Category: Other
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How Managers Can Use the DUST Model to Clear Team Bottlenecks
When projects stall, managers often feel the pressure to push harder. But more pressure rarely solves the problem. What helps is knowing why tasks get stuck, and then giving people the right kind of support. The DUST model (Difficult, Undefined, Scary, Tedious) gives managers simple tactics to spot bottlenecks and guide their teams through them.…
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How to Manage Upwards Without Losing Yourself
The Quiet Skill That Shapes Your Career We spend plenty of time talking about how managers should lead their teams. But there’s less talk about the other side of the relationship: how you manage your boss. When the dynamic with your manager isn’t working, it can drain energy, slow progress, and keep good ideas buried.…
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The 4 Modes of Work: A Smarter Way to Design Your Day
At Think Productive, we believe productivity isn’t about squeezing more into the day. It’s about working with clarity, focus, and intention. One of the most practical tools we use in our productivity workshops is the 4 Modes of Work model, a framework that helps individuals and teams match the right type of work to the…
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Cracking the Engagement Puzzle: How to Rebuild Team Energy and Trust
Employee engagement is no longer a ‘nice to have’. It’s the difference between a team that’s just surviving and one that’s thriving. And yet, right now, so many managers are struggling to keep energy, ownership and motivation alive. Quiet quitting, burnout, and disengagement aren’t just buzzwords; they’re showing up in your one-to-ones, your missed deadlines,…
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How to Take Control of Your Inbox: Productivity Tips for L&D and People Leaders
Too many L&D professionals and people managers are drowning in email, with no time left for the strategic work that really matters. In this video, Deane and Lee share clear, practical tools to help you take back control. Whether you’re dealing with constant interruptions, overloaded inboxes, or the pressure to respond instantly, watching this video…
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Is Your Team Really Engaged or Just Going Through the Motions?
Many teams look busy. But beneath the surface? Disengagement is growing. At Think Productive, we believe productivity isn’t about doing more. It’s about connecting better. With your work. With your team. With what really matters. That’s why we’re speaking at the CIPD Festival of Work 2025, inviting HR professionals and people leaders to rethink what…
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Microsoft 365 features to reduce overwhelm, provide clarity and foster collaboration
Ah, Microsoft. What do you think of first when you hear that name? Word? Powerpoint? Bill Gates? Well, let us make the case for why your first thought ought to be ‘productivity’. Many of us knowledge workers have been using Microsoft for so long that all of the new applications and features added to the…
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Plan the perfect meeting with the ‘4 Ps’
The time of disorganised, random meetings is just so over. Every single day, hours of company time and employee capacity are wasted by colleagues and managers sending calendar invites willy-nilly without an agenda, a set purpose, or, let’s be honest, even a title that tells you what the meeting is about. Well, if it isn’t…
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We Need to Talk
Feedback is one of those icky subjects. At Think Productive, we’ve been on a mission recently to drive up our own feedback culture, as well as it being something we help many of our clients do too. This means getting savvy about both giving and receiving feedback. It’s never easy, but here are a few…
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11 reasons why delegating is a win-win.
Do you find delegation tricky? When it comes to delegating more, do you find yourself using excuses like these? All valid reasons, but have you considered what message each of these excuses is sending your team? It’s time to reframe this messaging because delegating when done well, is WIN-WIN. YOU WIN You get to: 1.…
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Productivity Apps Gallery
Technology is a fast-paced industry and the list of apps which exist to help you improve your productivity is ever-growing. That’s why we’ve put together a list of some of our tired & tested, favourite apps. Is your favourite on the list? Let us know in the comments! Task management apps Todoist – Think Productive…
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A day in the life of a productivity expert
You know how these posts are supposed to go. It’s usually something like “get up at 5am, drink a lemon water, meditate for half an hour, write my gratitude journal, hit the gym for an hour, come back for a protein-fuelled breakfast”… and on and on with the nauseating hustle porn until midnight. But there’s…
