6 Great Productivity Hacks That You Should Know in 2021
Steps to Build Better Productivity Habits This Year
A friend of mine recently undertook a massive transformation in his life and committed to waking up at 5 am every morning for a morning swim and Yoga session. Watching his daily Instagram stories, I couldn’t wrap my head around how anyone could build up the motivation to do that. When I talked to him about it, he started recounting all the positive ways in which he started seeing a change in his life and mental wellbeing. There are accounts of famous people like Dwayne the Rock Johnson, who make it a habit to wake up before 4 am just to get the day started on the right foot, both for physical and mental wellbeing.
While these cases are exceptions and not the only viable way to feel productive about the way you approach life, there is a lot to be learned from them. It is not to say that you should also start working up in early AM hours and sacrifice your sleep because you definitely shouldn’t. People who sleep less are more prone to develop high-stress levels and produce more limited antibodies to combat diseases. Indeed, adults need to get 6 hours of sleep for optimized cognitive performance and limited sleep deprivation.
But, if you are organizing your time and schedule to wake up early and get enough sleep in the process, it might be a habit that can help you be more productive in the day. It is all about setting a goal and delivering to this commitment. To help you get there, here are 6 productivity hacks you should try out in 2021.
6 Top Productivity Hacks
Rid yourself of distractions.
We are exposed to a world where we need to be online and in sync constantly. Everyone is getting constant notifications, and a significant hit of dopamine with every single buzz on their device. Sometimes, the converse is true where people get stressed with every ping. People check their phones somewhere around 47 times a day. It is time we start removing these constant distractions. How about you block out a certain time during the day to check your notifications and then close them for the rest. Or, you can block notifications temporarily from some apps to stay focused.
Try the two-minute rule.
If you can get a task done and out of the way, do it now. If it looks like it’s gonna take longer, do it later. This will help you get your priorities straight and not waste any time. If there is a task you’ve been avoiding for too long, just prepare yourself to do it for only 2 minutes. The idea is that you will likely end up doing it for longer. For example, say your emails have been piling up as unread. Use an email declutter app to organize your inbox, inserting prioritization and categories.
Have you tried a to-do list?
To-do lists are necessary. Remember the calendar you bought at the beginning of the year to try and organize your schedule? It is time to bring it out from the stack on your desktop growing by the day. Data shows that 95% of people feel that their mental health improved after creating a list of tasks for each day. With this table of tasks, you outline what your daily targets are, and feel like you are working towards a goal. Try finding digital tools that will help you integrate your various calendars and to-do lists into one platform, such as Insumo.
You are free to procrastinate, for a limited amount of time.
Yes, it sounds counterintuitive, but it works! Block out a certain amount of time in your day to “waste time”. The Pomodoro Technique calls for working 25 minutes and then taking a 5-minute break. These mini-breaks help with productivity in your working hours!
Start exploring the Eisenhower matrix.
Yet another productivity technique that has come to my attention, the Eisenhower matrix is a time management technique that helps you prioritize tasks and distinguish them under four primary categories as outlined here: urgent and important, urgent but not important, not urgent but important, not urgent and not important. This will give you a better understanding of what to prioritize and how to delegate between tasks, as well as what to let go of.
Listen to music.
Some of my best work is completed when I find myself vibing to a great playlist. I make it a habit to categorize my playlists for different assignments and tasks I may be working on, or moods I might be in, helping me get more settled into “working mode”. Data on binaural beats show that different kinds of frequencies can help people focus more and eliminate distractions.
There is no one right way to tackle productivity and inhibit procrastination. But, these tactics can help you get started with the task on the right foot. To fully immerse yourself in the world of positive habit building, explore Insumo now.
