To reap the best results from work, your hobby, or frankly any task that must be done, it is crucial to know how to employ productivity. In this article, we will show you why productivity is essential and six simple steps for how productivity can be increased in your life.
Work smarter, not harder. That is the adage that has stayed relevant for a long time. To make the best use of one’s time, it is incredibly important to understand how to manage it. Being productive is not merely deciding a task into a given set of steps. To be productive is to understand your tendencies when it comes to achieving results in any task at hand.
Whether you are repainting your house, learning to play a new instrument, or doing work – learning to be productive- increases one’s efficiency and can ultimately be critical to opening up more time during the day. We all have 24 hours in a day, but some manage to conquer mountains, whereas others are content with less. If you want to ramp up your productivity formula, let us help you by showing six steps to help you.
A Solid Workflow vs. Distractions
Everyone has likely experienced it. Once you get started working on something that may require some discipline to achieve, there is a craving to just take a little break. Here and there, you find yourself getting a snack, some coffee, checking a post, and before you know it, your attention has been scattered. It takes merely one distraction to disrupt a whole momentum you’ve established.
Studies show that it takes 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get one’s attention back to a task after being distracted. This is a healthy reminder to make a distinct effort not to steer off a task. On the other hand, if you manage to keep up the momentum, you will work towards a flow state where your moves all fall into place. Sportsmen also call it being in the zone. Aim for the zone, and your productivity systems will shoot on all cylinders.
Create a to-do list
An excellent productivity help factor is knowing what and when to do it. When you start your day, you need to have a plan on where to aim your efforts. It is the simplest of methods, but if you have not been making to-do lists, they will significantly change your productivity. There is something to listing out your tasks that gives you a strong psychological space.
You feel like the captain of the ship when you know what needs to be done. It will help you not get lost in between tasks and keep your efforts concentrated when going from one thing to another. When you finish a given job, give yourself a small, planned reward. This is where coffee, media, or game brakes can be inserted. In any case, our productivity depends on rest. Walking with friends or playing the slots for fun with them all have a positive effect on our productivity. After all, games can also develop logic, memory and strategic thinking. But it is important to remember that everything should be in moderation.
Start With the Hardest Task
In every day’s to-do list, there is always a hierarchy of hardest to easiest. Productivity and efficiency go hand in hand. By starting with the most dreaded task, it will give you a sense of relief. The other tasks will not seem as daunting as the first, and this will work to heighten your motivation and therefore increase efficiency in achieving the day’s results. Getting the most laborious task out of the way will also help you take the biggest amount of stress off your shoulders. Knowing that things will get easier as the day progresses is a great way to keep your spirits and productivity up.
Prepare Your Space
Before you begin working, it is essential to give yourself some time to prepare your own space. By de-cluttering your environment, you can achieve a positive effect on your mind. This is especially true if you are aiming at creating productivity working at home. When you strive for high productivity, home working can become a little challenging due to the temptations to scatter attention, be it pets, kids, or house chores.
It is essential to differentiate between relaxation and work time psychologically. Setting up and clearing a space of unnecessary objects can work as a little ceremony of getting you in the mood for doing things. Other than that, try decorating your space with things that inspire you. Some things can be picked to make you feel comfortable; other emotionally charged items could remind you of your long-term goals. This will aid in bettering the overall productivity of working from home or office.
Turn Off Notifications
One of the main temptations to getting steered off of a task is social media. It is hard to turn your back on it as it is such a prevalent temptation in our culture. Social media is wired to be addictive, yet if we are true to ourselves, it rarely Is very fulfilling. During hours in which you have to be productive, it is recommended to activate social media blockers, turning notifications off, or better yet, putting the phone aside ultimately.
If you can master such discipline, you will reap great benefits in restoring your focus. Anecdotally, it seems that the notion is going around that people are cultivating a gold-fish like a syndrome due to social media. By continuously scrolling and refreshing feeds, we get used to having our attention fly all over the place every few dozens of seconds. Over time, this etches into the brain, and it becomes challenging to keep focused for long periods at a time. If you can focus on the whole digital clutter, the productivity rewards can be truly staggering.
Exercise
Physical exercise has been shown time after time to be beneficial for our body and mind. Especially if you are working at a desk, it can be very helpful to do some stretching, go for a run or do a bit of yoga. It clears your head up, gives you a fresh perspective, and ultimately helps make you sharper and more productive in the long run. The body has its needs, and if you ignore it, it will come back to bite you. Stay healthy!
Conclusion
We hope to have helped you outline some of how you can ramp up your productivity. In today’s trying times, productivity during the pandemic can be something to keep your attention on, thereby focusing on the more positive aspects of life. Using this time to become better versions of ourselves is a noble endeavor, and we wish you the best success in becoming healthier, more productive, and, therefore, more motivated overall.
If you have any productivity resources that you like to use, please share them in the comments below, we would love to hear about them!
About the Author
Ellen Royce was a manager and is now part of the marketing team, but not as a boss, but as a collective part of the whole, simply called a managing partner for a focused business practice. She prefers the idea of a corporate cooperative.
