Many experts, successful people, CEOs, and entrepreneurs, managers and essay writers do well because they can get more things done in less time. That is the essence of productivity, isn’t it? The same people will tell you that must wake up at 4 am to boost productivity but how many can? If you cannot do what your mind and body aren’t trained to do, then it becomes like every other New Year resolution – only to be ditched by February. If you want to boost your productivity, then you need simple tips that incorporate snuggly into your daily life. So, here they are:
Optimize your life
Everyone knows you need to eat healthily, sleep at least seven hours a day and exercise to have a vivacious mind and body, right? Well, these are the busy times and who has the time to even socialize. So, optimize your time by having a meal with your colleague, not alone on your filthy desk. By this you eat a healthy meal, socialize and get exercise from getting up from your desk to go to the cafeteria.
Know where your time goes
One of the best ways to boost productivity is to find that block in the day where you have the most energy or creativity. All you need to do is track your time every day for a week and inspect the analysis. You may find glaring clues about your life. For example, John the coder wakes up with a fresh mind and finds himself most creative in the first half of the day. So when does he check emails and meetings? If he wants to boost his productivity, then not in the morning.
Procrastinate, but mindfully
Productivity gurus may emphasize on how procrastination is bad for you, but we say, do it. If you don’t want to work on that high priority proposal work now, then work on the second task in your to-do list. Procrastination is stigmatized if you fall into the mindless vortex of social media instead of working on that proposal.
Move away from distractions
Ok, so you may have heard this a million times and yes, you came here to find unique tips. You know what? This is the holy grail of all productivity tips. If you want to boost your productivity, you need to turn off notifications, put your smartphone on airplane mode, etc. Here’s a simple tip if you work from home, whatever you do, don’t keep your phone close to your workstation and turn off your chat too.
Match the focus, instead of time
Many times when you schedule your to-dos, you think about how much time you need to do it. For example, checking your mail takes you an hour, but if you schedule to do it at the start of the day when you are most productive, then is doesn’t make much sense. To boost your productivity, match the focus and energy needed to do the task instead.
Invest in free-time
The world is filled with beautiful things such as reading a book, playing music, spending quality time with your kids. So why spend that window of 15min of free time browsing social media? Don’t let mindless chatter fill your mind. Invest in your relationships, make a phone call or help your toddler with her activity book. Invest in your hobbies, daydream. It is an investment because of a return; your relationships are stronger, you are focused and energized by doing what you love.
Make small but effective decisions
Meetings are a part of the work-life. It’s like the butter on your toast. One does not work as well without the other. However, there are days when you don’t need your buttered toast. Someday you work better with just coffee. So, before we get lost in a sea of analogies, the point here is to discern which meetings are adding value to your day and ditch those that don’t. If you are stuck in a meeting without an agenda, be brave and excuse yourself from it to boost your productivity for that day.
Say Yes
An important tip advised by many experts is to say NO. If you want to boost your productivity, there are times to say yes too. Why do you ask? Well, when you say yes to many things, you come under peer pressure to finish. In the race to finish, some people thrive under stress. These are the exact kind who produce vivacious content, exceptional proposals, great marketing plans in the nick of time. Do you get the drift? How would you know you are that person if you keep saying no. Say yes and harness your true potential.
No-work Day
The times are busy for the best of us. To boost productivity, you need to optimize your life and the only way to get everything in order is to dedicate a day only for rest. Some choose a strict no-work policy over the weekends, still, others have a no-meeting day or take a mid-week break to recharge. Pick a day that suits your lifestyle and use that time to eat well, rest, and perfect your doctrine. You need this to boost your physical, mental and spiritual life too.
Ask for Help
You may thrive at multitasking, but the fact remains you can only do one thing at a time. You don’t have to do everything that is thrown at you. Don’t be afraid to outsource jobs to boost your productivity.
BIO
Laura Buckler is a person who writes what she loves and loves what she writes. In her content, you will find tons of motivating statements and real experiences from the author herself. In addition to writing, Laura is also a freelance teacher. Follow her on twitter.
