How to Be More Productive
Productivity is one of the main concerns for business people and entrepreneurs, as we have lots of work to do in a very limited time span every day. We gathered a total of 10 ideas and tips to become more productive at work, but the principles apply to students, or productivity at home.
What does it mean to be productive?
Being productive means using your time and energy in a way that achieves your goals. It means making and sticking to a plan that will help you be efficient and effective in your work, and making progress towards your objectives.
How to be more productive at work?
The best way to be more productive at work is to find what works best for you and to stick with it.
Some entrepreneurs find helpful to set goals, deadlines for their projects. Others prefer to create a schedule and stick to it. New currents of thinking promote taking breaks throughout the day to increase productivity. We want to show you how to combine all those ideas into a working productive process.
Set goals and deadlines
Having clear goals or a deadline for certain activity may help you stay focused and motivated.
You can set annual, monthly, weekly and even daily goals. The goals you choose for your day should be reached within the day. Those goals in lower timeframes must have a relation with your ultimate goal.
You should make sure that your goals are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Consider as well the amount of risk you are to take when it comes to setting your goals.
Practical example
As a shop owner, you have a list of tasks: clean your shop, keep the shelves tidy, make phone calls to providers, keep the stocks updated, and have change for your cash register.
You would also like to remodel the shop, and before that you need savings to hold your economy while the shop is closed, plus money to pay the remodeling. For that reason, you try to separate each day X% from the benefits, try to sell 5 extra products, or research some new products.
Those are reasonable, measurable and achievable goals.
Create a schedule and stick to it
Organizing your time seems to be a great idea. But when creating a schedule, you must be realistic about how much time you have available and how long it takes you to complete certain tasks. A couple of things you don't want to miss is the break time and the possibility of unexpected events taking place.
Since everybody wants to be productive nowadays, some entrepreneurs designed products that match those needs. For example, there are mobile and desktop apps that help you design a schedule, gamify your tasks, and set alarms.
There are also time management techniques that can help you boost your productivity at work.
Video on structuring your schedule
Brian Tracy published some years ago a video on productivity that we recommend you, as it explains the important of planning ahead, and thus, increase your productivity.
Take breaks throughout the day
Taking breaks from work is essential to keep a good working rhythm and be more productive. It may seem contradictory, but studies show that stopping, having a break from work, helps us work smarter after a while. So don't push yourself beyond your limits.
Some keys to do that: change setting, do something you enjoy, talk to humans (not screens), move around or sit down (depending on your job), and limit your break time.
Cornell's Health Department wrote an article on this topic, entitled Study Breaks & Stress-Busters
Enjoy a productive rest
How could resting be productive? By doing something radically different from your work. For instance, if you are working with a computer, you should go out, leave your office, have a coffee, read paper, talk to somebody in person... A break could be unproductive in this case if it consists of watching the phone, social network, playing a video game, or anything else to do with a screen. Taking the right breaks will help you to stay refreshed and focused.
It is important to take breaks every 20-30 minutes to get up and move around, or to take a few minutes to clear your head.
7 tips to become a productive person
Since we have already discussed the key points when it comes to productivity, let's discuss now a few more tips that may help you refine some areas of your productivity skills.
- Delegate tasks. Freeing up your time to focus on the most important things can be done by delegating.
- Eliminate distractions. Airplane mode, closing tabs on your computer, and finding a quiet place to work.
- Plan your day or week ahead of time. As mentioned in the video on structuring your day, planning the day ahead saves large amounts of time.
- Break down large tasks into smaller, more manageable tasks. Make the tasks seem less daunting to progress more quickly.
- Prioritize your tasks. Focus on the most important tasks first and leave the less important tasks for later.
- Take advantage of your peak productivity hours. Get to know yourself and your peak productivity hours, then schedule your most important tasks for those times.
- Take care of yourself. Probably the most important tip. Getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods, and exercising regularly will help you to have more energy and focus throughout the day.
Productivity is a skill, which means it can be learned and improved over time. Don't tire out if you feel you can't stick to a productive routine.
Our hope is that this article helps you in the way to becoming more productive.
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