Procrastination, loss of focus, and lack of concentration leave you with no choice but to fail to meet your goal within the allotted time frame, so you either drop it or move on, leaving it incomplete.
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.”
Paul J. Meyer
Here are the best methods for increasing your productivity at work, in your personal life, and in your professional life.
1. Stop Multitasking
The first thing you should do to increase your productivity is to stop multitasking. People multitask in a desperate attempt to save time by doing more than one thing at once or switching between tasks.
Unfortunately, multitasking wastes more time than it saves. Multitasking reduces your efficiency and performance because your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. Similarly, when you try to do more than one thing at a time, you lose focus and concentration, which costs you a lot of time.
2. Prioritize your tasks
You must prioritize your tasks to avoid multitasking. You can begin by putting the simplest task on the list first, or by putting the most time-consuming task first.
It allows your mind to focus on a single task at a time, giving you more focus and allowing you to finish it faster. Prioritizing your tasks will allow you to achieve better results in less time. You can order your tasks in the following order:
- Set a daily goal to finish a certain task
- Importance of task
- Depending on deadline
Don’t waste time doing things that aren’t necessary; prioritizing your tasks is one of the most effective productivity hacks available.
3. Use time management methods
If you’ve ever taken an exam, you’ll understand what time management is and how much time you need to give to each question in order to answer all at once. You can apply the same logic to your tasks. Effective time management Is one of the most useful productivity hacks that anyone can use.
- Pomodoro Technique – This technique uses a timer to break down your work into intervals.
- How it works?
- Choose a task
- Set a timer
- Focus on completing the task
- When the timer rings, put a checkmark on a piece of paper
- Take a short break
- Repeat
- How it works?
- Parkinson’s Law
- “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion”
- How it works?
- Try working without a computer charger, this will force you to finish a project before your computer dies.
- Get is done early, instead of finishing tasks before midnight, try to get them done before noon.
- Set a deadline.
- Limit time for tasks.
- Eisenhower Matrix
- How it works?
- Organize your tasks into four separate quadrants.
- Sort by important vs unimportant, & urgent vs non-urgent.
- Now you have four quadrants
- Urgent-Important
- Not urgent – Important
- Urgent – Not important
- Not important – Not urgent
- How it works?
There are several time management methods to manage your time; some may suit you, while others may not; choose based on your own work.
4. Always Schedule ahead
To optimize your schedule for better results, you should know when you want to work and when you have the most energy, and schedule accordingly.
One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is to plan your day before going to bed the night before. This way, you won’t have to wake up not knowing what to do or where to focus your attention. It will take you less than 15 minutes to plan and prioritize your tasks for increased productivity.
5. Learn to say no
Learn to say no; this applies to both your personal and professional life. Your clients will push back your deadlines, and your boss will request that you work on weekends.
Saying no can be difficult for some people, but if you want to increase your productivity, you can’t let people order you around all the time.
By saying no, you free up your time to give your best effort at the appropriate time.
6. Clean your workspace
When our workstation is disorganized, most of us find it difficult to concentrate. Unwanted items, books you will never read again – what this does is that the item takes you on a journey, when it was used/how it got here, or you start reading something on paper, and it reminds you of something.
This does not help you work faster; on the contrary, it slows you down. It’s a form of distraction, and one of the best productivity hacks is to clean your workspace/environment.
7. Set Goals
During the final minutes of a football game, you may notice an increase in effort and tension as the players realize they only have 90 minutes to win or lose. They can’t do anything after the game is over, so set your goals – what do you want to accomplish by the end of the day, week, or month?
Set your objectives. Your goal is your direction; if you don’t have a goal, you’re working without direction and exhausting yourself. Set your goal, manage your time, prioritize your tasks, and you will succeed.
A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder.
Thomas Carlyle
8. Take regular breaks
According to studies, your concentration decreases as you work on the same task for an extended period of time. As a result, it is recommended that you take breaks in between to increase your productivity.
To get the most out of each break, do nothing, don’t put your mind to work, let it rest, or you’ll be mentally drained at the end of it, and your productivity will continue to decline.
Avoid doing anything that requires your full attention or concentration when taking a break. The best thing you can do is to unwind and think about nothing. You can also meditate to relax your body or try yoga to keep your mind clear, as well as take a break from sitting all day.
9. Stay away from interruptions
Find a way to avoid social media, unnecessary updates from your favorite shows, and unnecessary emails. There are several websites and app blocker tools available on the market that allow you to create a list of apps and websites that will be blocked during your working session. You can also disable notifications during working hours.
10. Switch off after work
Switch off after work, sounds strange, how to switch off from work, after you finish your work, do nothing, and take a break until the next morning when you have to start working again. Go out, watch something, but turn off yourself from work.
These are some of the most well-known productivity hacks available; some may apply to you, while others appear to be a waste of time. So pick a few productivity hacks and try them out to see how quickly your productivity improves.