Wish You Could Get More Done in a Day? 5 Tips to Be More Productive
Do you ever have those days where you feel like you accomplished nothing? You wrap up your work day and your list is just as long (if not longer) than it was when you started. Getting yourself organized and motivated is often the biggest barrier to productivity, but there are some daily habits you can do to help yourself be more productive. Here are some places to start:
Set Timers and Reminders for Yourself
Build in breaks, block out times on your schedule for certain tasks, and create a system of reminders so that you don’t feel as overwhelmed by your to-do list. This can look like blocks for replying to emails, answering phone messages, planning out next week’s meetings, and even personal tasks like going to the gym.
Having a visual representation of what you expect to get done in a day can be a big motivator for lots of people. If you’re not as much of a planner, though, setting a timer to dedicate 30-45 minutes of hard focus time followed by a 5 minute break may be effective to keep you more engaged so you can be more productive with your time!
Build In Rewards
Whether it’s a bar of chocolate from your snack drawer, a trip to your office’s coffee station, or 5 minutes to scroll on your phone, building in breaks and rewards throughout your workday can help you be more productive during your worktimes. Research finds that breaks can help you:
- Get more done during active working periods
- Improve mental health and job satisfaction
- Restore focus and motivation
- Prevent “decision fatigue”
- Boost memory, creativity, and problem-solving
So after you complete a task or have a good work session, treat yourself to a short break. It’ll actually help you be more productive than if you just powered through!
Do the Hardest Thing First
Often the fear and dread of a task keeps us from even getting started. Instead of checking quick tasks off of your list at the beginning of the day, commit to doing the hardest or most dreaded thing first. This will get it out of the way and allow you to breeze through other things when your brain power starts to fade later on!
Limit Distractions
While attention and focus are skills that can be strengthened, it is often helpful to limit distractions during your dedicated work times. Pause notifications on your phone or computer. Close a door to signal focus time. Make sure you aren’t going to get hungry or thirsty during your next working window. These are simple things, but they go a long way to set you up for success to be more productive!
Build Cognitive Skills
Is your brain able to follow a task through to completion? Do you often get stuck wondering, “what do I do next”? Are constant distractions, losing your train of thought, or slow progress keeping you from achieving all you want to?
Each of these are signs that weaker cognitive skills may be impacting your thinking. Cognitive skills are more than just learning skills. They are what your brain uses to interact with the world around you, at any age.
Adults and kids alike can benefit from strengthening core skills like attention, memory, processing speed, and logic & reasoning. These skills help you engage in work (and life) and feel more confident while you do it!
