How being kind improves productivity

- Few people would disagree with the idea that being kind is a good thing to do. But what if I told you it's also a productive thing to do? The words that you use and the tone of voice that you use when you say those words can have a direct influence on your time management. First, let's consider the alternative. We've all seen something like this, or perhaps experienced it firsthand. You're dining at a restaurant. Another diner is extremely rude and condescending to the person serving them.

As a result, the server decides to take a little extra time, because they were offended. Perhaps they get something incorrect in the order. As a result, the rude person gets their food slower, and perhaps it's incorrect. One might argue the server should be a professional and do their best, in spite of their customer's behavior. To a degree, this is true. However, even if they did their best, their performance time and ability are likely to decrease because of the negative physiological reaction they have to unkind words.

Our brains are naturally built to have a fight or flight instinct during conflict. This is normal. However, while it's a great skill for survival, it's not a great mindset when trying to do work. I'm not saying that we shouldn't hold people accountable. We should. And I'm also not saying that we don't need to directly correct team members sometimes. We do. But even during those moments, respect and kindness shown toward other people facilitates better work and faster work.

A study at the University of Warwick found that happy workers were 12% more productive and unhappy workers were 10% less productive. Think of kindness as spreading happiness and think about the next interaction that you're going to have today. You can implement this principle immediately, yourself. Ask, what can I do to spread just a little bit of happiness to this other person? It doesn't take much.

A smile, a professional compliment, even a high-five or a fist bump for a job well done, whatever fits your comfort level and your personality. Practice kindness as an experiment. Pay attention to what happens to both your productivity and the productivity of the person you're communicating with. I believe you'll find what I have found, that being kind is effective time management.