How to be productive is a common question among everyone. You have lots of things to do, but you feel you don’t have enough time to manage all the work. You want to do more work in less time. That’s why you are reading this article. There can be many reasons why you are not productive in your day; either you are doing time pass on your phone, you are easily distracted from your work, or you don’t know how to manage time.
It is not a one-night process; it will take time, but if you really want to be productive, make the small changes in your daily habits that will be mentioned in the upcoming paragraph, and you will see the changes.
So let’s discuss the habits that you can apply to your daily habits to become productive. Let’s start.
1.) Start with the most important task.
At the start of the day or the night before, make a list of the tasks (to-do list) that are most important to you, then make a priority list according to that, and try to finish the most important task first. Or if you don’t have such a priority, then finish the task that is taking more time or requiring more energy and time to finish, so try to finish that task first.
2.) Stop multitasking.
You may think that by doing multiple tasks at a time, you will be more productive and you will be able to finish more work in less time, but it really doesn’t produce the desired result. Instead, if you focus on one task at a time, you will be able to do the work more efficiently and you will be able to finish the work in less time. So, instead of doing more work at one time, try to focus on doing one task at a time. This will help you to be productive at work.
3.) Delegate your responsibilities.
If you want to work for 28 hours a day, then you can delegate your work to another person. If there is any work that you think you can delegate to another member, then consider doing that because if you delegate your work to another member, then you will have more time to do other work.
Entrepreneurs mostly like to delegate their work to their employees, like they hire someone to manage their social media accounts, or they hire someone to manage their other work so that they can have free time and do the most important things, like work on their other products.
By delegating your work, you gain extra hours in your hands that you can use.
4.) Schedule time for each task.
Using time-blocking techniques is a very effective way to be productive. By using the time block technique, you will try to finish your work within that time block. By using the time block method, you set a time for your work and you have to finish that work within that time limit. This will put pressure on you to do that work within that time limit, and you will try your best to finish that work within that time limit.
You can do time blocking according to work, but usually, time blocking is done for about 60- or 90-minute sections.
You can also reward yourself if you finish your work within that time block. This will encourage you to finish more and more work within that time limit.
5.) Try the five-minute rule.
If you procrastinate everything and it’s a big challenge for you, then you can try the five-minute rule. You promise yourself that you will just spend five minutes on any outstanding task that you want to do. For example, if you want to make a presentation but you don’t feel like doing it, you can just promise yourself that you will give yourself at least five minutes to make the presentation.
Once you start doing that, you will be motivated to continue further and try to finish it because the hardest part is to start, and if you start, you will likely finish the work. If you are prone to procrastination, this method will be extremely beneficial to you.
6.) Start with the most difficult task.
It is human nature to avoid difficult and time-consuming tasks, but you know very well that work will only put you ahead and make the most of it, so you start with the small task and try to finish the small task first. However, thinking about the difficult task first will boost your motivation and make you feel more focused on the rest of the work. So consider doing the bigger task first and then the smaller task. This will increase your productivity throughout the day.
7.) Remove all distractions.
It is very common to get distracted, but you have to take steps to remove distractions Removing distractions is also a kind of skill that can be developed. Like, you can turn off all your notifications from your smartphone so that you don’t jump on it whenever any notification comes and waste your precious time You can also switch your phone to airplane mode whenever you don’t use it or when there is no use for it.
The Pomodoro technique is also a very effective way to reduce distraction. In this technique, five steps are involved.
- Choose a task you want to do and write it down.
- Set the timer for 25 minutes.
- Now start working on the task you chose to do and keep doing it till the timer rings.
- Now, after 25 minutes, take a break of 5 minutes and do whatever you want to do in these 5 minutes. But don’t increase the time from five minutes. After five minutes, get back to work, and again, after 25 minutes, you can take a break of five minutes. This is a very effective way to increase your productivity.
8.) Do your most important task first.
If you do your most important task before lunch, when your mind is fresh, you will be able to do that task more effectively. By following this method, you will be able to find creative ways to manage your time and be productive.
9.) Take a short break.
It may seem strange to take a break when we are discussing being productive at work, but taking a break between tasks increases productivity, and taking a break between tasks helps reduce stress and increase to be productive. You will feel motivated when you take a break between tasks.
10.) Learn to say “no.”
It is very common to get excited when you get a call from a friend to go out and chill, but you later realize that you have wasted too much time chilling and now you don’t have time to finish the work you have decided to do, and you will postpone that work to the next day. So learn to say no. It will save you today as well as tomorrow. Make your work your priority before anything else First, finish your to-do list you have made for the day. Then you can do whatever you want, such as go out with a friend or watch a movie.
11.) Use the morning to focus on yourself.
Avoid checking WhatsApp, email, and Instagram first thing in the morning because it will sap your energy and make you feel less productive throughout the day. Start your day with a morning affirmation, do some exercise, do meditation for at least 10 minutes, take a shower, have a good breakfast, and then start your work. This habit will keep you motivated throughout the day, and you will feel energized throughout the day and you will be productive.
12.) Establish a small goal.
Large tasks will feel like a burden on your head, and you will estimate how long it will take to finish the work instead of setting a big goal At first, break the large goals into small pieces and then try to finish those small goals. At the end, you will find that you have achieved your major goal. For example, if you want to make a presentation on several topics, first focus on one topic. Take that one topic and do your best to make a presentation on that topic. Don’t think about other topics. After you have finished this topic, take another topic and again give your best on that particular topic to make a presentation.
13.) Determine your most productive times.
Every individual is different and due to COVID, 9-5 jobs become less common during COVID. Many people realize their time is when they are more productive. If you feel more productive in the morning, then do your most important task in the morning; if you feel more productive at night, then do your most important task at night, but you should do it; don’t put it off for another day.
14.) Learn from successful people.
To increase your productivity, you can learn from successful people how they used to be productive. What are their methods for being be productive? When you read about successful people, you will automatically feel motivated to do your work. There are many sources from which you can learn from successful people like you can read books, listening to podcasts, listening to speeches, and many others. So reading about successful people is a very good habit because reading about successful people helps you develop their qualities, so it is a potent tool.
15.) Track down your time thieves.
Before going to bed, analyze what you have done through the day and which activities were good in which you have achieved something like you finished your task and which activities were time-wasting, which moved you away from achieving your goal, and try not to make the same mistake on the next day. Another thing you can do is write down what you do each hour. Take a record of each hour and jot it down on your phone or in your notebook. This will allow you to analyze which activity was good and which activity was useless and then eliminate it the next day.
16.) Learn from the mistakes of others.
Life is too short to make all mistakes and learn, so try to learn from the other mistakes. See what other people have done in their past and now they are regretting it. Try not to repeat the same mistake. This will save you lots of time and effort.
CONCLUSION:
People who are highly productive know how to manage their time and they have found a way to overcome procrastination and laziness, so they can do all the work they wish to do throughout the day.
So you can also be productive and you will also be able to manage all the work you wish to do. You just need to make some changes in your daily habits and then you are ready. But this is not a one-day process. You will face failure sometimes, but learn from your failure and keep working. You will somehow be able to be productive and you will be able to do all the things you wish to do.
Successful people don’t do much work. They do work that is valuable and that brings changes in their lives, and they are consistent in doing their work. Their work is not quantitative; their work is qualitative. They do quality work that is valuable. The most efficient people are not necessarily brilliant; they just found a way to overcome procrastination and be productive.
Now let’s recap the points we have discussed.
1.) Start with the most important task.
2.) Stop multitasking.
3.) Delegate your responsibilities.
4.) Try the five-minute rule.
5.) Do your most important task first.
6.) Take a short break.
7.) Learn to say “no.”
8.) Use the morning to focus on yourself.
9.) Establish a small goal.
10.) Determine your most productive times.
11.) Learn from successful people.
12.) Track down your time thieves.
13.) Learn from the mistakes of others.
14.) Schedule time for each task.
15.) Remove all distractions.
16.) Learn from the mistakes of others.
So apply all these points in your daily life and see the changes.