Reading about all these grim warnings and statistics about the dangerous and catastrophic consequences for our planet can make us feel anxious and worried about the future – the future that belongs to our children. Sadly, due to the severity of global warming, many of those effects may be irreversible and with no chance of completely combating climate change. However, we still have the power to diminish and limit some of the worst effects and reduce the negative impacts of rising temperatures if we all act together.

“Inaction and its consequences are what is killing us, thus realizing that the time window for action is closing soon, should be a wake-up call for everyone.”

When it comes to businesses, failure to address the topic of climate change and sustainability, and inaction to reduce the damage companies do to the planet and its people, may be to their detriment. Lubomila Jordanova – founder of Plan A for the Planet and a recent guest on the Productivity Mastery podcast, helps businesses make better decisions on this matter. By utilizing both technology and science, Plan A helps companies to commit to climate action, improve their ESG performance, and take the correct measures to reduce their carbon emissions.

Inspired by Plan A’s rapid growth and Lubomila’s ability to find the perfect balance between building a thriving business and combating climate change, we decided to extract some of the learnings and productivity tips Lubomila shared during her appearance on Productivity Mastery podcast’s episode #90! Therefore, if you want to learn how to connect purpose and business, how to stay productive, and take care of your team along the way, and also be inspired on the things you can do about climate change, keep reading.

Productivity Hacks from The Founder and CEO of Plan A

✅ Applying the 80-20 rule

As a founder and CEO, Lubomila has a lot on her mind. Running a successful business, which on the one hand requires educating society and businesses about the vastness of the problem, and on the other hand – demands competing with time, is extremely responsible and definitely calls for accuracy and preparation. In her day-to-day work, Lubomila shares that she has adopted the 80/20 principle. 80% of her work is clearly defined and related to the OKRs, structure, and strategy of the company, which she has successfully outlined with her team. The other 20% of her time, Lubomiila spends on inspiration and creativity, but most importantly – on educating herself. Working in the climate change realm, which is constantly changing, does not allow you to rely on prior knowledge. However, the same is true for every other domain. The process of continuous learning allows you to stay on track, and remain competitive, innovative, and adaptive. Adopting the 80/20 rule can definitely be a game-changer and help you manage your business more effectively.

✅ Planning for the week ahead

Are you one of those people who strictly organizes their goals and priorities for the upcoming week? Or you may be searching for ways to begin your week feeling focused and organized but are unsure how to do it? During our conversation with Lubomila, she shared with us more about her Sunday planning process. Every Sunday, before the beginning of the new week, she spends some time looking at her calendar. She then analyzes the things that need to be done, organizes her tasks by priority, and decides which of these tasks she could delegate to her team members. Planning your week can help you save time, see the bigger picture, and clarify your most important work.

✅ Following your intuition when prioritizing tasks

In case you have decided to try planning your week and systemizing your tasks, you may want to benefit from another piece of advice, Lubomila shared! Embedded in the whole process of planning, she says, is her intuition. Quite often, we may find prioritizing what is important to be a challenge when everything seems equally important to us. However, many of us, just like Lubomila, also have a strong sense of intuition when we feel like postponing a certain task, even if it stays on the top of our to-do list. Of course, there are a lot of times when failing to complete something urgent is not an option, but this is not the case we are focusing on right now. Leaving a task that can be done later, and coming back to it when we are with the correct mindset, and we feel 100% committed, is much better than doing things halfway just so that we can check the box.

✅ The importance of delegation

“There is no good manager that has succeeded without having an incredibly strong team around them.”

This is how Lubomila stresses the importance of delegating tasks at Plan A. As a manager, missing out on the benefits of this valuable tool of delegation can be extremely damaging for you as a leader, as well as for your team. The more your business grows, the less time you have in the day for all the things that need to be done, and the bigger the pressure and expectations get. Using a metaphor to better illustrate this, Lubomila said that “you can’t build a Jenga tower and expect for things to not crumble at some point” if you resist delegating some of your responsibilities to the people you trust.

✅ Building a culture of positivity and a sense of humor

One of our favorite takeaways from our conversation with Lubomila is about the essence of positivity in the workplace. According to her, smiling can not only make the world a better place, but it can also make us more productive – not wasting extra time on complaining and negative behavior. If leaders sincerely care about their teams, making jokes a normal part of their job and trying to keep people positive and smiling, should be their top priority. No matter the challenges that may arise, the problems we may face, creating a safe and pleasant environment to work in will help your teams to believe that everything is possible. Getting through hard times can be even fun when your team is your support, and you don’t take yourself too seriously.

✅ Get the basics straight

This may not sound as important and worth paying so much attention to, but structuring and keeping your information streamlined from day one of your company can save you a great deal of time, energy, and nerves. When asked what would Lubomila say to her past self when she was embarking on the journey with Plan A, she really stressed the importance of “organizing the house.” In her own words, it is every founder’s responsibility to focus on this simple thing and be incredibly structured about it from the beginning onward. Getting rid of the digital mess, and keeping everything organized, can allow you to focus on the more important aspects of your business.