Four Simple Tips To Being More Productive

Being more productive.

It’s something we all want (and need!) and yet we’ve all been in that place where we start on a task, get distracted and the next thing we know, an hour has passed and that task is still sitting there in all its uncompleted glory.

It’s a proverbial rabbit hole.

And while there’s no shortage of tips and tricks out there to help us, it’s not the lack of available advice that’s the problem. We all know what we should be doing.

It’s actually finding the time to implement those tips (it’s ironic, I know!).

As humans, we’re creatures of habit and once we have a way of working, it’s hard to introduce new behaviours.

So how do we go about it?

For me, I’ve found that keeping it simple is the best and easiest way to introduce change into your daily work habits. Start with small incremental and achievable steps, focussing on one or two to begin with. Then once those become habit, introduce a couple more.

Here are my top four tips to get you started on your path to productivity bliss!

1. Stop Multitasking

If you try to do too many things at once, you won’t do any of them well. It’s neither efficient nor effective and causes loss of speed and accuracy as your brain is busy trying to switch between information, never fully focussing on one thing. So just do one thing at a time. It might feel like you’re going more slowly but you’ll be saving time in the future by not having to fix mistakes and your clients and your team will thank you for it!

2 Prioritize Your Day

This one might seem obvious but it’s actually something that I see my clients struggle the most with. Take 10 minutes at the beginning of each day and make a list of what you need to achieve, starting with the most important or urgent. That way, if you do get distracted, you know you’ve already completed the “must-do” tasks in your day.

3. Eliminate Distractions

As I’ve said before, distractions are the thieves of time and your phone is one of the biggest. A recent survey by Screen Education showed that adults typically spend 2.5 hours per day accessing digital content that is unrelated to their work. That’s more than twelve hours a week. Turn off your non-work-related notifications to allow yourself to focus and spend your time where it needs to be.

4. Set Small Goals

These don’t have to be massive “life-changing” goals (although I recommend those too!). Start with something small you’d like to achieve each day or week and set a reward for yourself when you achieve it. This will incentivize you to continue on your path and make your bigger goals seem much more achievable!

By implementing these simple tips, you’ll be able to find more time in your day and end each one with a sense of achievement!