How to be more productive in life top simple steps you need to follow to be a perfect at your work and life
Small adjustments can lead to more lasting changes, but they can take time and discipline. It seems really easy when you are reading a productivity article like this to think that it is easy. But it is not. I am not writing this from an expert point of view, but from a co-worker in the fight against distraction.
So be patient and kind through difficult times and try again. Well, now we are ready:
How to be more productive
1. Make a reasonable list of pending tasks.
Do not be sad. Task lists often fail because we make them too complex or the tasks are uneven. Some tasks will take lot weather; others will not take any time. This creates an imbalance in the way we distribute our time. What happens then is that our list of tasks becomes a procrastination tool. Yes, that is correct. Because then we make things easy, and then we get very distracted by the difficult things.
2. Set small goals for tasks.
With each new project or task, the scope may seem too big. But once you begin to break it down and realize what you can achieve, you will notice how each part is based on the other.
One of the easiest and most practical things you can do is divide your marketing project or deliver it into smaller objectives. What are the necessary parts and assets? Who do you need to talk to first? Break these pieces before you even set timelines, and then figure out how long it will take you to complete. Understand the scope of what is asked, setting the steps and then estimating the necessary time will help you understand what is being asked of you. Sometimes, what looks like a big project will not take long, or vice versa?
3. Concentrate on one goal at a time.
How do you determine what is important? How does your organization determine what is important?
Well, whatever your company's priority is, it's your job to execute. One way to do this is through the 90-90-1 rule. It also works if you're running a team.
This is what it does: dedicate the first 90 minutes of your day for 90 days to the most important task. Suggested by human resources guru Robin Sharma, he will focus his priorities before the day starts.
It is also very practical. It is not spending all your time every day on one thing.
You can also configure projects to focus on this single goal and make sure it aligns with your
4. Follow your time to identify patterns.
Keeping track of your time, even if no one asks for it, can help you understand your work habits and the time of day when the work ends most successfully. Track your time efficiently, knowing what your technology habits are, from checking your email to the frequency with which you visit your favorite websites or social networks can affect your workday considerably.
By rearranging some of those things, you may be able to do more. Keeping track of your time for one or two weeks will help you see where your time is going, and help you better estimate your # 1 goals a little better next time. The next time you are asked to repeat a task, you will have a better idea of the amount of time needed.
You will also notice problem areas, in which you tend to be less productive or identify certain programming peculiarities with which you can work, such as weekly meetings or appointments or even when that co-worker comes to talk for a few minutes.
One method that can help is a bullet diary. This is my favorite breakdown of how to make that happen, complete with symbols!
5. Find a method to delegate and follow up.
It is one thing to give tasks and projects to your team; another thing is to make sure they finish the job and do it. Then, approving it for approvals is another piece of the pie that you must address. Finding a reliable method to track your team's projects will make your work more efficient. Collaboration tools and project management software can definitely help with this (more on this later), but you must also commit to using tools like this to not disappoint your co-workers. But your individual part is also important in this. The more you update and continue with the following steps, you will also help your co-workers to stay on track.
6. Create a proactive panel.
I stole this idea from Noah Kalgan, the founder of AppSumo. Essentially, this is a measurable list of tasks. If you realize that a certain task is having a great effect on our business or is a necessary task that you should continue to perform, list the number of times you need to do that task each week. The goal here is to record the entries, not just the results.
This is especially useful for sellers. If you know that you need to tweet or write a certain number of LinkedIn posts, you can list them and make sure you make that number for the week.
7. Calculate your 2 peak hours.
Some of us are people in the morning; some of us are night owls. But the modern business environment does not always accommodate that. Maybe the office does not open until 9, but its peak is from 5 to 7 am Personally, I find high levels of energy when most people are finishing their day, around 4 pm to 7 pm and then after 8 pm. I often take some of that time on purpose or schedule less strategic tasks for hours when I'm not that focused. It is suggested that we should find at least 2 hours a day to immerse ourselves in the most difficult strategic work and leave the other hours for meetings or less urgent tasks.
It will also identify the patterns and when it might perform "deep work" or the idea of a focused work for longer periods of time. This is the concept of the Georgetown professor, Cal Newport. Some jobs (such as responding to emails) are superficial, while others (such as devising new campaign concepts or intense photo editing) may need a more focused time or a "job". Deep".
8. Choose a task and then do it.
This is very difficult because sometimes our projects are not a 30-minute work or an hour. It can take 8 hours or several days. What is the answer then? Divide it into a task and then perform that task until it is complete. But how long should it be? And what is reasonable? I think most of our days are divided into four segments. Which then is really 45 to 50 minutes? We have meetings that start on the hour or we take a lunch hour or we schedule a call for one hour. Working constantly for 45 minutes on one thing makes sense, but it is very difficult.
The Commodore technique suggests 25-minute blocks of time, with brief pauses of 5 minutes, followed by longer pauses later.
Commodore helps you eliminate interruptions and help you estimate how much a certain task will take you. Read more about the Commodore technique in this article.
9. Throw things and order them.
Did you know that your physical environment impacts your work? And I do not mean just if you work in a "great" office or not. Depending on your company and your role in the company, that is beyond your control. But you can control your workspace. It helps you to be more productive when you do not have to hunt and peck for what is missing. You will save time by not doing that. You will also get more clarity and focus on your tasks at hand. Check out more tips here.
10. Find time to walk or exercise.
I have worked in office parks, in downtown business districts, and from my home. And in each place, I try to find time to walk at least once a day. That could be around the parking lot, on the street or in the park, and it's more refreshing than anything else on social media.
It is not about staying fit or losing weight, it is not that they are bad things. But exercise can help you be more productive because it increases your alertness. Because it increases blood flow and cardiovascular health, you will be less anxious, more focused, and more able to cope with stress.
11. Stop and reflect.
When you are responsible for taking out several projects, you have to take a step back and see what is working, what is not, what should be prioritized and what should be changed. Creating time to review is not wasting time, but it optimizes your work to move forward. For more information on post-project reflection, check out this publication.
12. Follow the rule of 2 pizzas for meetings.
Meetings can definitely slow down the momentum, especially when there is a large crowd of 30 people to "exchange ideas". We know how that goes. The same people who always speak will speak. The silent will remain silent.
If theoretically, you have to order more than 2 pizzas to feed the team that you are meeting, then it is too big. There will not be enough discussion. Not enough ideas will be expressed. On the other hand, if you have a team formed only by people who would eat two pizzas, more vibrant ideas will emerge. More people do not is necessarily equal to better ideas or faster action. It slows things down considerably.
People are less interested and feel less responsible if the idea gets stuck and stagnates. The responsibility is lost.
13. Group similar tasks together.
When we switch between tasks, we naturally create friction. Starting and stopping. Opening and closing. Start and end. All those little moments add up and break our concentration. Then we get distracted and forget why we were even checking something in the first place. But the way to reduce the change of tasks is to group the similar ones. Do not respond to a single email and then continue. Answer all of them and they do not return until several hours later. Or group all your emails together. And on that note...
14. Stop multitasking.
Because the change is making us more tired. It is taking energy from the brain to change and change so often. We are not being more productive, we are skimming the surface of things. The modern work environment will not support you in your search to be more focused; it’s an almost impossible task when Slack, Skype, and Salesforce are competing for our attention.
Here is a quote from a more reputable person than me. Neuroscience behavior professor Daniel Levi tin at McGill says: "That change carries a biological cost that makes us feel tired much faster than if we keep our attention on one thing." And you know what else? Caffeine will not necessarily help us. In fact, we probably just need to take a break for a while. Once again, Professor Levi tin: "People eat more, drink more caffeine. Often, what you really need at that moment is not caffeine, just a break. If you do not take regular breaks every two hours, your brain will not benefit from that extra cup of coffee.
15. Be responsible for another person.
For those who work in teams, this seems obvious. The use of an automated project management system will notify you of the next task when it is finished. But you may also need responsibility in daily tasks. For example, if you met the objectives in your proactive control panel (see # ...), or spent another time in a brainstorming strategic or in the creation of campaigns. But find someone you trust who will support you and not hit you for your failure. You need an animator. This could be your supervisor, but it is most likely a colleague who can help you stay on track. And maybe you can help them too.
16. Ask for help about things you do not understand.
If you are proud (like me!), you do not like to ask for help with things that you think you should be able to do. This manifests itself in my life taking too much time trying to format an Excel sheet or create the perfect PowerPoint presentation. Instead, smart people ask for help. And, in fact, their colleagues see them as smarter. Not to mention that this could save you a lot of long-term time. Yes, at the beginning it can be difficult to lose a few extra minutes here and there to watch a video or call a helpline, but in the end, it will help you be more efficient with those tasks.
17. Get sunlight.
According to recent productivity studies, your productivity and alertness will increase with more natural light. Why do you think that office with windows is in such demand? It also affects the circadian clock time which then affects your waking state and fatigue.
I used to work in office buildings where I was also in the middle of the floor or stuck in a conference room without a window. Also, where I live, it would get dark early in the winter, including the last part of the workday. Not well. What I can do? I bought a light box to add additional brightness to my workspace. Try it if you are in a similar position.
18. Look at the photos of stuffed animals
This is a little crazy and you may not believe it, but sharing and looking at pictures of cute animals actually increases the attention span. You do not believe me thisme thisditional science. If you have a problem with this, then you have a problem with science itself (j / k). But in reality, a Japanese study measured performance after observing cute animals. Yes, they actually did.
