Ever felt like there aren't enough minutes in the hours for you to be what you want and do everything? This is no foreign feeling to me. As a matter of fact, I remember being really aggravated to see my to-do list expand and my productivity warped. But fear not, friends! I've dedicated years to finding the best systems out there and can't wait to tell you all about it. In this article, let me drive you through some of the simplest, yet most effective techniques that you can acquire to increase your productivity from the moment you start if you will. Thanks to the following simple but very strategic tips, you will be a student with loads of work, a professional who multitasks, or a person who wants to enhance your time use.
1. Start Your Day Right: The Power of a Morning Routine
Once, I was the person who hit the snooze button five times before I reluctantly woke up. I've come to realize that the way you open your day gives a signal for the rest. This routine has made my mornings:
Rise from your bed at the same time every day (in my case, it's 6:30 AM)
Rehydrate by drinking a large glass of water
Give yourself ten minutes meditating and/or stretching
Have a healthy breakfast, full of nutrients
Assimilate my plans and priorities for the day
Every day this method allows me to plunge into the dawn full of life and vigor. Most probably, that feeling is experienced and true by no one else but myself. The research referred to in the Journal of Applied Psychology held a line that showed that participants who had a fixed morning routine scored higher on productivity throughout the day (JAP, study, referenced)
2. Prioritize Like a Pro: The Eisenhower Matrix
I discovered an amazing tool, the Eisenhower Matrix that changed my life. This technique, which was developed by the former President of the US XX century, Dwight D. Eisenhower, represents a simple yet effective system enabling you to identify and prioritize the tasks according to their urgency and importance.
Urgent and Important: These are the first tasks you have to do right away.
Important but Not Urgent: Add these to your schedule for later.
Urgent but Not Important: See if you can pass them on to someone else.
Neither Urgent nor Important: Remove these entirely from your to-do list.
Having used this matrix it's become easier for me to cut through the maze of tasks that are either obvious but only seem that way or are straightforward yet have nothing to do with my long-term aims. Funny, it's hard yet this much of the time is flat tires, which seem very important but don't contribute to walking forward. You seldom realize how much you can waste.
3. Embrace the Pomodoro Technique
What do you do if concentrating is not your thing? Think hard on this FUN mathematical task:
Think of the job you want to do
Once you select a task set for 25 minutes
Devote your full attention to it until the alarm goes off
Take a quick 5-minute break
Finally, take a long break for 15-30 minutes after doing four Pomodoros in a row
I realized that this approach helps my brain to stay in one mode and get into a peaceful state (Pomodoro Technique). The so-called exaggerated breaks help me to produce not just more but at a higher level. And, if the opposite happens and I get exhausted, I simply take a break and return smiling.
4. Make a Distraction-Free Environment
The ambient surroundings are a crucial part of our lives, and they influence our productivity in a great way. The measures I have taken to avoid distractions are:
Through the phone and computer, I switch off the notifications (actually, I was excited to find a functionality that helps me do it)
Using website blockers only during work hours. They limit my access to social media
Keeping my space clean and making a list of the assignments
Wearing noise-cancelling headphones or playing soft background music when trying to block out noise prompting distraction
I managed to create a productive space through these environmental management tricks. The profoundness of these techniques is visible when looking at the additional time that is made by ridding off the stressful interruptions from a day.
5. Take Regular Breaks
It might sound counterintuitive, but breaks should be regularly taken in order to increase your productivity. The research findings have claimed that non-stop work may lead to a reduction in performance. Here's my way of making breaks work in my case:
Every hour has a ten-minute break
During that time, I walk, stretch, or deep breathe
Get some fresh air by stepping outside anytime you have a chance
Leave the screens off when you are on your breaks
The short breaks create mini-refresh for my mind and that is nice to observe how actions move smoothly, one at a time just like traffic in around a roundabout. The research generally has shown that breaks can boost the brain and lead to better memory and overall performance.
6. The Two-Minute Rule
This Very Simple Rule has made all the difference for me: Do instantly, things that take less than two minutes. Like for instance...
Get back to a short email
Phone to call
File the paper to the correct place
Write down food items to buy
By doing these tasks right off, they will not mushroom in the end and they won't become colossal stuff that could leave you with a ton of work to do later. It's incredible how "two minutes" every day during the years of my life - if I think of myself in the future - can pile up...
7. Learn to Say No
The big wake-up moment I've had was from the understanding that virtually everybody knows that agreeing to each and every demand that comes their way is a prevalent way of shooting oneself in the foot where productivity is concerned. Be picky about what you say yes to. Here's how I think about it:
Prior to embracing a new obligation, I look at it from the perspective of my objectives and priorities and then make the decision
Polite refuse to requests that have no relation to my actual aims
Every now and then, I erase some commitments that I picked up unconsciously and are not part of my interest list anymore
Thus, at the very moment when you give your assent to a request, you are unavoidably declining some other possibility. You must be sure you affirm what is proper.
8. Use Technology Wisely
Technology, other times a master distractor, can actually help you skyrocket your productivity if used wisely. There are helpful apps and tools that I can recommend:
Trello or Asana as my every plan used for project management -An example of my experience
RescueTime - it keeps all my activities running in the background and at the end of the day, it tells me how many of my hours I have spent working and for which projects
Forest - the app would help me to stay on task by alerting when I was frequently using the phone
Evernote - from where I often browse for or copy content during class or meetings, and OneNote is a real combo of notes and tasks!
In sum, a good idea is to find what suits you best and tie them to your workflow. Instead of trying everything; focus on some apps that boost performance, and concentrate on them.
9. Practice Self-Care
Productivity is not only about hard work and pumping out more tasks but is also about working smart and attending to our personal needs for nourishment. Here are some self-care routines that have made me stay focused and productive:
Sleeping is essential. So, ensuring I get 7-8 hours of it every night
Exercising at a regular (30 minutes is my target)
I eat a balanced diet
I habitually am mindful or meditate
I spare a leisure time I own to the activities, it is curious to me
I myself am the one who is most noticeably affected by the lack of rest because my productivity goes down. Working out and self-care is a must for my sharp mind!
10. Reflect and Adjust
Apart from everything else, the only way to increase my productivity was finding time to reflect. At the end of each week, I pause for a little while to analyze my progress in depth. I have different reflection questions I ask myself:
What were my kick-ass moments during the last week?
Which tasks or activities took more time than they should have?
Is there any trend with the time I am most productive?
What can I do better and faster next time?
This habit enables me to continue growing newer and more sophisticated strategies for getting things done. My ways are unique, as I have observed that something that works for me today may not work a year from now. By constantly reflecting and adjusting, I can make the best out of continuous changes in my needs and situations.
Conclusion: Your Road to Productivity
The secret to pimped up productivity is doing all day long but doing things the easier way rather than harder. Biological organisms never tolerate activities that are too stressful for their functions; we are no different. The tips that I have presented here - such as arranging a regular morning exercise schedule to help you understand your progress - not only changed the way I manage my time but it really made me more productive as well during more than a year since they set up.
Amplified productivity is an incremental and consistent effort resulting from meaningful work and small steps. Make it easy on yourself and pick one or two of these interventions to begin with your self-improvement journey this week. Do not forget to include an evaluation of your progress and, if needed, make changes to the plan.
Patient, persistence, and right strategies will enable you to guide your time, to be more productive, and still to have strength and time for your personal interests. I hope you find more and better strategies that would befit your personality and circumstances. Good luck!
