Whether individuals are developing their skillsets in classroom environments or delivering on project objectives in a full-time professional capacity, the power of technology has opened up a new world of possibilities for all concerned. Digital applications and new ways of working are providing newfound empowerment in daily life, boosting productivity for more efficient and effective performance. Now, with the summer months over, students resuming their studies, and people returning to work, the remainder of 2021 promising to be a busy period for millions – and everyone has an opportunity the drive results to greater heights.

This applies to the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), where national economies continue their re-emergence with support from the wider business community and emerging talent prepare themselves for career ascension. In 2020, the region’s labor force exceeded 149 million people across all industries, while the UAE alone has over 295,000 higher education students. Moreover, regional smartphone penetration ranks among the highest worldwide at 97%, which is relevant as this emphasizes the scale of digital literacy.

With these considerations in mind, demand for new ways to drive productivity for professional or educational purposes is likely at its highest ever point. Fortunately, there is a wide array of opportunities for the masses to consider and pursue. Below are five of the most practical that will help drive productivity in a classroom or office:

Make the most of employee engagement software

The sudden and largely seamless transition to remote working environments has introduced employees from all verticals to different possibilities where performance is concerned. Whether people are operating from home, in the office, or a combination of the two, employee engagement software effectively boosts productivity – particularly for those part of a team. Besides being another way to communicate to meet project deliverables, such software promotes a strong culture of teamwork, improves workplace harmony, and encourages healthy competition through incentives such as redeeming rewards – all factors that can increase motivation and performance.

Let tracking tools monitor progress

Project deliverables in terms of timeframes must be met at university and work on a regular basis. Therefore, using time effectively is key to increasing productivity to the maximum. How much time is wasted for various reasons? What distractions often surface that hinder progress? Which hours witness peak creativity? How substantial are overall contributions? All of these questions can be answered precisely with time tracking tools. With their support, one can identify strengths and weaknesses in their performance timeline and ultimately apply what they learn to increase efficiency.

Organize digital workspaces

The technology evolution has forged a new reality: more students and employees operate digitally than ever before. Irrespective of age or experience, work environments have always significantly influenced productivity, and the same can be said in today’s tech-driven landscape. Fortunately, digital workspaces can be made comfortable and effective almost instantly. Laptops, tablets, web browsers, and applications can be streamlined, with smart management tools and notification centers helping to link every program and piece of equipment for a sustainable and organized workstation where productivity comes to the forefront.

Safeguard project progression with the cloud

Students and full-time employees have all experienced setbacks during projects: unnecessary time spent searching for sources of information; laptops and PCs suddenly crashing; opening corrupted files or deleting key documents accidentally. However, productivity can be given a major boost by using the cloud. It would be prudent for everyone yet to do so to store their projects and documents in cloud-based databases, which will ensure not only safety and seamless accessibility, but also improve performance as such scenarios can be completely avoided.

Drive productivity with file sharing

File sharing has become an important part of any student’s life as most of today’s study content is in digital format rather than textbooks. At the same time, file sharing has become a prominent part of professional life as running a modern business is largely dependent on digital data storing and sharing. Crucially, file transfer apps allow users to transfer files between two devices, at high speed, even without the internet and requirement of Bluetooth or USB. This applies to documents, images, videos, and much more – meaning everyone should adopt file sharing to boost their productivity. A prominent platform to do this is SHAREit.

With file transfer speeds that reach up to 20mb/s, SHAREit’s efficacy in the file sharing space is unmatched. It helps make file transfer easy and fast, helping individuals share unlimited files of any size with each other and increasing productivity by reducing the processing times.It also removes issues caused due to poor internet connectivity and is cost-effective as users don’t have to pay the high cost of data.This feature very beneficial for students and working professionals with study content, documents, or reports in their mobile phones but – due to the small screen – prefer to access these files on their computers or laptops for easy readability.

For students and full-time professionals, the coming period represents an opportunity to redefine productivity through digital tools and capabilities. Employee engagement software, tracking tools, streamlined workstations, the cloud, and file sharing represents a winning combination to fulfil performance potential, one that will ultimately lead to new phases of personal and professional progression being explored.