Teamwork is great and all, but sometimes, you just have to be selfish.<\/p>\n
The nature of most startup teams is tight knit. You stick together through thick and thin \u2013 through long hours, late nights, frustrating fails, and stale pizza. You encourage each other, brainstorm together, and talk about the polar vortex \u2018til you\u2019re blue in the face. (Oh wait\u2026 that\u2019s because the radiator isn\u2019t working.)<\/p>\n
This intense teamwork is what\u2019s so great about startups. It can foster creativity and encourage honest, forward discussion in propelling your company towards success. But it also has the potential to inhibit productivity in team members who do not flourish in a constantly collaborative environment.<\/p>\n
Your sales people might be stimulated by intermittent conversation, and that open floor plan might be great for the marketing team to bounce ideas around. But what about someone who is trying to write copy? Or code?<\/p>\n
For those of us who don\u2019t always work our best in the team-centric environment, here are some tips for increasing productivity, and allowing yourself to become a more \u201cselfish\u201d team player\u2026<\/p>\n
First thing\u2019s first<\/strong>: what type of environment allows you to produce your best work?<\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s the assortment of buzzing phones in your office that\u2019s distracting you. Or could it be the frigid temperature when your desk neighbor cracks a window mid-January? You can\u2019t remedy the situation until you understand the problem, so mix it up and explore different variables of your environment.<\/p>\n Start by identifying the culprit and you\u2019ll be on your way to establishing your productivity sweet spot.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t run, but you can hide.<\/p>\n Social media, emails, and instant messages can be even more distracting than the people sitting next to you. After all, there are billions of voices online, all vying for your attention to read their latest blog post, or help make their cute dog go viral.<\/p>\n If you need to carve out some time to complete your tasks without the constant distraction of the internet, then do the unthinkable and unplug. A simple status on whatever service people use to get your attention can be set to inform them that you\u2019re currently unavailable and will be back at X o\u2019clock. Communicate to your team that you\u2019ll be logging offline and that if it\u2019s really an emergency, they\u2019ll have to come find you in person. (Which might be as easy as waving at you from across the room, which leads to our next tip\u2026)<\/p>\n This option varies in the layout of your office. If your startup is located in a cooperative workspace, there are probably cubbies or corners you can hide in that are less distracting than the open floor plan office. If this is not an option, maybe the coffee shop down the street will provide a more relaxing environment for a couple of hours.<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s in a private room or under your desk, find your happy place and make sure people know that it\u2019s a \u201cproductivity zone\u201d, not a, \u201ccome hang out with me in my happy place\u201d place.<\/p>\n Sometimes, you just have to suck it up and do your work in a room full of distractions. If this is the case, headphones can be a lifesaver.\u00a0If you have the tendency to sing along with your jams, thus turning you into a distraction for others, then try wordless, classical options.<\/p>\n (I\u2019m personally loving the \u201cFilm Score\u201d channel on Pandora right now.)<\/p>\n Still struggling to find the perfect environment for your personal productivity? Then it\u2019s time to voice your concern to the rest of the team. Remember that closeness we were talking about earlier? That should also mean you can talk to each other about (almost) anything. So speak up and put your heads together to find a way for everyone to feel comfortable and productive in your workspace.<\/p>\n Your startup can only succeed if every member is experiencing the optimal work environment for the tasks they must complete.<\/p>\n Do your team a favor, and be a little selfish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Teamwork is great and all, but sometimes, you just have to be selfish. The nature of most startup teams is tight knit. You stick together through thick and thin \u2013 through long hours, late nights, frustrating fails, and stale pizza. You encourage each other, brainstorm together, and talk about the polar vortex \u2018til you\u2019re blue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1055,"featured_media":4326,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLog off.<\/h3>\n
If it\u2019s too noisy, leave.<\/h3>\n
Listen to music.<\/h3>\n
Communicate your needs.<\/h3>\n