There are only so many hours in the day, so making the most of your time is critical. When it comes to improving your productivity, there are two ways to go about it: you can either work longer and harder or work smarter.
To build a productive mindset, whether at work or home, while not rocket science, requires you to be more deliberate when managing your time.
Productivity is a critical component of your success. Whether you’re an employee, a business leader, manager, or mother, you should be continually seeking ways to increase your productivity.
If you can’t find a way to perform as efficiently and effectively as others, your long-term prospects could be in trouble. Here are five things that you can begin to do today to increase your productivity and get more done in less time.
Tip #1 – Limit Your To-Do List
One of the most counterintuitive but highly effective methods for increasing your productivity is limiting the number of items you put on your daily to-do list. One way that you can accomplish this is by choosing one to three of your most essential tasks. These are the substantial tasks that will be tough to achieve but ones that you need to get done during the day. These are the ones that will keep you working at the office long past quitting time or working after dinner if you aren’t able to get through them.
You want to start working on the most important tasks first thing in the morning, either while you are still at home or when you first get to work. If you put them off until later, you will inevitably get busy and run out of time to complete them. To increase your productivity, you want to get these tasks out of the way first.
You can fill the rest of your to-do list with minor tasks that you’d like to get done, as long as you’ve prioritized your most essential functions. If you can work on these before moving on to your minor tasks, you will probably feel a lot more productive during your day.
You can try to do something regarding your to-do list to help increase your productivity is by writing it out the night before. Rather than wasting your time in the morning, you can jump right into working on your most important tasks. Writing out your to-do list before you go to sleep will help you sleep better and be more prepared to start your day.
Tip #2 – Measure Your Results, Not Your Time
The concept behind working more ingenious rather than harder is that many of us are putting in more and more hours, only to find that we don’t get more accomplished. Working smarter involves finding methods of being productive in less time.
We can tackle this problem is to adjust the way we measure productivity. While this may sound like a trick to you, it’s not a way out of getting your work done. However, if you honestly measure what you get done rather than how long it took you to complete your tasks, you should start to notice a difference in how you work.
If you have substantial projects or tasks to complete, breaking them down into more manageable sections is an excellent place to start. When you have a set of smaller tasks making up a more massive project, you can check off what you accomplish each day, even if it takes you several days to complete the primary function.
Being able to check off smaller tasks while working on the larger ones can give you the momentum to keep going until the job is done.
Tip #3 – Create "Getting Ready to Work" Routines
When you don’t know what to work on, you tend to procrastinate and waste time at the start of your day. While you might have a different time during the day when your procrastination is at its worst, just the idea of getting started on tasks is a common hurdle for most people.
You can make it easier to get started by creating a routine that tells your body and brain that it’s time to begin to work. You can create a pattern as simple as grabbing a coffee on your way to work or just sitting down at your desk or workspace.
You could even have a playlist or album that gets you in the mood to work and listen to it as a part of your daily routine.
While it will be tempting to let go of your weekday routine when the weekend hits, maintaining a weekend routine that isn’t different from your weekday routine can significantly increase productivity at work.
The idea is that the more you let go of your habits on the weekends, the harder it will be for you to pick it up again during the week.
Tip #4 – Track What You're Wasting Time On
When you struggle with productivity, it can be incredibly tempting to start changing your routine or working on a new solution before you even uncover the real problem. The first step in becoming more productive is figuring out your usual time-wasters.
To start, track what you do every morning when getting ready for work. You might find that you are spending too much time deciding what to wear for the day, which you can do the night before.
Then you want to track how you spend your time throughout the day and look for patterns. When you follow how you spend your time, you might discover that you are getting caught up on Facebook too often.
Once you’ve determined what’s taking up your time or causing you to procrastinate, you can begin to make changes to those specific habits. If you like to check your favourite sites for news in the mornings, factor this into your routine by doing it as you drink your coffee.
Tip #5 – Build Habits to Help You Stop Working
Many people struggle most in stopping work rather than getting started. Often, it is just too easy to continue to work for another hour or jump back on your computer after dinner, which can lead you to keep working until well after it’s time to go to bed.
The worst thing about this habit is that it encourages you to put off your most important tasks in the morning because you know you’ll end up working long enough to accomplish them.
There are several ways to help yourself switch off at home and leave work behind. Hopefully, if you can start implementing these strategies, you’ll find that you’re pushed to do your most important tasks first thing in the morning rather than putting them off.
This will also hopefully help you become more productive overall. When it comes to increasing productivity, Ernest Hemingway once said, “The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next.
If you do that every day, you will never be stuck.” While this is standard advice for writers, everyone can apply it.
Another way to build habits to help you stop working is to set a firm cut-off time or even work on your laptop without your power cord. Both of these habits will limit the amount of time you have to work, motivating you to finish your most important tasks first.
You can also create a wind-down routine every day. Like with your “getting ready to work” routine, this can help you begin to turn off your brain and cut off your work mode.
This is extremely helpful for those who struggle to switch off at the end of the day. Your routine can be as simple as taking a short walk before you go to bed, journaling, or getting in the habit of planning the next day.
Being productive isn’t something that happens. It takes time, effort, and an understanding of those habits that might be holding you back. If you want to increase your productivity so that you can get more done in less time, then these five simple tips can help get you on your way. These tips can help bring both your body and mind in sync to have better focus when you need it.
It would be best if you continued to try as many strategies as you can until you find what works best for you to create the perfect system for increasing your productivity. And remember, every minute matters, so you need to make sure that you make each one count.
