How To Be More Productive At Work
How do you pack 100 hours into 24 hours?
Twelve letters — P.R.O.D.U.C.T.I.V.I.T.Y.
With so many things to get done, do you ever wish you had more than 24 hours in a day? Just to finish everything on your to do list and have some peace of mind? But you know better. It’s not about how many hours you have in a day. It’s all about how much work you can pack in during those hours.
So how do you make those hours count? Well, look no further for answers. Let me tell you about 14 ways to boost your productivity at work. And it goes something like this (Whadup Madonna reference!)-
1. Wake up Early
The early risers around us seem just a tad more happier, a tad more chirpier and extra productive. How you start your day can set the tone for the rest of the day for you. This is still something where I’m learning to practise what I preach. Trust me, waking up an hour earlier and comfortably powering through your tasks is better than to wake up an hour late and play catch up with time for the rest of the day. Waking up earlier means not having to rush through your morning. You’re in a much better mood this way and it gives you a head start. So when others are rushing through their mornings to get to office, you’re already there, all cool, calm and collected, and ready to conquer the day ☀️
2. Maintain a To Do list
Jotting down everything that you need to get done will help you keep an eagle’s eye on the tasks at hand. This way, you prepare your brain for what’s up ahead of you, so when it’s time for you to get started for the day, you can get right down to business. And nothing beats that feeling of achievement you get when you start striking off things off that list ✅
3. Do the most difficult tasks first
Your first few hours of the day are the ones where you’re the most fresh and your brain is at it’s productive best. No really. During my first sprints at work, I’m still smelling good, my winged eye liner hasn’t smudged yet and my hair has no frizz. I feel like I can move mountains! So it makes so much more sense to get all of the painful and difficult stuff out of the way first. It’s better not to put it off for later because the later in the day it is, the more tired your brain gets
. Plus, getting the more difficult tasks out of the way will make the other things on your to do list look so much more easier and doable. Win win 🎯
4. Set mini goals
No one’s defined the threshold for what considers as a job well done. Instead of setting a deadline of writing a 1000 word blogpost in one go, break the task into smaller goals, of say writing 500 words in a go. The task of writing 500 words seems much less intimidating and more achievable. The exhilaration you get by completing that goal of writing 500 words will tide you over to write the next 500. You can do it! 🏁
5. Reward yourself on completing those small goals
I’ve found myself do something with a lot more dedication when there’s a reward involved at the end of that finish line. Everyone loves rewards. So, that 3 minute stand up video by your favourite comedian that was just posted on Youtube? Or that yummy chocolate bar that you have your eye on? Achieve a work goal before you let yourself watch that or eat that. It’ll feel much sweeter this way🍫
6. Find your most productive hours
Okay you work 9 hours a day, officially. But how many hours of those 9 do you REALLY work? Everyone has a time frame where they feel the most productive throughout the day. Early morning, the hours after lunch or even late night when everyone’s left for home. I find myself at my productive best when it’s night time and everyone’s left for home. So identify these hours and get most of your work done then. Don’t only work hard. Work smart 💡
7. Plug in and zone out others
There are times when the chit chat around you can be too distracting. I know how important those conversations about last night’s SuperBowl half time performance are, Susan. But Justin Timberlake talks can wait till your free time. So it’s okay to plug in, go into the do not disturb mode and avoid all the chatter and distractions around you.
8. Stay away from your smartphones
Speaking of distractions, it’s time to turn off those small pieces of technology in your pockets called smartphones. Or even put them on silent if turning them off is too dramatic. Honestly, this is something that I need to learn doing for myself too. But just imagine how much time we can save at work if we’re not scrolling past our Instagram feeds and guffawing at the relatable AF memes 🙈
9. Declutter your work space every night before leaving for home
I can’t even imagine how annoying would it be to come back to a messy table first thing in the morning. A clutter free space will help you focus better at your projects in hand. And while you’re at it, also think of some ways in which you can beautify your table. A flower vase here, some of your favourite picture frames there, with your favourite figurines sprinkled in nooks and crannies. Happy and clean workplace = better productivity ⚡️
10. Work from somewhere else
Everyone knows how refreshing a change in your usual surroundings can be. So apply the same thing at work. Move around and try to work from different places around your office. You don’t even have to sit. People in my team love finding standing tables to work from. Burns calories they say 👀
Cafeterias, meeting rooms, someone’s else’s table, your office balcony, terrace, anything works! Just move away from your usual workstation and see it work it’s magic ✌️
11. Be accountable
Hold small stand ups and tell your team what you’re trying to achieve every day. This will make you accountable for your work and drive you to complete mini deadlines that you set for yourself. You don’t want to fall short and end up disappointing your team, do you? 😛
12. Prioritise your tasks
There are some tasks that are more important than others or has a deadline approaching earlier than the others. So, instead of trying to do everything together, create a list and prioritise the most important tasks and finish them off. This way, you won’t have to rush through everything and can take your time with the others 🕒
13. Avoid having too many tabs open at once
I know, I know, you need to read everything on those tabs and all the tabs are very very important. But too many open tabs will only result in unnecessary distractions AND slow down your system. Ain’t nobody got time for laggy systems 🙅
If you’re someone who loves having pending work open in different tabs, use apps like The Great Suspender (it’s a Chrome extension yay!) which suspends a tab if you have it open for a long time, without any activity. This means that your open tabs won’t block any of your system’s memory anymore.
14. Use Productivity apps
I love getting external help from apps which make my life a lot more easier. For example, there have been instances where I’m writing a blogpost and suddenly get a desktop notification saying my friend tagged me in a new meme. There’s a 100% chance I would tap on that notification and check it out right at that moment. Bad move. Because 10 minutes later, I’m watching a totally unrelated Facebook video about 10 reasons why you should invest in bitcoins. This breaks my flow and leaves me with no recollection of those funny millennial references I came up with for my blogpost(story of my life!). So I use apps which break me away from these distractions.
- Zenpen is a personal favourite when it comes to blogging. It gives me a distraction free writing zone which helps me focus only on my writing. Read all about my favourite useful blogging tools here
Productivity comes in many forms. For me, replacing boring displays with exciting beautiful ones does just the trick.
- Which is why I love the Momentum Chrome extension. It replaces that plain and simple new tab page with a beautiful picturesque dashboard where you can also type in your to dos for the day and check these off throughout the day. It also displays pretty motivational quotes. I’ll take every chance to have a beautiful work table, complete with a beautiful desktop.
There are tons of other productivity apps you can explore. Give this a read- https://medium.com/the-mission/25-productivity-apps-to-explore-in-2018-dc4a3fb9a8a2
So there you have it. Make these small changes and see those 24 hours become so much more stress free. Is there anything you follow to be more productive at work? Don’t just keep it to yourself then. Tell us in the comments! 👇
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