Before starting to read this article, ask yourself how much time you waste each day scrolling on social media aimlessly, binging on Netflix or maybe playing video games or just pass time without purpose. You have to do something today about it so that you can thank yourself tomorrow. You have to be your best friend. Therefore productivity is crucial in our life. How we manage our time determines our luck.
There are tons of tips and tricks available online which teach you to be productive, but the truth is to be productive you have to put the work in and start working before getting inspired. The only way to get things done is by just doing it. There are only a few basic things, if you can keep those in mind, your productivity will be on the check, and you will feel a lot better. Because keeping things organized helps to reduce stress and increase productivity.
Here are some proven habits that will help you be more productive.
One Year Goal
Where you would like to see yourself in one year's time, and for what you would regret if you do not start doing that today? Would you regret not setting up your own business that has been your dream for so long? Before doing anything, everything seems impossible. Just do it. I am so sure, if being an entreprenure is your dream then this is the high time to build a successful business as you can leverage so many available resources. All you need is the willpower to just get started. You might have a different goal or different plan, and maybe you want to start writing a book or even a blog. Just do it. You never know until you try.
So, now when you have a one-year goal, you can be focused, and instead of wasting time on playing video games, you can work on those goals. While you set your goal, remind yourself to set smart goals. SMART stands for Specific. Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timebound. Because without these attributes and proper action, your goal is just a dream. So, what makes you wait? Make a one-year goal today, and put in the work, and live your dream life.
Maintain a realistic todo list and mark one as a daily highlight
People procrastinate for so many reasons, and one of the most common reasons is that they make unrealistic lists of tasks. If you have large todo list items and not particularly specific, then tackling those tasks becomes challenging. You become frustrated, looking at the item and think "I don't even know where to start." You can start by breaking large todos into smaller todos. Set small goals for each task. It is also proved to be very useful to have a daily highlight. In the daily highlight part, you will write what that one task that is significant for the day is, and you would spend a considerable chunk of time on that, it could be working on your new software, writing some codes for a plugin, learning something new, etc.
It is also essential to categorize your tasks based on urgency. You can mark the most urgent work as red so that it becomes easier for you to shift your mind to that work. Organizing your todo list based on each task's importance and urgency can help you manage your time accordingly. If you are passing most of your day doing things that are urgent but not important, then you should learn to look for ways to delegate, automate, or eliminate. If I have a todo list item labelled "write a business plan for my new business," it's easy to (ironically) put it off. Focusing on the most important tasks first is also useful to get more things done. When you are done with the most critical task, you feel accomplished and try to keep that momentum to finish your other tasks.
Keep a distraction list
Nowadays, our attention span has dropped significantly. So many social media platforms, messaging apps, news keep our eyes, and we continuously find us checking our various accounts on various channels. This constant distraction has harmed us in so many ways; we have lost patience; we can not sit still more than 5 minutes without a cell phone. We keep distracting ourselves from our visions and goals. Therefore, it is imperative to find out what is that that makes us distracted, such as email, social media platforms.
Listen to these social media companies not charging you to use it, but they are selling your time. Be mindful and cautious before wasting time there. Make a routine that when and for how long you would use it. Use those platforms for your benefit. Please make use of the good part of it. Just do not waste time because it's easy to get distracted when you're trying to be productive for these distractions. Whether you're trying to focus on deep work or just dealing with smaller tasks, distractions are the bane of productivity. It's hard to maintain efficient work habits with distractions around.
Find out at what time you stay more focused
Nobody is productive at the same time, and every person has a different pattern. Some people work their best in the morning, and some are at night. Find out when you're most productive and do the most challenging task at that time and when you are not that focused, do the admin work, finish replying emails, etc. Never make the mistake of responding to emails on your most productive time as you will run on reactive mode, and that mode will hinder your performance on creative and learning tasks. We should find at least 2 hours a day to dive into the harder strategic work and leave the other hours less urgent tasks.
Embrace Technology
Nowadays, there's a ton of apps on productivity, such as todoist, Twilio, etc. If you are using CRM software that might also have tasks features. CloudOnex Business Suite also has productivity features, such as tasks, notes, calendars, and project management. Use whatever platform you are comfortable with and make yourself accountable to the app. Because without accountability, we tend to be lazy and not complete any tasks. Embracing technology has proven to be very useful for our productivity. Use as many apps as you wish. Just get used to it. You will surely see great results.
Find time to walk or exercise and Get sunlight
Exercising isn't about staying in shape or losing weight, not that those are bad things. But regular physical exercise can help you be more productive because it increases your alertness. Because it increases your blood flow and cardiovascular health, you'll be less anxious, more focused, and more capable of dealing with stress. According to recent productivity studies, you'll boost your productivity and alertness with more natural light. Why do you think offices with windows are in such high demand? It also affects the timing of the circadian clock, which then impacts your wakefulness and fatigue.
Reward yourself and reflect
Do not forget to include the reward on your todo list that you will give to yourself after finishing a specific task that could be a snack and coffee break. After completing a particular project, promise yourself to buy something for yourself that could be a book, a piece of software that you wanted to buy for so long but did not. Always look for things that will augment your capability to be a better person. Buying self-care stuff also proven to be motivated to work more.
It is so important to reflect after finishing some projects. We should step back and understand what is working and if we need to improve our approach to doing things. There is always a scope of improvements, and if we do that, we add more value and value is equal to money. The more value you add, the more money you earn.