The secret of getting ahead is getting started. Mark Twain.Increased productivity has become a topic of interest to almost everyone I've come across. This is heightened by the distractions that come our way in the form of apps and social media interferences that tend to take up valuable time.
Often in a bid to appear productive, we tend to load our system with caffeine and expect things to automatically flow as we had imagined only to end up short of our expectations of the day.
I believe that, this is why everyone is fussing about being productive. I want to assume that in the face of the many distractions this era presents, it has become even more difficult to work and meet deadlines and set targets.
Hence, the need for ways to get work done within the expected timeframe.
The truth remains that there is nothing special about productive people. What sets them apart from others is their ability to get tasks done simply.
Ironically, productivity is not about the number of tasks accomplished by a person but on the quality of the work delivered. So, it is not about the numbers but in the quality.
While I am no expert on productivity and used to struggle with getting tasks done, here are some of the methods I have utilized to stay productive. Although they may appear too simple they have helped boost my productivity.
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1. Cut down on your to-do list: Fitting too many tasks to be completed on your schedule for the day doesn't actually make you appear productive.
This may end up making you frustrated at not completing your tasks at the end of the day. Try scheduling fewer but more important tasks on your to- do list and work your way through these.
Focus your energy on getting these task completed within the time allocated to work.
2. Make good use of your mornings: Let your morning be a time to focus on your self. And it begins with eating right. Avoid skipping breakfast because of your schedule. You need a healthy body to be able to carry out tasks. You may not accomplish much if you do not start your day right.
Stay away from your email accounts and instead treat your self to a healthy breakfast filled with super foods. You can work out, read some papers but by all means avoid starting the day with unnecessary pressures.
3. Undertake the most demanding tasks first: Tackle the most demanding task on your to do list first while you still have a lot of energy and your mind is still clear. Other tasks and meetings can always be attended later on.
This saves you time and energy that can now be invested into other tasks. The feeling of knocking out the more demanding tasks feels your body with more confidence to handle the rest of the tasks scheduled for the day.
4. Take breaks intermittently: Your body becomes stressed after long hours of work and this body begins to ache as a way of making you slow done and take a break.
So, take breaks to stand up, walk around and even grab a snack to refuel your energy. These breaks will energize your body system for higher efficiency. These breaks can also serve as your quiet time for prayers, meditation or yoga.
long hours of work and this body begins to ache as a way of making you slow done and take a break. So, take breaks to stand up, walk around, and even grab a snack to refuel your energy.
These breaks will energize your body system for higher efficiency. These breaks can also serve as your quiet time for prayers, meditation, or yoga.
5. Observe the 80/20 rule: It is said that of all you do, every day, just 20 percent produces about 80 percent of your observed results.
Hence, the need to remove those things that do not fall into the 20 percent category in your daily work schedule as these do not contribute significantly to your overall productivity.
To achieve this, you might need to fragment your daily tasks and systematically cross out tasks that give fewer results until you arrive at a set of tasks that produce great results. These should make up 20 percent.
6. Design a system that works for you: Come up with a system that works for your peculiar situation. Having done things that have either reduced your productivity or made you more productive, you are in a better position to identify what works and does not work.
This allows you to come up with a system to handle your weaknesses and ensure you stay on the right track. You can allocate certain times of the day for emails and social media.
7. Do not justify laziness with productivity: Most often, some persons choose to be lazy and try to explain it using the concept of cutting down on your to-do list. Laziness is a major habit of unproductive people.
Tackle your tasks and get them done one after another and do not fall into the temptation of idling away from the major task and taking short cuts without delivering on the quality result.
So, approach each task with the motive to finish it before moving on to other tasks.
8. Use the right shortcuts: As you know, your time is your most valuable asset and if you can get more done using methods that have proved to bring consistently good results, then do so.
Using shortcuts to get more work done is not bad as long as they do not harm the quality of your result. Feel free to use highly tested and proven shortcuts to get more work done faster.
NEVER use shortcuts that have not been proven to give good results.
9. Avoid multi-tasking as much as possible: There is no wisdom in doing 4 things at the same time and not getting them done efficiently.
Instead, concentrate your energy on doing one thing right at a time before proceeding to the next one. A school of thought argues that constantly changing tasks within the same day lowers your IQ.
10. Know your best playing field: Identify and stick with what works best for you. Knowing the best environment for efficient working is a key ingredient in being highly productive. This space may be your office, home, cafe, or even a park.
11. Use automation: Automations help simplify work and increase efficiency. As much as possible, automate the portion of the work that can be smoothly automated using available tools.
12. Ask for help where necessary: Asking for help is not a sign of weakness but your ability to reach out to others who are more knowledgeable about the project in question so you can deliver the best.
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