You probably have things to do, so let’s get in right away. Here are 27 ways you can produce, improve and maintain productivity in your personal and professional life.
1. Wake up early
As the saying goes, “He who gets up early gets the worm!” An early riser has a more productive day, a blank period. I usually get up early in the morning. For some reason, it seems like time passes much slower in the morning. Get more done in the same amount of time or less. Early mornings are also very productive times to complete the most important tasks, as well as to get started on the most important ones in the long run.
2. If you aren’t already, get organized
Being organized saves time and money; one of those things, you can never get it back. When you are organized, you can easily access your files and work records accordingly. There is something about organizing your work (even though it is appropriate for you) that calms your mind and organizes your thoughts as well. Regardless of which method works best for you or which organizational system you choose to use, it will save you time by being able to access what you need, exactly when you need it. This guide will help you get organized better.
3. Be on time
If you’re like me, then you hate being late even a millisecond. It’s a huge waste of time when people are late for meetings and appointments. To influence the punctuality of others, your arrival reputation must model punctuality.
4. Take steps to do what you need to do.
The key to productivity depends on actually doing what you know needs to be done. Beware of falling into the traps of secondary activities that counteract your productivity. Remember that excessive time spent maintaining your productivity system is a secondary activity. Instead, you need to focus on doing what you know needs to be done.
5. Practice using the magic word “No.”
Pay attention to your energy and focus carefully. Where and where does your energy flow when you are trying to be more effective? Most of the time, saying “no” can be a crucial part of your productivity equation. Even when opportunities present themselves, be aware that they can be distractions from the work at hand. Sometimes it can be more effective if you are thoroughly selective.
6. Eliminate the temptations to waste time
If you work selling online or are in an online industry, this should probably be number one for you. There are countless distractions online, from social media to streaming music, videos, etc. One way to ensure that your time and productivity are not wasted is to intentionally immobilize technology to maintain productivity. Restrict access to sites that distract you while you work.
7. Enter “Isolation”
It’s critical that you eliminate all external distractions when you find that your schedule is full of all the high-priority tasks. Focus all your energy on one task at a time until it is complete and then move on to the next. Once all of your priorities are completed, you can meet with society
8. Prevent a possible disruption
To begin and maintain a state of deep focus and concentration, it is important to minimize and prevent interruptions. This way you can get a boost or flow and stay there without starting or stopping along the way. Avoid all areas that could interrupt you, such as a cell phone, the internet, or television. Then take the necessary steps to eliminate any potential disruption as much as possible.
9. The power of three
Take three essential tasks each day (usually the largest of the tasks) and take short breaks in between each to give your mind a break and switch gears. This will keep you accountable.
10. Plan
Sit down, stay still. Take the first 30 minutes of your day to plan the rest. Start by making a list of important tasks that you should have done today and stay focused on these items. Remember, be as specific as possible on the topic and time.
11. Schedule your fun first
Do you want to stop pushing things and wait until the last minute? This tip will break your procrastination habit. If not, it will drastically reduce it. By scheduling the fun things first, your mind will not feel threatened when it wants to get the job done because it will know that fun is guaranteed.
12. Start with the least urgent task
The idea here is to complete your tasks before they become urgent. One way to do this proactively is to work on less urgent tasks first. If that doesn’t work …
13. Tackle the hardest nail first
If you are like most people, then you like to start with the easy things and complete them first. However, when you finish the easy task first, you may end up procrastinating because you feel complacent and glad you completed something. When we get to the difficult parts, frustration and stress arise due to the challenges of completing tasks. If this is the case, it is better to start with an advantage by completing the worst task first and slowly move on to the easier ones. You will feel great that you have planned and accomplished so many things at the end of the day.
14. When Productivity Happens, Capitalize
Check your schedules for at least five days. Pay attention to how you use your time. Pay attention to where your time is going. Where do you spend most of your time? What do you spend less time on? If you are much more productive at one time of day than another, get more done during that time period. During your unproductive times, engage in cross-productive tasks, such as going to the gym or other activities that require minimal thought, and do the difficult things only in your productive times.
15. Use tools to increase your productivity
With everything you have on your plate, it is sometimes a challenge to continually keep up. A calendar system, for example, like Google Calendar, can help in this situation. With this tool, you can easily prioritize and leverage your time on almost any of your electronic devices, schedule meetings, and thus increase your productivity. Google Calendar can also help you keep track of random appointments and events for which your presence is necessary. It also has features that allow you to coordinate with business partners by allowing two or more people to sync their calendars together.
16. Schedule related tasks together
When it’s time to complete the tasks, divide up the similar tasks that you need to do together. For example, set aside time to review and post to your business Twitter account, and post to your other social media accounts one after the other. Also, break down the tasks that you generally avoid together, and plan times during the day to accomplish them and mark them on your accomplishment list.
17. Establish time-sensitive tasks
Go through everything on your list of accomplishments and identify which ones are urgent. These are the ones that need to be completed that day or that week. Prioritize these tasks and then choose from other achievements on the list to complete.
18. Set time limits on your work sessions
Do you want to work less and get more done? One benchmark you can follow is to limit both your work sessions (60-120 minutes) and your weekly output (40 hours). Working hard isn’t just about the amount of time. It’s also about quality. To increase the quality of your work sessions, you must reduce the amount of time. Each of us has our own personal mix. Find yours!
19. Rejuvenate and relax
Get out of your immediate task to renew and re-motivate yourself. At that point, get an outside opinion on your website, product placement, blog post, etc. You’d be surprised how often you’re too close to the problem to see the obvious solution, and a third party’s point of view can prove invaluable.
20. Leave work unfinished before your break
This little productivity tip will help you get back to normal once you get back from your break. His brain aches to complete the full circle. This is actually a famous writing tip from Ernest Hemingway: It is said that he always left the last sentence unfinished, so he could easily pick up the next session.
21. Take one thing at a time
Multitasking is an incredible skill to have in your arsenal. However, multitasking at the wrong time can reduce your overall productivity. Instead of multitasking, focus on one thing at a time by scheduling blocks of days, or even entire days, when you think you only need to focus on one task or project.
22. Productively procrastinate
Procrastination, most of the time, is always the number one explanation on the non-productivity list. Most teachings will tell you to avoid procrastination altogether. However, if you find yourself in the procrastination seat, try procrastinating something with a later deadline rather than something frivolous. Knowing what is important and urgent will allow you to prioritize your procrastination in the most effective way.
23. Plan to waste time
Sometimes procrastination can seem like an unavoidable part of your work processes. If this is the case for you, work diligently without distraction for a set period of time, and then intentionally take (significantly shorter) blocks of time to not be unapologetically productive. Planned procrastination will allow you to turn a negative trait into a positive one.
24. Focus on what really matters
Not everything is a priority or has the same degree of immediate importance. Determine which tasks are the most relevant and in line with your previously planned purpose for the day. Write a numbered list based on your priorities; then start filling them in until done. It’s usually better to focus on one or two priorities and do them really well, rather than doing a lot of things and getting mediocre results. This way, you will be more selective and efficient while maneuvering during the day.
25. Define roles and delegate work
If you lead a team, define specific roles and goals for each member of your team and divide the work accordingly. As you may know, there are some people who will want to do everything. That person could be you. Clearly defining roles for each individual team member gives everyone on your team more clarity on who does what. You may need skills that are outside your immediate field of expertise to complete certain tasks. Find other people who have those skills and are interested in working with you, or look for people who might know someone in your network who is perfect for it. This dramatically increases productivity.
26. Create a routine to stick to.
Even with a lot of work in front of us, we still find ways to preoccupy our attentions. So creating a routine to combat procrastination can easily overcome this. In addition, it will help create healthy productive patterns in your personal and professional life. This will allow you to find your rhythm quickly and efficiently when it’s time to get to work.
27. End your day on a positive note.
Assign the last hours of your workday to some of your less-pressured tasks, like sending thank you messages or emails. Ending a day full of responsible activity on a positive high note will reinforce your patterns from today to tomorrow.