Productivity Hacks from Samuel Lasisi - Product Design Lead
Insights on Managing Tasks, Tools, and Time for Optimal Performance
Churning out great designs and doing more work in less time is essential for Product Designers. This can only happen when your productivity level is charged up. Samuel Lasisi, a Product Design Lead at the University of Nottingham, seems to have mastered the art of productivity. He shared some of his hacks with us in this interview. Read on to learn these tips and boost your productivity at work.
Can you please introduce yourself?
My name is Samuel Lasisi, and I am the Product Design Lead for Student Recruitment at the University of Nottingham.
What does your typical workday look like?
In the morning, I normally pray, of course. After that, I usually take something warm to clear my system if I’m working from home. Then, the next thing I do is check my email just to make sure there is nothing pending from yesterday and there are no new emails. Another thing I do is to check the list of tasks I have pending from yesterday. Most of the time, I try to take down the list of things I need to do on my Apple Notes because it is very handy. I also have a table in Apple Notes that shows my tasks and their progress. I have those tasks in four or five columns showing the level of progress I have made. That could also answer the question of how I manage my productivity. Most of the time, I write a lot of documents. Sometimes, I work on UX flows, user journeys, consolidating research, or conducting workshops if I’m working in the office. I also meet with people and catch up with designers and suppliers. All these also take most of my time.
Do you have a morning routine that sets the tone for a productive day?
Yes, like I said, I actually think having a hot drink in the morning helps a lot with your body. Another thing is I look at the board that I have on my Apple Notes, move things around, and add new things. It just helps me prioritize my tasks and the ones I would like to do first. I also sort these tasks based on their difficulty and priority levels. I work on the difficult ones in the morning when my head is really clear and then the easier tasks later in the day. I also used to exercise in the morning, but now I go to the gym during my break.
Which tool/software is indispensable to your workflow?
These days, it’s Microsoft Word because I write a lot of documents. I also use Figma for my presentations because I’m a designer and find it easier to present using Figma and then export it to PDF. That’s a little secret. I might not use it every day, but I can’t do without it. I also use Teams because that’s where we have our meetings and collaborate with team members.
How do you manage your time while working on different projects?
I think this falls back to what I talked about prioritizing your work based on the level of urgency and importance. The board I have for my personal stuff also helps me juggle things and work on multiple tasks at the same time. The tasks I will be doing for that day are dependent on the basis of complexity and priority, not on the project, so that way I’m able to touch multiple things at the same time without thinking too much about it. Also, checking my emails helps me manage my time because that way I’m able to list out the things I want to do and get them done quickly.
Can you share your productivity hacks with us?
All the things I talked about in managing my time while working on different projects sum up all the productivity hacks that I use. That would be all about me. Thank you for having me.
If you would like to know more about Samuel Lasisi, you can check out his profile here on LinkedIn.
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