.

9. Hold kick-off meetings for newly-won projects. Here, you can discuss the team’s processes with clients, gather any new directions or materials, and clarify any points for discussion. This puts everyone on the same page before the project begins.

10. Update client on project milestones via online tools like Sprout, Basecamp, Skype, or Viber.

ENERGY

11. Start your day with energy-building activities like listening to good music, working out, writing in your gratitude journal, or reviewing your goals.

12. Delegate according to your team’s skills. Know their strengths and weaknesses to help them save energy and execution time.

13. Encourage professional development opportunities. This will keep your team’s skills sharp and help them work smarter, instead of just working harder.

14. Get 8 hours of sleep, and take a power nap during lunch hour.

15. Eat healthy food and stay hydrated.

16. Take 15-minute breaks just to stretch your legs, meditate, or walk.

17. “Eat the frog”--tackle the most difficult tasks first, such as creative thinking, analysis, or ideation. Do mechanical tasks (like revisions or video compositing) in the afternoon.

18. Create realistic timelines and consult the team before submitting these to client. Follow through by reviewing milestones periodically.

ATTENTION

19. Put your phone away to avoid distractions, especially during meetings.

20. Set time blocks or schedule focus time for creative work. For “deep thinking work” like ideation, writing, or illustration, let team members set no-interruption timeblocks. Allot enough time for the team to hold brainstorming sessions.

21. When doing deep thinking work, avoid music with lyrics or songs that would make you sing.

22. When it comes to meetings or written materials, read and listen as if you were going to teach what is written or said. If you understand it, you can explain it.

23. Don’t be reactive to notifications and emails. Set aside time for checking and replying to them (e.g. 9am and 1pm).

24. Wear earphones or headphones to let others know that you are focusing on a task. This is especially helpful for open office spaces.

25. Maintain clean surroundings and a clutter-free desk.

26. Be mindful. Try meditation, or review your goals at key moments. Establish goals the day before and review them before going home.

Time, Energy, and Attention are the 3 main pillars of productivity. That’s why it is vital that creative managers and entrepreneurs manage the team’s TEA and help them stay on top of their game.

At #TeamVCS, we strive to create a balance between producing quality work and helping each team member enjoy work-life balance. While working overtime may sometimes be necessary, we believe that taking steps to avoid it keeps everyone productive, efficient, and happy.

Got any more tips for increasing your team’s productivity? Tell us about it by commenting below!