If being more productive isn’t on your list of things to do for 2021, then it should be. The longer we’re on this planet, the more our work lives seem to be taking over our social one. It’s not how it should be and it takes effort to ensure it doesn’t happen.
It’s like when you find the best online casinos that payout; more bang for your buck. Having better productivity on a daily basis in all aspects of your life will give you more bang for your buck in the form of more spare time. And surely that’s everyone's end goal?
1. Eliminate Multitasking
Desperate times can often cause desperate measures and there hasn’t been a more desperate situation than COVID-19 for a while. But as good an idea as it seems to try and tackle a mountain of responsibility all at once, it will never be productive. There are many apps and software out there to help you get out of this filthy habit but nothing that can’t be done yourself.
Ensuring that you only ever focus on one job at a time is the best way to get a lot of critical things done in a short amount of time. No wasted time or resources going from one to another and the best way to achieve this is by making a list.
2. Organise Yourself
They say one can never be too organized and when it comes to work, we’d agree. Spending the first 10 minutes of your day organizing your tasks into a list will have you quickly knocking off the most critical task first. And as you tick things off, you’ll feel more accomplished and motivated to tackle the next. It’s a great circle.
Whether your preference is for the hardest to be done first or just the most critical, work out what suits you best and stick to it. And as you whip through your list you’ll find it so much easier to keep the ball rolling and go straight to the next.
3. Rewards
Even small tasks completed could be worthy of a small reward and it will keep you motivated. From that second cup of coffee to finally taking your lunch, rewarding yourself for completing tasks keeps our motivation ticking over. And as soon as you’ve lost your mojo, it’s damn hard to get it back.
4. Separate Work from Social
If you’re suddenly working from home, you could easily be finding it slowly turning into one long, unproductive, 5-day shift. Make a plan to not just concentrate strictly on work during your shift, but physically separate your office from your home, too.
Remove distractions. Designate an office space. Keep your usual routine. These little things will help you work when you should, and only when you should. Stopping at close of day is also important as the ease to which you could just keep on trucking, is just not worth it.
5. Cut Out Social Media
The biggest theft of our time is also the destroyer of productivity. By constantly going back and forward to your phone to check that notification, you end up wasting a whole lot of precious time.
Instead, give yourself a specific amount of time in the morning. And by specific, set an alarm if you need to. Then avoid it for the rest of the day. That way your 8-hour day can finish at 6 instead of dragging on until 7 or 8. And you know what you would have missed from your social calendar? Absolutely nothing of importance.
6. Wake up Earlier
By waking up just one hour earlier, you’ll be amazed by what extra can be achieved. Better yet, when you do get up, turn to the mini-list you wrote yourself the night before and start chipping through those chores. Be it washing, cleaning, emptying the dishwashing, by combing everything above into a mini, early morning ritual, you have all those pesky household chores ticked off before work even begins.
It sounds easy in theory, but honestly, once you’ve gotten up a couple of days in a row early, you’ll find your natural night's sleep progressing and you’ll be hitting the sack around the right time at night. You’ll wake fresh, feel motivated, and ready for anything.
