Five Top Productivity Tips for Planning Your Most Successful Year
The best year means different things for different people. If your best year ever means your most productive one, this article will help you achieve that.
With a few simple but powerful changes, you can increase your productivity in any area of your life.
This includes, career, home, or health and fitness. The following tips will result in less procrastination and more productivity in everything you do.
They will free up more time, increase your clarity of mind and help you avoid distractions.
Start implementing the following changes today got a more disciplined, structured and productive year.
- Stop multitasking
A few years ago, multi-tasking was all the rave in the self-improvement and productivity niche. Today, research is beginning to discover that it can actually undermine productivity. Several studies have already shown that multi-tasking can decrease focus and lower the attention span.
If you are used to multi-tasking, it's highly recommended that you stop. Instead, focus on one task at a time and give it your full attention.
How will this improve your productivity? You will produce better-quality and thorough work.
More importantly, you will avoid serious mistakes as well as having to redo tasks.
Multi-tasking can actually cost you more time and effort in the long run.
- Limit your consumption of technology
This one simple step will cause your productivity to skyrocket almost immediately.
Stay away from all technology when you're working, except for what you absolutely need for the task at hand. This means turning off all social media and entertainment, turning off phone alerts and keeping your phone on silent.
Hold yourself accountable for strictly keeping this rule. If necessary, get an app that blocks all social media and other distracting websites for a designated period of time to help you avoid temptation.
Likewise, train yourself to check and reply to emails just once or twice a day. This can also apply to phone calls that are not emergencies.
Technology is one of the biggest productivity killers. By strictly enforcing this rule, you'll find yourself focusing better and getting things done more quickly and efficiently.
- Slow down your morning routine
The mad morning rush is a typical scenario in so many households – and it can hugely diminish our productivity.
The way you start your day basically sets the stage for how the rest of it will go. For many of us, mornings are a frenzied scramble to get our act together, pack lunches, search for items of clothing and get everybody out the door – by which tie, we're already stressed and exhausted.
It's essential that your morning routine is low-key and calm. Get up half an hour earlier if you need to and enjoy a leisurely breakfast, exercise or meditate. Pack lunches and lay out clothes and other items the night before to avoid panic and stress.
All of this will put you in a calm frame of mind that will last throughout the day.
- Block time
This may sound clichéd but there's a reason why time management experts recommend it - it works!
Always block time for high- priority tasks. Always block time as well for tasks that require deep concentration such as writing reports, analyzing data and preparing presentations.
These are times when you take measures to ensure that you are not disturbed and where you separate yourself from any possible distractions.
Also, make sure the time you block is proportionate to the task at hand so that you can complete it efficiently without feeling rushed.
- Simplify your space
Studies have told us over and over that a cluttered space leads to a cluttered, over-stimulated mind.
That's one productivity killer.
A cluttered space also hinders productivity because you waste so much time looking for misplaced things.
Make sure your workspace is streamlined and minimal with all of your things organized neatly and near at hand.
Ditch or store away everything that you don't use on a regular basis.
When you declutter your space, whether it be your home, office or laptop, you will immediately feel relaxed and calm.
You can't help but become more productive.
Conclusion
A more productive year doesn't require months of planning; endless to-do lists or expensive time management courses. It doesn't mean depriving yourself of fun or cutting down on your social activities.
In fact, becoming more productive can actually give you more time to enjoy your life!
An amazingly productive year starts with these five simple steps that cost nothing and can be implemented today. They could be all that stands between you and your best year ever!