Quick productivity tips to supercharge your 2020

Now that 2020 is well underway, you might be wondering how to get as much done this year as possible.

Whether you’ve recently invested time in a new productivity technique like Pomodoro, or have refreshed your approach to the humble to-do list, you may still need a bit of a leg up.

The good news? There are some incredibly easy productivity techniques you can employ to get the most out of yourself in 2020.

Here are my favourites.

Stop using email as your task manager

Email is brilliant — I love it, even after all this time.

Unfortunately, it’s often misused, massively. People will turn to email to get your attention and expect an immediate response.

Don’t do this — and whatever you do, don’t use email as your task manager. Treat email like regular mail and check it a couple of times a day. You can do this.

Don’t try to multitask — it doesn’t work

Multitasking is useful in some walks of life, but it’s pretty dangerous at work.

The more tasks you try to undertake simultaneously, the more likely you are to let people down.

The reason is simple: your brain is at its best when it’s tasked with focusing on just one to-do at a time. That way, you can ensure the task in question gets the attention it deserves and is completed far more quickly that you might think possible.

Everything else can wait.

Close your door

Running an ‘open door policy’ is no bad thing, but if distractions are preventing you from getting your work done, it’s time to be a little more selfish.

When you have a big task or project that needs your full attention, don’t be afraid to close the door.

The more selfish you are with your time, the more stuff you’ll get done this year — as hard as it might feel at first.

Take a walk — regularly

When was the last time you got some exercise?

The brain is at its best when fed with oxygen, and if you spend all day sat in front of your computer, you’re starving it of a vital productivity ingredient.

You don’t need to head to the gym every day or train to climb Everest (unless you fancy that, of course); just a brisk ten-minute walk every day should be enough to get some much-needed oxygen and creativity into your brain.

Only work towards meaningful objectives

Humans are often rather bad at setting meaningful objectives. We’ll reach towards stuff which we think is important but which, in reality, is the opposite.

When devising your to-do list, make sure you only fill it with actions that help you take one step closer to a bigger goal.

That goal should be an objective that means something significant for your business or your personal growth, but whatever it is, make it the focus of everything you do.

Write as much as you can

This might sound odd if you’re not naturally inclined to write, but the more you put pen to paper, the more productive you’ll become.

Start a journal or kickstart that regular company blog you’ve been promising yourself. Whatever you decide to write, make sure you do it consistently.

Wrapping up

I’ve only scratched the surface above, but by working these tiny adjustments into your daily life, I reckon you’ll become more productive this year than you ever thought possible.

What have I missed? Get involved below!