Do you know what is common between ultra-achievers like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett with the rest of the people? It is the same 24 hours everyone has each day, but productivity sets ultra-achievers apart from the masses. It is up to you to either invest time and energy in something productive or waste time and resources seeking just pleasure. Whether you are working or a student and often could not accomplish all the tasks on your to-do list, it is because of bad practices that hamper your productivity at work. Being productive makes you more efficient owing to which you get more things done at the end of the day. Here are some tips that can help you to become more productive at work.
1. Know your type
Whether you are a day bird or a night owl, whichever best suits you, do your work at that time to become more productive at work because you can get more work done when you are most effective. However, you have to wake up early if you are doing a job or a student. So it would be better if you do some crucial things in the morning before going out for work, such as checking emails, going through a to-do list, reading something, doing exercises, or meditating for some time. Doing this will help you feel fresh, and you will start your day with a positive attitude.
2. Write it down
Write down your ideas, goals, tasks, and dreams on the notebook or on your smartphone, for which Apps like Evernote or Notes app can be pretty handy for these purposes. According to Dr. Gail Mathew, a Psychology professor at the Dominican University of California, you will likely achieve 42% more goals and dreams when you write them down regularly. Because when you complete the task and strike it off on your to-do list, it gives the sense of satisfaction that helps you to keep going throughout the day. However, if you write too many things on your list and fail to do it, you will feel bad at the end of the day. Instead, you must recheck your to-do list and strike off any unnecessary tasks, and by doing this, you will get important things done at the end of the day.
3. Time Management & Prioritizing your tasks
To become productive at work, you have to manage your time well; that’s why you should work smarter by allocating your time first to significant and complex tasks, subsequently go for urgent and non-essential tasks. Because when you give enough time to the critical tasks/goals would lead to positive outcomes and feeling of accomplishment and drive to keep moving forward. However, without adequate time management, you cannot produce quality work and cannot meet deadlines which can lead to an increase in stress. So, prioritizing the tasks is a crucial factor that can enhance your productivity at work.
Moreover, by giving preference to urgent and non-essential tasks as important ones, you will get less time for critical and challenging tasks. Also, you would not be in a position to accomplish complex tasks by the end of the day. Thus, one should achieve essential and complex tasks first or whenever you are most productive throughout the day.
4. Stop Multitasking
The skill of multitasking, which means doing multiple things at once, sounds like a must-have skill; however, multitasking is a myth, and you should stop doing it. Several studies have revealed that multitasking is a great productivity killer. Instead, you must do one task with complete focus on it at a time. Because you do multitask to do multiple things would increase your productivity rate, but actually, your mind switches from one task to another; as a result, it takes more time and mental energy to complete a task. Ergo, it is quite pertinent that you should not do multitask and do only one task with total concentration before moving on to the next task.
5. Minimize distractions- saying No
Being productive does not mean you should treat everything equally, so it is quite pertinent to learn how to say no to some things. By saying No to irrelevant things such as scrolling social media posts and watching Netflix- just for entertainment, you can minimize distractions that shackle your productivity and can spend your time efficiently. Also, it would be best if you took advantage of the time while doing mundane activities. For instance, checking emails, to-do lists, reading something, or listening to podcasts while commuting to your office.
6. Planning your day
Planning is yet another vital thing that can help you become super productive at the workplace, and when you do something as you planned, you accomplish more goals, and the best time to prepare the following day is at night. However, if you work without any planning, you will waste time and resources; thus, planning the work is essential to improve productivity at work.
7. Embrace new technology
As we live in a fast-paced world where things are changing fast, you need to embrace the new technologies to remain effective at work. Also, you need to develop a habit of researching new technologies or things in your industry and be up to date with the latest news. By following this practice, you will keep adopting new technologies that would ensure better productivity at your work and save you time, energy, and resources.
8. Keep improving yourself
It is an ideal practice to keep improving yourself as when you stop growing; you will soon become obsolete due to the market’s high competition. Therefore, it is imperative to have a keep improving attitude to remain productive at your work. Since specific strategies and everyday practices can help you sustain in your field but to make great progress, you have to keep improving yourself, which will help you to do outstanding work in your field.
9. Organize yourself and your working space
It is one of the essential aspects that can affect your productivity at work because if you do not organize, you cannot entirely focus on your goals. As a result, you may find it challenging to do your job, leading to lower productivity. Also, organizing the working space is pertinent as well because an organized workplace can help you to focus on your goals. Several studies have shown that organizing workspace can make you more productive at work.
10. Track your time
It is time that does not stop for anybody, and as time is a limited commodity, making the most out of time is crucial. So, it is paramount that you should track your time as to how much time you are spending on different tasks, for which smartphone Apps like Toggl, Everhour, Rescue time, etcetera, can be quite beneficial for tracking the time of various activities. Also, try to spend more time on things that give good results than things that cost you more time and resources and yield fewer outcomes. It is also known as Pareto Principle: 80/20 rule, according to which you should invest your time and resources on things that give you better results rather than investing resources on things that cost you resources and give less result.
11. Set realistic goals
The biggest reason owing to which we do not become successful in achieving our goals is pursuing unrealistic goals, so setting realistic goals is really pertinent for success. Because often, we do not get tangible results from our actions when we try to achieve unrealistic goals. As a result, we end up giving up on our goals. Instead, you should set realistic goals and further dividing them into subgoals in the form of daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals. In this way, you will keep on progressing towards achieving your goal by achieving mini-goals on the journey. Also, when it comes to goal setting, tracking the progress of goals is essential too.
12. Self-Discipline
Discipline is yet another important facet that is quintessential for better efficiency at work, as it is the discipline that helps you to keep going despite difficulties on the journey. To become effective at it, you must time block your tasks in 30, 60, and 90 minutes to get the work done. Apart from this, over discipline can often prove to be bane than boon, as a discipline needs you to keep doing things as per the routine, so it would be best to devote some time for creativity as well apart from doing things according to routine. For instance, finding ways to do things in new and better ways.
13. Take Breaks
Taking breaks off work in a scheduled manner is important for the brain. It does not matter how hard you try when you try to solve the problem and cannot figure it out. You may not get it even after trying many times to solve a problem with a trial-and-error approach or through other methods. But by taking the break— going for a walk or grabbing a cup of coffee, the mind processes the information; suddenly, a thought pops up in your mind, and you get to know: what were you missing. Several studies have shown that taking breaks at your work enhances productivity and creativity. Doing work for longer hours without taking breaks can lead to stress and anxiety; thus, taking breaks is essential for your mind to become creative and productive at work.
14. Perfection is a myth
It is very common for some people to be stuck on the task, and they keep on improving it to achieve perfection, as doing this perfection can become the productivity deterrent in your work. Instead, it would be better to do a task to the best of your potential, subsequently move on to the next task and come back after some time to the previous task rather than spending indefinite time on one task. In this way, it would not impact your productivity in a negative manner.
15. Set up boundaries
While you are working from home, it is best that you set up boundaries for the work, such as making a separate room as your office or set a workspace where you can work and ensure that there are no disturbances. Also, when you are working from home, there can be many ways by which you can be distracted from work; however, by setting up boundaries, you can become more productive at work and can achieve your targets a little faster owing to very few distractions and comfort of home.