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How to Be a More Productive Data Analyst

Tips to maximize output without working more

Photo by Enric Cruz López from Pexels
Photo by Enric Cruz López from Pexels

As a data analyst, I’m often faced with a long list of requests and limited time to work on them because I’m either in a meeting, fielding questions from stakeholders, or troubleshooting an ETL problem. However, I’ve still managed to complete my projects on time without working more. Today I’d like to discuss the tips I’ve used to be more productive and how you can be too.


Create a list of required information for requests

Stakeholders may not put in all the necessary details into a request and analysts will need to clarify the requirements. This wastes time for both parties to discuss requests that could’ve been saved by agreeing on a list of required information beforehand for common requests. A majority of my requests involve evaluating product experiments and in the past, I’ve had to follow up with stakeholders on missing information. Ever since I created a list of required information with stakeholders, I no longer have to track down missing details and can use that time to work on the request instead.

Save common queries and links to documentation

I save SQL and Python code snippets to avoid writing similar code again for different requests. The more sample code I have to reference the less time I spend having to write code from scratch and that’s helped boost my Productivity. I bookmark links to documentation I reference often to save me from having to search again. This has proven to be a time saver because I can find what I need quickly and go back to the task at hand.

Learn to decline meetings

If a meeting is informational and your input isn’t needed confirm with the meeting organizer if your attendance is required. You may want to attend to hear more about the subject matter but often times there is a deck or documentation available for review that will give you the same information without having to attend the meeting. Alternatively have the meeting organizer record the meeting and watch the video when you have time. Save the hour you would’ve spent in a meeting and work on a request instead.

Turn off instant messaging notifications

I work in a Technology company and Slack is our main source of communication to get quick answers to questions. This translates to constant interruptions that reduces my productivity. If I’m working on a request that requires my full concentration I turn off Slack notifications for a couple of hours and check my messages when I reach a good stopping point. This has helped my productivity immensely.

Schedule back-to-back meetings

I know having continuous meetings can be draining but if you have a choice between two one hour meetings with a 30 minute gap in between or two meetings back-to-back I recommend the latter. Having a 30 minute gap is not useful because it’s probably too short to work on a task or respond to questions and you end up with unproductive time.

Try a meeting free day

If your calendar has days where you don’t have many recurring meetings consider making that a meeting free day and shift the meetings to other days of the week. If a meeting free day is not possible try blocking time to have a meeting free afternoon. I recommend at least two continuous free hours because I’ve found anything less is not enough to finish my requests and validate the results. When I’m lucky enough to have a meeting free day I’ve been I’ve been able to make significant progress on requests that I wouldn’t have otherwise on days with meetings and other interruptions.

List subtasks and note next steps

Sometimes I have large projects that take weeks to complete. For these projects I first break them into subtasks and if I can’t finish a subtask and need to continue the next day I make notes on what I’ve already done and what’s left to complete. This reduces the time for me to remember what I already finished and I’m able to go straight to where I left off from the previous day.


I used to think I was already productive because I completed my requests on time and even early but ever since I implemented the tips above I’ve seen an improvement in my output even though I work the same hours. Now that you know my tips I hope you can be even more productive than you were before.


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