You begin each day with a plan to get so much done, but end up procrastinating or focusing on a less-important task. Productivity is all about efficiency. We’ve outlined five productivity techniques to make the most out of your day.
You must have heard the phrase, well the key is to work smarter, not harder. It’s not about the number of hours you put into work, but the amount of work you put in an hour.
That’s why a sound productivity system should be as simple as possible. In short, it should be able to do everything you need it to do and nothing more. The benefit of keeping things simple is that it gets the possibility of success high.
So how can you reduce your work with the system and increase your productivity? Let’s look at five simple solutions to become naturally productive and lower your stress level.
Shall we begin?
1. Do One Thing at a Time
Our human brains are not wired to multitask. Research has found that when we multitask, it, reduces our productivity by 40%. So we are only fooling ourselves when we say that we can efficiently juggle between lunch, presentations, and whatnot.
The key here is to stay focused on one task at a time, and then you will see how fast you end up completing work. This is because to make any meaningful progress, we need to give some time to focus and get into the flow.
Very often, we are tempted to switch to another work, especially when the task is a difficult one. But resist that urge and keep at the task at hand. It will help you enter the stage of flow and only increase your productivity than before.
In a nutshell, try to make a habit of committing to a single task before moving on to your next project. You can use tools like Timeular that helps you keep track of your time without losing focus. And lastly, don’t try to over-commit and only take the amount of work that is within your capacity.
2. Take Regular Breaks in Between Works
Contrary to what people say that taking breaks will make you lose concentration, it’s quite the opposite. We might think that working for long hours will help us get our work done faster, but we never work as well when we are exhausted. You will only notice a steady decline in your performance.
Working for long periods only leads to tiredness, stress, and decision fatigue, which ultimately affects your overall productivity. Some researches show that taking breaks during work hours helps in maintaining a constant level of performance. It helps in boosting your mood, creativity, and memory.
Take a 10-minute break every hour, and you will come back to your work with a fresh mind and eyes. You can also walk or stretch a little around the office, or spend 15 minutes grabbing some fresh evening air. It will help increase blood flow to your brain and allow you to focus much better.
Thus, you will get improved work results. And in the meantime, you won’t even have to sacrifice your health. So refuel your mind by taking frequent breaks and maximize your efficiency at work.
3. Eliminate Distractions When Working
It’s essential to remove any interruptions from your working environment as well as your working space. You can’t concentrate on your work if you have to answer your phone or talk to someone every 40 seconds.
Your colleague popping their head into your chamber while they walk by may seem harmless, but even a slight interruption can break your workflow and cause a drop in productivity. If there are any other distractions that you are unable to change, you should consider changing your location.
There are various distractions in your working space as well. Start by cleaning your desktop, get rid of items that can divert your attention. For instance, close the unnecessary programs running in the background, i.e. facebook, youtube, etc. that you might not need at those moments.
Nowadays social media is the most significant interference. A report states that a quarter of the average American’s work hours is spent browsing social media for non-work related activities. Continually checking your Twitter or Facebook feed for social media updates can bring a massive dip to your productivity. You can set a limit on the time you spend on social media or disable your app notifications to avoid interruptions.
To sum up, minimize disturbance by keeping your door closed, working from home for time-constraint projects, or keeping your phone on silent while working.
4. Reward Yourself to Stay Motivated
Having a to-do list for the day can help you stay focused and organized. Always create a to-do list before going to bed. It will give you a head start on your morning as you have already planned for the day. Also, try to keep it realistic by including not more than two to three tasks on the list.
So every time you complete those tasks, celebrate your small wins by rewarding yourself. It’s an excellent way to stay motivated and productive. It helps you reinforce positive behavior and eventually, it becomes a habit. And turning hard work into practice is probably the best way to be highly productive and stay persistent in your efforts.
That’s why many organizations even have credible employee review system and appraisal methods in place. It directly impacts the employee’s commitment to work and increases their efficiency and productivity. When the employees are confronted with their progress, they feel confident and encouraged.
Having some rewards to look forward to makes you work harder for it automatically. It makes you more motivated and driven.
5. Follow Productivity System
Many of you might be unaware of this, but there is a diverse range of productivity systems and techniques.
To increase your productivity, you first need to have a productivity system in place. Don’t just choose any method, instead, try the techniques that appeal to your lifestyle and can adapt to any changes that occur in your life. It should be able to solve any productivity issues that you encounter.
Next, when you have a found a system, you need to turn your productive behavior into habits. Try to follow the techniques as best as you can every day. Once your productivity system becomes a habit, you will use it naturally without even thinking about it.
Some of these productivity techniques include:
- Jerry’s Seinfeld’s Don’t Break the Chain technique helps build productive habits by creating a chain of small wins every day.
- David Allen’s Getting Things Done technique is about the idea of moving planned tasks out of mind by recording them externally and breaking them into actionable items. It helps you stay clear of distractions and focus on your assignment, instead of trying to recall them.
You can tweak small changes to the already-existing system in your favor, so it becomes the best for you.
Conclusion
Becoming more productive will not happen overnight. You will need practice and a mindset change. Always start by making small changes and turn them into a new lifestyle.
Also, keep in mind that not every day will be going to be productive. So don’t beat yourself up over it. Implement these tips into your daily life and focus your energy where required. You will be surprised to know how many more things you can do both in and out of the office.
Hitendra Rathore
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