Many of us start the morning thinking that we will achieve so much today. However, distractions soon welcome you, low-priority tasks sound important, procrastination does its magic, and days go by.
Nevertheless, there are some things that you can do to increase your productivity and gain more control over your time. This article will inform you about the nine ways to improve your productivity. Of course, individuals are distinct by behavior, and one list cannot fit all. And that is why, instead of looking at the tips and tricks to increase your productivity, we will focus on the more human nature (the conscious and subconscious).
Here are the nine ways to increase productivity at work and accomplish the most of your time.
1. Be Accountable to Someone
It could be anyone, a colleague, or you can be accountable to yourself. Yes, you can download the focus apps and try to accomplish the priority work in that time. However, it will not work if you do not have willpower. Also, working at a great company is, you have superiors. Ensure to announce your priorities for the week and answer them about how many tasks you accomplished in that particular week.
2. Sleep, Sleep, and Sleep
As a biological creature, it is impossible to get things done without the proper energy levels. Proper sleep ensures that your energy levels are balanced and you can get things done. For adults above 25, it is recommended that you take 8 hours of proper rest. Moreover, ensure to make a Google search and learn how to sleep properly. For instance, small things like sounds, mattresses, and other factors might drastically affect your sleep. So, learn everything about sleeping properly and do not try to cut sleep.
3. Take breaks
Four hours in one sitting? Try 40 minutes and see the difference. Ignore the movies and TV shows that often represent the hard workers sitting on chairs all day. It is better to take a break every 30-40 minutes. It does not have to be long., 5 minutes, a quick visit to the bathroom, a snack, or a coffee. It could be anything, but remember to take frequent breaks. The benefits of taking frequent breaks are many; however, it is better to see the difference yourself.
4. Break your day-to-day activities and be comprehensive
Four hours on an excel sheet? Try describing the activities and assign time accordingly. For instance, you can reserve time for data entry, chart-making, calculations, etc. Importantly, when you plan the activities, your subconscious mind will think the activities are small and easy. So, the procrastination monster will not rob your time by making you believe that the task is difficult to accomplish.
5. Multitasking is a curse (period).
If only humans were more like dogs and pigs, focusing on one task at a time. Yes, the very ability to multitask lacks efficiency in all the work you try to multitask. So, it is better to do one thing at a time.
6. Reward yourself
If you want to build better habits that increase your productivity, it is better to reward yourself with something nice when you have accomplished a new healthy habit. It will take time to build the habits, but the rewards will help you keep going and imprint your subconscious mind with healthy habits.
7. Do the hard things first?
Let’s face it, we always focus on the small tasks first and then think that we will accomplish the difficult things later. However, it is better to focus on the hard things first. Still, test it yourself and see which way is better for you.
8. Manage the stress
So, you do not work? What then? In all, take frequent breaks, and do not try to force anything on yourself in one day. Exercise and avoid wasting time that doesn’t matter.
9. Trust the small increments
Atomic Habits by James Clear is an international best-seller: it explains the little things and gives you a microscopic view of your daily habits. For instance, if you are someone who cannot seem to keep the things at their desk organized and clean, it is because of your atomic habits of throwing things on them and not dealing with them immediately. You may clean it and organize the desk. But soon, you will have to find another dump and make time to clean that again. These habits are microscopic; for instance, throwing a chocolate wrapper will compile to become a big load of scrape on your desk. And it is until you deal with the small processes you cannot avoid the cluttered and dirty desk.
The same is the case with every day-to-day activity. You can think that you will start living the perfect and most productive life instantly. You will have to build small habits that make you who you are.
That is to say, take account of small things. How do you get distracted, what factors influence you not to do the work, and why do you avoid them? And where are you wasting time? By answering all these questions, you will have a clearer picture of your activities and distractions and will be able to work more productively once you work out the problems.
Conclusion
One of the most important things that people do not consider is that your energy levels shift all day. For instance, you will be more energized for a certain day period (about 5 – 6 hours). And it is this time you should reserve to accomplish the most important tasks of the day. The rest of the 10-11 hours also have different energy levels, with some continuing to work with moderate energy levels.
In contrast, some of your daily time is reserved for low-energy levels. So, arrange your activities accordingly. And do not try to force anything on yourself in one day. You will have to slowly build the habits that could make you productive for your entire life. Remember, getting the most work done per day might make you feel productive, but continuing to do the same thing for more than 2-3 days will become difficult if you do not work on the small things and focus on the microscopic level.
