Set goals & Manage yourself
Your habits and decisions define your actions and daily routine. Being more productive starts with changing your current habits and sticking to a particular routine. Simply put, in order to be productive one must be willing to change the situation that no more benefits them. If you want to be productive you need to focus on what you want to reach. Setting goals is not enough, you must also track them overtime to see if you’re accomplishing them. Set realistic goals but at the same time make sure that you’ll stick to them.
Prepare a To-Do List
Don’t try to remember the list of tasks that you plan to accomplish. Put them on paper. Planning is important for productivity because often effort is wasted just because people don’t have a clear understanding what they truly want to achieve for that day. To-Do Lists help people to stay focused and organized. Set clear and result-oriented goals and a plan to accomplish them. A clear plan outlines each step you must take in order to reach your goals. Try to cut your list up to a few items for a day by focusing only on the most important.
Prioritize tasks
Working hard is not enough, one needs to be working on the right things. It’s important to set your priorities right by starting with the most urgent and important tasks. The key is to differentiate between important and non-important tasks but it’s easy to get confused. It’s easy to get caught up in things that seem important, however, later they turn out to have little or no implications for your goals. Whichever task you feel is the most difficult start with it because the most difficult task is usually the most important one.
Set work limits
Manageable self-imposed work limits can be helpful in terms of keeping you on track and focused on the task. Give yourself a limit for accomplishing each task and stick to it, soon you’ll find how helpful it is as it will keep you more focused on the right tasks and will help you get the job done. By this method you are less likely to postpone the important tasks. This method works especially for big and challenging tasks, as it will help you to get rid of tiny and insignificant activities that can distract you from the right job.
Make a Not-To-Do List
Not-To-Do Lists can be as helpful as To-Do Lists for increasing your productivity. A Not-To-Do List assumes a list of all those things and activities that you’re planning to hold back in order not to get distracted from the important task. Try to figure out what are the biggest interruptions that take away your focus from the important tasks, and put them in your Not-To-Do List. You need to focus on one task and block out all distractions. Even if you get distracted, you need to get back to work as soon as possible.
Minimize interruptions & Learn to say ‘No’
Even brief interruptions tend to produce a change in work pattern. It is not recommended to have multiple browsers opened while you’re working. Try to set a break for checking and responding to emails, messages, notifications, or any other activity not related to your work. Don’t let insignificant things interrupt you and take your focus away from the tasks that you need to accomplish. Other people can also try to get your help for something while you’re busy with your own work. Learn to say No to whatever you don’t want to do.
Take regular breaks
Tired people do not perform well and taking regular breaks can actually increase your productivity. Working continuously for long hours doesn’t mean you’re getting more done. Sticking to a particular task for long without a break can decrease your motivation and can lead to a steady decline in performance. No matter how hard you try to work, when you’re tired you can’t maintain distraction-free focus for long. Taking a break from a long task can be good for resetting your energy and getting your focus back to work.
Related Topics: