10 Smart Ways to be More Productive
How big is your to-do list? If you’re anything like me, it’s probably huge and you’re looking for ways to be more productive.
Over the past couple of months my to-do list has ballooned out of control, from work, more time-intensive client projects, and some personal project that i started.
As a result, I’ve had to get very serious about how i utilize my time. I’ve had to become way more productive.
I’ve been searching with my productivity hacks to not only squeeze more time out of my workday, but to be more effective with that limited amount of time (which is what i believe productivity is really about).
The things is, if you’re like most people, you can find extra time to do the things you truly want — and need.
That’s why today, i will sharing my list of 10 surprisingly impactful productivity hacks to help you be more productive in all areas of you life.
1. Write down three of the most important tasks every morning
Each morning you should take the time to prioritize the top three tasks for the day. Be clear with what you write and use more than a three word description. For instance, “planning new campaign” is bad. Instead, use “make a set of alternatives to create awareness of brand A.” This will prevent you from drifting to semi-related tasks that don’t actually accomplish anything.
2. Learn to say “no”
For some people saying no is hard, but if you really want to elevate your productivity levels then you can’t let people order you around all the time — of course the exception would be your boss, but i’ll show you how to handle them in a bit.
For most people, a firm “no, i’m busy right now. I’ll let you know if i’m available later” should suffice.
But if it’s your boss who’s taking up your time, here what you should do :
- Let them ask you to do a new task
- Say “I’d love to handle that, but could you please look at this?”
- Show them your task list
- Say “which of these tasks would you like to delay to make time for this one?”
- Wait for their response
This is about as close to “no” as you’re going to get with your boss, but what’s great is that it keeps a professional air about you as you do it.
3. Procrastinate productively
You know that feeling you get after you realize you’ve just spent half an hour aimlessly browsing through your Facebook feed? Yeah, not a good one. So if you’re going to procrastinate, do it in a productive way. Look for something specific that doesn’t have to do with your work, so your mind can relax. My favorites are new books or discuss with colleague. For example, read something interesting that’s outside of what you would usually read. Set a tiny goal for what you want to get done with your procrastination time and you’ll feel a lot more energized and focused afterwards, instead of frustrated that you wasted your time.
4. Restrict Social Media usage to 30 minutes per day
We all know how it is. You just wanted to check an interesting Facebook status, or Instagram Stories, and the next thing you know you have become immersed in your friends’statuses, tweeted a few times and watched a few YouTube videos. As great as social media is, it can be a tremendous time waster. Set limits for yourself — around 20–30 minute per day and be more productive with extra hours in your day.
5. Check your phone no more than once an hour
Decreasing the frequency with which you look at your phone eliminates a major potential distraction that’s blocking you from being more productive. This will take time getting used to.
Since i believe discipline and willpower are way over-rated, building this habit will be much easier if you employ a set of triggers that reinforce the right behavior, in this case not looking at your phone more than once per hour.
I know that if my phone is next to my computer, i am probably going to look at it regularly. So to help myself build this habit, I physically place my phone out of sight when I am working. Otherwise, everyone I work with regularly knows that I check for texts about once an hour and emails twice a day. SSet the boundaries, and people will respect that
6. Write down things to remember as soon as they pop into your mind
I stole — OK, borrowed — this hack from a friend of mine, who carries around a little notebook and as soon as he thinks of something he needs to remember later, write it down. You can use a notebook, piece of paper, or a digital to-do list in your phone, but the goal is to move clutter from your mind into a list that you can check later.
7. Set deadlines for accomplishing every goal
Note for my To Do List : Finish this paragraph… later.
A simple note like that is the kiss of death for any task for me. I accomplish nothing without having a deadline or it. Without a deadline for a job, there will always be something more important. It will never jump up to your high priority task lists. Even if a task is not particularly time-sensitive, you still need to create a deadline. Otherwise, you are telling yourself that it is unimportant.
8. Pomodoro technique
I’m sure many of you have heard of this productivity hack, but how exactly does it supercharge your productivity?
The magic happens after repeated usage. Once this hack becomes habit, your ability to focus during the duration of the timer is 10x better. That’s why this tactic is so powerful. You can find everything you need to know about the technique here.
9. No screen time in bed and for 30 minutes leading up to bed time
Having a no screen policy in bed — TVs, phones, tablets, computers and otherwise- will dramatically increase the quality of your sleep and allow you to be more productive during your work day.
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute showed that exposure to light from computer or smartphone significantly lowered levels of the hormone melatonin, which regulates our internal clocks and plays a role in the sleep cycle. In the study, the researchers had volunteers read, play games and watch movies on their tablets or phone for various amounts of time while measuring the amount of light their eyes received. They found that two hours of exposure to a bright tablet screen at night reduced melatonin levels by about 22 percent — and low melatonin can affect your sleep quality and lead increases risk of cancer, heart disease, depression, and simply not feeling well or functioning well during the day.
10. Use the important/urgent task matrix
Do you often find yourself working tons only to find you didn’t get any “real” work done?
Then you should give this tip a try. Separate your tasks into one of four categories :
- Important & urgent (e.g. presentation due tomorrow)
- Important & not urgent (e.g. strategic plan, working on deadline two-weeks in advance, exercise)
- Not important & urgent (e.g. social media updates, phone calls)
- Not important & not urgent (e.g surfing and scrolling social media)
Important tasks are ones that contributes to your immediate livelihood & long-term goals, while urgent tasks are ones that require immediate action or have incoming deadlines. The idea is to focus on tasks in category #2 (important & not urgent), because by doing so you :
- Contribute to your immediate and long-term success
- Prevent yourself from dipping into category #!
Doing this will keep you focused on only the most important tasks. It also minimizes the chances of your tasks going “critical”, preventing burnout by trying to catch up on important task.
What other productivity hacks do you know? Leave a comment below with your answer because I’d love to add them to my list.
