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Easy Ways To Boost Your Productivity
Easy ways to boost your productivity. The title pretty much covers the intro for this article. I will try to give you a few actionable tips that are really easy to implement with very little effort on your part but will make a big difference to your productivity. I'm not going to tell you to try harder or put in more hours, so don't worry, it´s about doing more in less time, leaving you with more free time.
Whether you're a student who could do with a little boost for assignments, a professional with a hectic work schedule & personal life or a job seeker, I hope these little tips help you as much as they have helped me.
They allowed me to get my Master's degree while holding a full-time job and continue to help me maintain a packed professional & personal life today.
I must add: Even if they seem obvious, just give them a try for one week, and let me know what you think then.
1) Make a plan for what you want to get done by the end of the day
It's important that the goals you set yourself are controlled by you and not by external forces.
Example below ,if you're not sure what I mean by this.
Internal: I control it
One of my goals today was to write this article and publish it on the site - I am in complete control of this and so can tick it off when I'm done.
External: I influence but don't control it
Another target of mine would be for the article to receive at least 800 views by midnight. While I can influence this by writing well, publishing at the optimum time and in various places, it is an external goal that I don't control and so it won't be on my list of tasks for the day.
For Students: 3000-word assignment seem like too much? Tick off 200 words a day and it's done in two weeks. A target of 200 words makes enough of a dent into the assignment without seeming to be a big task for you.
You'll often find that once you get into it, you'll do much more than your target and finish early, meaning you can refine, refine, refine, and get an easy A. No more essay stress staying in the library the night before the deadline! You can still even go out and have plenty of time to enjoy everything Uni life has to offer and easily get a First.
For Professionals: I find this one particularly helpful to check my productivity for the day/week and in weekly meetings when each team member has to account for our activities.
For Job Seekers: Are you wasting your day "job searching", but mostly looking at YouTube videos? We're not machines and get distracted - this just helps you to refocus and be accountable to yourself.
2) Temporarily turn off your phone or data
I'm sorry if you've seen this somewhere else before. I hate repeating things that we all know, but good advice is good advice, and turning the Wi-Fi off on your phone really does make a difference.
As I'm writing this, I've turned the internet on my phone off because I realised I was in about 3 conversations that could wait and checking what my friends are having for lunch on Instagram.
That can certainly wait. And yet I check my phone anyway. A really annoying and unproductive habit.
For Students, Professionals & Job Seekers: It can be difficult to devote 100% of your considerable brainpower to the task at hand when your phone is right there, distracting you.
So yes, maybe you're spending 3 hours working on your essay/project/job search. But wouldn't it be better to go at it 100% for an hour or hour and a half, produce quality work you feel proud of, and then have the rest of the time free to do whatever you want?
3) Exercise can easily boost your work performance
This one isn't for everyone - not even me on some days. But a workout can really boost your productivity.
It might sound weird because surely you'd be tired, right? But it just feels good to exercise (sometimes) and to have accomplished something beneficial for your health.
It's easier for me because I have a German Shepherd that forces me to get out of bed/off the couch and run every day so maybe that's the answer…everyone should get a German Shepherd?
4) Don't wait to be in the mood to get your best work done
"I work best when I'm in the mood for it/in the morning/at night/after this break".
I was guilty of saying this myself and wasted so much time. Sure, some tasks are better performed when you're experiencing something akin to flow, however, the majority of tasks you perform each day can be completed without you waiting for the "optimum conditions".
So just get on with it! Sometimes, you'll get into it, enjoy it and get great work done. Other times, you won't be feeling it at all, but at least you'll have made a dent in your workload!
5) Your surroundings can influence your productivity - keep them tidy!
"A cluttered desk means a cluttered mind, an empty desk is an… empty mind.." Michael Scott, 2008.
Whilst Michael didn't quite get it right, he was almost there. Organisation and a clear desk/surroundings can certainly help you to focus and be more productive.
I always get more done after I tidy my workspace - whether it’s at the office or at home. Maybe it's similar to exercising, in a way that you feel good after you do it, and get motivated to get some more work done.
Well, that's it. Any other tips would be the bog standard one-line "drink water", "try to focus" tips that I don't feel would be very beneficial to you. So, that's our list of easy ways to boost your productivity.
They definitely work for me and I'm sure it'll work for you too because everyone is different. So remember: work smarter, not harder.
If you want to continue with the self-improvement, take a look at 9 Common interview mistakes, so that you never make them again, or Why Finding a Job Abroad is Awesome. But most importantly, remember to put these tips into action!
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