15 Simple Ways To Boost Productivity
Being more productive at work isn’t rocket science, but it does require being more careful about the way to manage your time. If you feel like you don’t have sufficient time to organize everything you want to do, possibly it’s time to check in with your time management skills. No one is born to be good at time management, so that’s fine if you’re not good at it. But everyone can learn to boost their productivity and accomplish more!
The key is to work smarter, not harder. As the saying goes, “it’s not the number of hours you put into work, it is the quantity of work you put in those hours.” There are several hours in a day, so making the most of your time is important. There are two ways to raise your output–either set in more hours or work smarter. The answer would be to work smarter.
Productivity is important for a team’s success. Business holders, managers, and executives all want to get the most from their employees, but if you’re failing to implement your productivity strategies, then challenging your employees to be productive is ineffective. Everyone needs to get more done in their day and feel accomplished as each day comes to an end.
Sometimes we aren’t as productive as we would like, we have bad habits that confine our productivity and we’re reactive rather than proactive, hitting out fires instead of making progress toward our goals. The solution is we can exchange our bad habits and reactive with good habits that will make us proactive, and take charge of workdays.
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This article will help you through 15 simple but effective strategies to boost productivity. Follow these steps on how to boost productivity and become your best and most productive self at work.
15 Simple Ways: How To Boost Productivity
1. Stop multitasking
According to research multitasking is never productive. If you think to become multitask, then you need to think again. For maximum productivity, concentrate on one thing at a time.
Research shows that productivity can be reduced by as much as 40% by the mental blocks formed when people switch tasks. So stop doing everything at once. Psychologists have said that doing numerous tasks at once can result in lost time and productivity. Instead, try to make a habit of committing to a single task before moving on to your next project.
The human brain isn’t wired to multitask. Switching between numerous tasks limits your focus, hampers working memory, and raises stress and mental fatigue. To boost your productivity by focusing on only one task at a time get them done effectively.
2. Plan each day the night before
To-do lists or planning each day the night before, as you already know, is a great productivity tool. They help you stay organized and focused. It is a precious productivity supports.
Making a to-do list before going to bed gives you a head start on your morning as you’ve already planned what needs to be done in a day. However, it’s very important to note that your to-do list shouldn’t include more than two or three items. Keep it accurate and simple. Stuffing numerous items on your list will only make you feel disoriented and overwhelmed.
Making a to-do list each night means that you won’t waste time looking for your task at the start of the workday. If you jotted down your list a day before but it felt as if I had done half the work of it all in my head already. The next day, you are supposed to look at the task and get it done.
3. Break up work periods by exercise
It has been made known by research has physical activity improves brain function. And improved brainpower will give you upgraded concentration, more creativity, and faster learning. Exercise increases the brain’s affective skills. If you want more value for the money, exercise during work hours.
It is to be well known that 65% of employees who used their company gym at lunchtime are more productive and have better personal networks with their colleagues than those who didn’t use the gym at lunch. Studies show taking regular breaks helps attention and boost your mood. Take a ten-minute walk around the office, or spend 15 minutes grabbing that mid-afternoon coffee.
According to a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine using work time to exercise may help to improve productivity. If possible, set times throughout the week for taking a walk or going to the gym.
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4. Delegation
The most powerful skill to boost your productivity is the ability to delegate effectively. Once you’ve started using it, you’ll be shocked at just how much faster and easier your job is. For many managers and business people, delegating is like a polar bear swim; they dive in actively but jump out just as fast.
Delegation comes with a portion of the risk, which is important for improving the confidence and job satisfaction of an employee. Delegate responsibilities to qualified employees that have a verified track record with success in a specific field, and trust that they will perform the tasks very well.
5. Follow the “two-minute rule”
The idea of the 2-minute rule is that if something will take two minutes or less to complete, you should just do it. Don’t think about it, don’t add it to your to-do list, don’t set it off for later. Hit it out.
According to entrepreneur Steve Olenski’s study, if completing tasks takes two minutes or less, saves your time then start doing now. A plan that couldn’t be easier to use is the two-minute rule, which is planned to help to stop delaying and stick to good habits at the same time. The rule is easy starting a new habit should never take more than two minutes to do.
The other feature of the two-minute rule is that any goal or habit can be started in less than two minutes. This doesn’t mean you’ll be able to complete every task in 2 minutes, but starting new goals is the first step to achieving them!
Not every day will be perfectly productive; don’t exhaust yourself up over it. Instead, relocate your energy and use these tips. The “2-Minute Rule” seems simple enough, but it’s a method that works to preserve a system of productivity.
6. Be optimistic
According to the studies, happy people are more productive. An optimist person can stop unhappiness, increase social connection, increase performance on the job, increase accomplishment, and make you more strong to face setbacks.
In a Maastricht University Study of optimism and performance in call centers, results showed that optimists in the verified group made more sales and achieved more bonuses. More specifically, it was only intellectual optimists who showed greater success. If you’re not a certainly optimistic person, this is the nature you want to promote—and the best part is that you can.
Researchers have found that positive emotions can intensely improve the decisions, the opportunities we follow or not, the social connection, the direction of our careers, the work-life balance, and the level of performance at work.
7. Eat the frog
Studies say to develop the lifelong habit of tackling your most important task first thing each morning means to start with the most challenging one. Mostly, in the morning that you are in the best shape. Rather than draining your energy on completing secondary tasks, it is better to use this energy to complete the most difficult and important task of the day, your real priority. For example, calling a client, writing a financial report, or developing your business plan. This is the whole principle of the ‘Eat the Frog’ method.
The key to attainment high levels of performance and productivity, “Discipline yourself to begin immediately and then to continue until the task is complete,” said a motivational speaker. We all push aside big goals because we’re not confident we’ll accomplish them. And by the time we start to think about them, we’re too exhausted from our day to give it the attention it needs. That’s how projects are delayed into additional days and making it feel like productivity has disappeared.
Understanding when and how you completed those big projects on time. There is no set timetable for everyone so the first thing in your day would be to tackle the big tasks.
8. Cut down your to-do list
Sometimes people pen down lots of items in their typical to-do list? It may be Seven? Twenty-seven? Don’t bother you’ll feel good when you finish each of them and cross them off. Nevertheless, you’ll never join the ranks of the productivity icons if you cross off some of them before you even bother to do them—because higher productivity demands focus. Getting attentive means thinning your options. So each night when you’re revising your to-do list, ask yourself two questions;
- What are the important tasks on this list?
- How many of these important tasks can I truthfully accomplish or make important progress on tomorrow?
There are lots of benefits of creating a to-do list, a not-to-do list is also a productivity game-changer. The idea is to make a list of all of those activities you’re planning to stop over. Take some time to study the things that aren’t contributing to your personal and professional goals, any unproductive habits that you need to remove. Now cut down your list based on that self-analysis and work on integrating those changes into your daily routine.
9. Reduce distractions
Maintaining a reliable, stable workflow the best way is to be task-oriented and ultimately successful, irrespective of what you do for work, or where you work. To effectively limit distractions, you need to be planned. At the beginning of every workday, make a plan to prioritize your work, stay on task, and complete the day feeling accomplished. To do so, you’ll need to implement a few specific rules that you set for yourself, to get the best possible result out of your workday.
i) Put your phone in airplane mode– The phone is one of the most challenging distractions to overcome. The study showed that the average American checks their phone 80 times in a single day. Do yourself a favor put your phone on airplane mode while working on an important project.
ii)Stop checking your email- Peeping at your inbox over and over can decrease your productivity, sucking time out of your day without producing any sort of positive outcome. So, shut down your email application or browser window, and make a schedule for reading through your email.
iii) Find a distraction-free workplace- You need to find which place you’re able to remain more focused and productive may be in a coffee shop, a library, at home, or even a shared workspace. Explore with different settings on different days, and take a look at your time-tracking data on timing to measure how productive you were.
iv) Use a website blocker app- If you feel you are distracted by online shopping, games, the stock market, or the news, try using an app to block distracting sites. Focus on an app that will help you to stay on way by momentarily blocking sites or applications of your choice.
v) Set goals- Each morning, try to set 3–5 achievable goals that you can accomplish by the end of the day. Repeating yourself with those goals throughout the day will help you stay on task and avoid distractions.
vi) Reward yourself with short breaks- If your work is especially fatiguing or mentally challenging, take short breaks to refresh and reset. A 10 or 15-minute break can give you the mental peace and clarity you need to work fast and efficiently.
vii) Listen to music or wear noise-canceling headphones- Some people may find that a bit of ambient noise keeps them on track and focused. In that case, find an album or Spotify station that supports you in getting work done.
viii) Use time-tracking- You may be distracted on various social sites, applications, and websites – so if you see that you spent 35 minutes on that in the middle of the day, there’s no hiding from Timing. Ultimately, timing keeps you answerable for how you spend your time. Check your summary at the close of each day to see how focused and task-oriented you were.
10. Get organized
According to research people with an untidy workspace are less effective and more frustrated than those who have an organized work desk. Untidiness limits your brain’s ability to concentrate and process information which in turn, contributes to tension and tiredness. To improve your mental health and work efficiency by decluttering your workstation. Start segregating all the non-essential items and assigning a proper place to all.
When the chaos collects, our attention reduces and performance can suffer as a result. When your brain, time, workspace, and projects are prepared, it becomes easier to rearrange both your activities and views. We observed some of the most actual ways to get organized, in every sense of the word, so that productivity will come naturally.
11. Use time efficiently
Time management is proficiency, which implies it can be educated, learned, practiced, and polished. Like any talent, it takes a fight to boost, especially because getting better at time management requires learning new activities. However, the effort is a good value because when your time is achieved well, you can be more productive and perform at a higher level.
Here are five-time management habits to work on these to create the space you need to complete more work in a day.
- Make a schedule and stick with it.
- Set clear expectations and deadlines.
- Break down massive tasks into smaller steps.
- Take breaks.
- Make lists and prioritize tasks.
Be creative with your time. Recall, we all have the same number of hours each day as it was given to others. Now the action step is you can use the time waiting for appointments or waiting in line to catch up on material you need to read and use today’s tools to significantly increase productivity. Look at the actions that complete your day and change ways they could either be done more efficiently or removed.
12. Snack Smart
An important part of maintaining productivity is to stay fueled. Scientific works have shown that a lot of portions of fruit and vegetables are eaten per day, the happier, more engaged, and more creative people will be at work. Food directly affects our cognitive performance. Whatever we eat is converted by our body into glucose, which provides energy to our brains. When glucose is less, it’s difficult to focus, and our attention shifts. It shows it’s hard to concentrate on an empty stomach.
High protein snacks like almonds, peanuts, or high fiber snacks like Greek yogurt with granola are great energy boosters. The foremost thing is to make your eating decisions before you get hungry and make healthy snacking easier to achieve than unhealthy snacking.
13. Pay attention to yourself
The American Sleep Association notes that over 30% of people aged 20 to 39 and 40% of those aged between 40 and 59 reported getting less than the recommended amount of sleep. Getting enough sleep getting seven to nine hours of sleep each night is crucial for your physical and mental well-being.
If you are well-relaxed elevates mood, boosts creativity, reduces stress, and improves memory. It also increases your focus and improves your ability to exactly make immediate decisions. Practicing and making exercise part of your routine are just two of the things you need to do every day to be at your best and most productive.
- You probably know the rest.
- Eat a healthy diet.
- Drink lots of water.
- Break up with your unhealthy habits, whether it be smoking or moving with toxic people.
And be nice to yourself more than to others. Take care of your time and do whatever (healthy) thing recharges and refreshes you. The healthier you are, the more creative you’ll be. And the more creative you are with your work, the more time spends however you like.
14. Reward Yourself
According to a recent study people who received instant, frequent rewards for completing small tasks testified more interest and more enjoyment in their work, as compared with people who received late rewards only given out at the end of a long project. Frequent rewards motivate one to continue the task and perform well. To stay motivated for your work, reward yourself now and then. Keep track of your small wins or milestones, celebrate them. So to see how far you’ve come whenever you check your struggle about your progress.
The important aspect of the reward is the immediacy – you need to immediately reward yourself when the task is done, rather than delay it to the end of the week or month. The research suggests by allowing yourself to be rewarded more frequently and right after you complete a task you’ll develop a more positive attitude about your work, which makes you motivated, more engaged, and produce better results.
15. Get Enough Sleep
Getting good sleep and proper rest are important parts of keeping your productivity level high. Set a definite amount of time for working and another shorter period for resting. Removing distractions before bed like your cell phone, computer, or TV can help relax your mind and give you a more satisfying sleep.
If you’re finding yourself drowsy during work, you may want to reexamine how much sleep you’re receiving. According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults should be getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night, though sleep may vary depending on your exact age group. The better you sleep, the easier it will be for you to learn and process new information and recall it during the day.
Early-morning commutes, long work hours, and too many responsibilities at home mean that increasing numbers of people aren’t getting the time to sleep they need. If you’re not getting sufficient time then taking a nap during the day could be beneficial to your productivity.
Few added tips
Have an end-of-day review -Evaluate your to-do list to examine what you accomplished, what you could have done more efficiently, and what you want to get done tomorrow. Look at your daily planner and check off those items you’ve completed.
Treat each day as unique – When you plan each day, take into consideration the most suitable activity for that day. Look at the activities that fill your days and try to assemble them by what you do. Make a list of those activities that take up the most important part of your day and see if you can club numerous similar tasks into a specific day or period.
Prioritize your most important activities – Start writing the important tasks and arrange them in order of priority. Concentrate on the most important activity until it’s over. After completing one task, recheck your priorities and tackle the next most important one. This process leads to a better sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. Plan appointments with yourself to work on the projects that are most important to you.
