How to Be Productive Without Losing Your Sh*t
Have you ever wondered how certain people seem to get it all done and somehow stay high on energy every step of the way?
…Those people who do it all, and still have time left over for the fun things in life, like family, friends, or just chilling out.
How do they do it?
You swear it's witchcraft; some kind of sorcery that allows them to be productive at work as well as in their personal life, all without sacrificing their mental health.
Yeah, we know people like that too.
But it's not witchcraft đź”® The way to increase your productivity really isn't magic at all.
So how do they do it?
By working through their tasks efficiently, learning how to work smarter (not harder), and developing good daily habits to boost productivity.
It's not as hard as it sounds, we promise.
If you're easily distracted or lacking serious motivation when you sit down to work, then it's time to shake things up with the way you go about getting things done.
Here are our 10 favorite productivity tips that you can easily incorporate into your work life or personal life, making your more efficient with your time, and, yes, more productive...
...all without really trying.
1. Make A To-Do List
First things first; get clear about what your daily tasks are. To increase productivity, list out all of the things that you would like to accomplish in a day. Getting them out of your mind and onto paper (or an app) will help you break your tasks down into more concrete goals. This way, you can get a realistic idea of exactly what you need to do and how much time you need to allot to each task.
2. Focus On One Thing At A Time
When you finally spend time working on your to-do list, don't allow distractions to get in the way. Rather than bouncing around from task to task, whether it's answering phone calls or checking your email, spend time on one task at a time - or one type of task at a time; a technique known as task-batching.
You don’t need to spend a lot of time on each task - in fact, it’s better that you don’t. A period of un-interrupted 30 minutes is far more productive than hours spent on mitigating distractions while trying to work on something.
Why?
Every time you allow a distraction to pull you away from your work, you are shifting your mental energy from one area of the brain to another. And when you get back to the work you originally intended to do, it takes even more mental energy to re-focus and get back into the flow you might have already had.
When you do that over and over again as distractions arise, it will cost you a lot of time and energy. So when you go to do something, be sure to actually do it.
3. Track Your Time To Be Realistic About Planning
Productive people aren't necessarily busting with high energy all throughout the day. Instead, they are realistically dedicating their time and energy to a task for only as much time is needed.
If a productive person could potentially complete something within one hour, then that's all the time they will dedicate to it.
And they’ll get it done within one hour.
So how do you figure out how much time to spend on any given task?
The answer is to start tracking the time you spend on tasks now. Don't change any of your habits quite yet. Instead, note the time that you start things and about how much time you spend on them. This could include work, sure, but also include things like social media browsing or driving between work and home. Monitor how much time you spend at the coffee shop or chatting with other employees and your work. See where all of your time goes each day and then plan accordingly.
The best part of time tracking?
You'll get an honest assessment of where you are most decidedly unproductive with your time, giving you invaluable insight one where you can most easily boost productivity.
4. Delegate When Possible
If something absolutely, positively cannot be done by anyone else you know, then by all means; get it done yourself.
As for the rest?
Choose the priorities on your task list that absolutely must be completed by you and then have someone else tackle the rest of your list. If you’re a perfectionist, it may be tempting to try and just do it all. And yet, identifying the strengths in yourself and others is one of the core principles of delegation. Chores, data entry, clerical work, and other activities that require little to no expertise can easily be assigned to others. Business leaders depend on principled delegation for the success of their companies, and so should you for the success of your day.
5. Work During Your Peak Hours
There are a few key hours in each day when our brains are at peak levels. For many, this is just before lunchtime, when your energy levels are still high from your morning boost of hormones. For others, it may be in the afternoon, when temperatures are warmest and the sun is the brightest.
Whenever your peak hours are, harness that mental clarity for your most important work. It will make it easier to stay focused while working on the task at hand. It will also make relaxing a lot sweeter at the end of the day when you know that is truly your time to relax.
6. Pick A Task And Do It
One of best qualities of productive people is that they don't waste time trying to decide what to do. Instead, they take a look at their task list, pick an item that can more reasonably be accomplished at that time, and then do it.
That's it.
Stop wasting time trying to decide what to do or how to begin. Instead, just pick a task and do it.
7. Declutter Your Life
Stop wasting time sifting through paperwork or looking for things that you misplaced. This cuts into your work flow on a daily basis, even if for only a few minutes at a time. Try cleaning up your space by throwing out items that you don't use regularly, cleaning your workspace, and tidying your home.
Don't know where to start? Your desk is always a good idea.
Take a look at your desk and see if you can find anything that you meant to put away at some point, but you just haven't gotten to it yet. How many times have you looked through it or moved it just so that you could get to the task at hand?
Rather than spending time looking through your clutter over and over again on a daily basis, declutter your life right away. Put things where they belong, through away papers that you no longer need, and don't add to the clutter. This will make it easier to keep a clear mind and get into a deep work flow without wasting any time at all.
It will also improve your work-life balance as you begin to organize your home.
8. Get Outside
Yes, highly productive people are good at managing their time. But they also have built their brain capacity over time in order to efficiently accomplish their tasks. If you want all of that brain power too, then get outside at least once a day. Whether it's for a short walk to lunch or for proper exercise, time spent outside in the fresh air and under the sun can be incredibly rejuvenating. It brings fresh blood to your brain and boosts serotonin levels, giving you a nice little boost in mood for when you're ready to get down to business.
9. Try Meditation
One of the best productivity hacks is not an organizational tool or task list at all. Instead, it's good old-fashioned meditation. Meditation increases focus and attention, making it easier for you to focus for long periods of time. As you can imagine, with a dedicated meditation practice, you have the potential to become highly productive in virtually everything that you do.
10. Break It Down Into Small Chunks
It’s not uncommon to be overwhelmed by to-dos. They stare at their to-do lists, wondering where to begin and how to accomplish so much in just a single work period. Rather than getting overwhelmed like that, and possibly becoming frozen with stress, break your tasks down into doable chunks. Maybe you can’t complete the report this afternoon, but you can definitely create an outline and find your data sources. Cleaning the house doesn’t have to be done in one big sweep, either. Dishes can be done within a few minutes and laundry can be dropped off at the laundromat on your way to work. Small tasks are doable and fit easily into your day, so break your to-do list down into small chunks to help you get more done with your time.
Becoming more productive isn’t about the latest supplement or tips and tricks. Instead, it’s all about learning how to stop wasting time on things that don’t matter and how to use your time efficiently. Give these productivity tips a try and see how your work-life balance improves!