How to Increase Productivity in the Workplace

Many people live spontaneously, but I prefer reminders, whether for lunch or a Zoom meeting.

So yes, I confess I am an aggressive calendarer. I work on the dot with my checklist. Everything about my day is scheduled, whether it’s work, lunch, school pick-ups, coffee breaks, or going on walks.

I even time how long I spend on social media. At this point, you may be wondering why I do that. It’s because productivity is all about doing the right thing at the right time. Unfortunately, many people still think it’s about doing as much as you can in your given time.

In fact, as per the perMcKinsey report, employees lose up to 28% of their workweek just managing email. That includes reading, replying, sorting, and following up, translating to more than a day lost every week in the inbox!

So the calendar can actually give you the control to structure your day the way you want.

Why Most People Fail at Productivity

People usually blame laziness when they aren’t productive, but it’s actually just a good scapegoat.

As Cal Newport puts it, “Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not.”

People mostly fail at productivity because they are trying to do too much at once. Their attention is all over the place. The phone is ringing, they are getting text messages, Slack notifications, and emails, and the brain is in a constant state of overload.

So when you’re trying to work on a presentation or report, all of these distractions will take away your attention. Your focus shifts, and you lose precious minutes.

This constant task switching is a silent killer of productivity. In fact, according to the APA, constant task switching can reduce your efficiency by up to 40%.

So what you need to do is stop letting these notifications disrupt or direct your work. You need to create scheduled blocks of uninterrupted focus. At this time, turn off all alerts, extra tabs, and commit to the task you are doing. Finish it first before moving on to the next one.

The Power of Aggressive Calendaring

Now I’ll talk about aggressive calendaring. Aggressive calendaring is about taking control back in your life. Instead of letting the emails, alerts, and notifications run it and you reacting to it all, you hold the reins to run your day.

Aggressive calendaring means you have to schedule all your activities. That includes your lunch time, commuting to your work, and even scrolling randomly on Instagram. This is called time boxing, which will help you avoid the stress and pressure at work.

Then, instead of allocating a few minutes to tasks, allocate hours to your emails, personal tasks, or work meetings. That will give you sufficient time to prepare, and you’ll not be in a rush. Also, make sure to keep a margin for interruptions. 

As Peter Drucker put it, “Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else.”

Pro Tips for Calendar Productivity

So let’s put the theory into action. Here are some pro tips for calendar productivity that are not too overwhelming and easy to follow for anyone.

Prioritize Big Rocks

The first thing you need to do is prioritise. So put those tasks that are most important at the top of your list. Instead of spending hours catching up on emails, focus on strategy and catching up with the people that matter. Do these high-priority tasks in the morning when your energy is the highest

Plan for Distractions

Of course, it’s easy to be distracted every now and then. This is where the buffer blocks are needed. Instead of checking emails every now and then and again wasting hours, keep a 30-minute window after lunch to check emails and stick to that.

Use Color Coding

Visuals help us focus and make better decisions. So color-code your calendar cues. The better colour-coded your Calendar is, the easier it is to understand what's most important for the day at a glance. 

Respect Boundaries

According to the Microsoft Work Trend Index 2022, 68% of workers said they need more focus time. Your calendar and boundaries will help you protect that time. 

The first rule to set boundaries is to understand that your time is not negotiable. If you are hosting a meeting, make it a rule to keep the phones on silent for everyone. Nobody should sneak for emails. If anyone interrupts, politely redirect them.

Just as James Clear pointed out, “You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.”

Benefits Beyond Productivity

Unfortunately, most of us feel, as Arianna Huffington rightly put it, “We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in.”

Aggressive calendaring is not about boosting efficiency. It’s a complete transformation that minimizes stressors in life. 

When you schedule your day, you don’t have to carry the mental load. Everything is predecided, you know what’s going to happen and when. So you’re not juggling between tasks.

Then there’s this one thing I love about lists. It’s when you cross items off of them that you can actually see your progress. It gives you a kind of dopamine hit for each task completed.

Then we have color-coding. When I prioritize my personal life and color-code it along with work duties, it makes it look as important (which is just how it should be!) That gives me equal opportunity to dedicate time and energy to my home and work.

Time blocking can actually increase productivity by 80%. So imagine the benefits it has for the entire team. With team shared calendars, there’s no miscommunication or missed deadlines. Everybody is in on the schedule, they know what’s going to happen, and nobody misses out.

Conclusion

So having a calendar isn’t like you’re on a leash. Consider it a launchpad. When your days are structured, you get to have more freedom. You’re not chasing after notifications but rather prioritizing what’s most important for you.

At work, structured productivity systems make employees 21% more engaged. This engagement leads to better focus, higher energy, and, of course, bigger output for the whole team.

Tony Robbins summed up aggressive calendaring best when he said, “If you talk about it, it’s a dream. If you envision it, it’s possible. But if you schedule it, it’s real.”

Sources

• McKinsey & Company: “The Social Economy: Unlocking Value and Productivity Through Social Technologies.” Accessed 10/05/2025.

• American Psychological Association (APA): “Multitasking Research.” Accessed 10/05/2025.

• Gallup: “Employee Burnout: Causes and Cures.” Accessed 10/05/2025.

• Microsoft: “Work Trend Index.” Accessed 10/05/2025.

• Forbes Human Resources Council: “Time Blocking: The Productivity Hack You Need Now.” Accessed 10/05/2025.

• BetterUp: “Recovery at Work.” Accessed 10/05/2025.