The hustle and bustle of everyday life is inevitable as long as you are human.
Getting a hold of some tips to increase your productivity daily is a must. Our time on Earth is filled with creating schedules, carrying out tasks, smashing goals and having fun when necessary. All these won’t be possible if our daily routines are constantly choked up with work and no space for a break.
Also, It is no news that all work and no play makes Jonathan a dull boy. Having great daily routines will lead to productive weeks and months, just like little drops of water make an ocean.
Tips to help you increase productivity
1. Plan Your Day
When you know what you are going to do the next day, you will have a better grasp of reality. By knowing what time you should be preparing or having breakfast, helping the kids have their bath, leaving home or drafting that presentation, you make things easier for yourself.
Besides, allocating a specific time frame for these activities also keeps you organised and helps you track your progress.
2. Create a to-do list
Having a to-do list is as important as keeping a bottle of water close to you so you are refreshed. You don’t want to create a list off the top of your head and mentally take note of tasks.
As a matter of fact, doing this can make you overwhelmed. This is because the time that should be spent working is spent taking mental notes. Furthermore, you can strike things off your to-do list to know how you fared for that day.
3. Delegate tasks
Simply assign tasks that you should do to other individuals based on their competencies and skills. Delegating tasks doesn’t make you lazy, it simply gives you ample time to focus on tasks that only you can perform. This is much needed if you are in a managerial or leadership role.
4. Utilise time blocking
Time blocking entails allocating specific time frames for different tasks. Take for instance, you have three tasks to do today – prepare a PowerPoint slide, draft a report and deliver items to a client.
You can schedule two hours (10 am – 12 noon) to prepare your slides, an hour (1 pm – 2 pm) to draft your report and one hour to do the delivery (2:30 pm – 3:30 pm). Such a schedule can help you minimise multi-tasking and increases your focus on one task to completion.
5. Mute social media notifications
A necessity and yet a poison, that is what social media is. Sadly, most people haven’t realised that in the face of a lengthy to-do list, using social media can be a major drawback.
As a result, you should mute your social media notification on your laptop and mobile phones. This will help you to resist the urge to check what’s trending online once you hear your phone beep.
6. Do not multitask
Inasmuch multi-tasking seems like a good idea because it makes you feel like a superhuman. However, multitasking is like using one hand to perform a task that needs your two hands.
It is easier to monitor your progress on a task when you focus solely on it for some time than when you juggle it with other stuff you have to do. The difference is clear.
7. Organise your workspace
Your workplace should not look like a warzone with different warriors fighting for dominance, it only increases instability and confusion as you go through tasks.
An organised workspace gives you a calm feeling of things being in order despite the long pending tasks on your to-do list.
8. Take a break
If machines can break down when they are not properly serviced and maintained, how much more we, humans? Temptation to be done with tasks can make you overwork yourself.
Make yourself take breaks during your busy schedule; get up for a glass of water or coffee, go to that colleague’s office to hear the latest gist or go for lunch. These activities and many more allows you to stretch your legs and give your body a much-needed break.
9. Prioritise tasks
There is a reason why scale of preference is taught in schools, infusing it into your everyday lifestyle is very important. Prioritise working immediately on a task you need to submit tomorrow rather than one that needs to be turned in next week Friday. After creating your to-do list for each day, remember to focus on those tasks first.
10. Set Reminders
The power of setting reminders is a small but mighty habit. Alarm clocks were invented for this reason and that is why they were installed on our mobile phones. Set alarms to remind you of important meetings, reports, get-togethers and other items on your to-do list. Save your brain the stress of remembering every little detail.
11. Create Routines
We take our baths daily, consciously or unconsciously. You aren’t bothered about whether you scrub your left arm first or your right second. You have repeated this action enough times to make your brain know what to do even if your mind is elsewhere.
That’s how important having a routine is. You can have a morning routine, a nighttime routine or any form of routine that will increase your productivity.
12. Learn to say no
You should stop feeling guilty anytime you say no to a friend, family member or colleague. Better to say no than to agree to perform a task and be unable to do so because of a tight schedule.
Additionally, saying yes to multiple things just adds more items to your to-do list shooting your workload up and in turn leads to stress.
13. Kill Procrastination
How many times have you sat down to prepare that report and decided to push it to the next hour, day or week? We have all been there. The best way to save time and have a smooth daily routine is to be disciplined enough to say no to procrastination.
14. Embrace your natural preferences
Do you love to prepare a healthy meal, munch on a snack or soak up cereal for breakfast? When do you prefer to work, at night or during the day? How do you prefer to workout, enroll for a gym class or do your workouts at home?
Just like there are many tips out there to help you smash your day, choose the one that suits you and your lifestyle.
15. Balance is Key
There is a reason why each planet stays in its orbit as it rotates around the sun. To excel in life, balance is needed. Knowing when to say no, when to take a break and when to put in the extra work.
In conclusion, the average person spends a significant part of his/her lifetime working, taking care of the home, loved ones and other duties. Make use of the above tips to smoothen your daily routine thereby boosting your productivity and soon you will be crushing your goals in no time.
