8 Tips To Become More Productive

Many of us are on the hunt to find new ways to live a more productive life. It’s hard to remain optimistic when you feel like you just can’t manage to get caught up.

Here are eight tips for becoming more productive in your personal or professional life.

1. Set Up a Calendar

Between all your doctor’s appointments, after-school activities, and parent-teacher conferences, while trying to get to yoga class on time, it’s hard to keep track of it all. The first step toward being more productive is to organize your schedule.

Office 365 Calendar offers a free version with your Outlook email that enables you to import all your valuable events and schedule reminders for yourself throughout the day. Other options for calendars include Google Calendar, Apple iCloud Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

2. Tackle Easy Tasks First

When your to-do list starts to look overwhelming, the easiest chores first. This will give you the satisfaction of checking off some boxes before lunchtime, which should motivate you to continue moving onward with the rest of your tasks.

3. Avoid Multitasking

You might believe multitasking and productivity would be synonymous. But the truth is, multitasking may be detrimental to your goal of becoming more productive.

You might find yourself working more slowly because you’re trying to complete more than one task at a time rather than giving each the focused time it requires. This could lead to your feeling more overwhelmed as unwelcome stress builds.

4. Take Mandatory Breaks

According to research, taking frequent breaks throughout the day can lead to a more productive life (especially if you work behind a computer screen).

The Pomodoro Technique suggests working for twenty-five minutes followed by a five-minute break. This is just enough time to recharge your brain and help you to focus on the task at hand.

5. See Where You Can Delegate

It’s hard to give up the reins of power. If you’re a type A personality, you’re accustomed to being in charge of every little detail.

But that’s not going to help you become more productive. Some of the most effective people are the ones who know how to delegate their responsibilities.

Need to create social media content for your small business? Hire out freelance work through a contractor. Not able to cook dinner because the kids have soccer practice? Order Doordash for the night instead.

6. Find Your Peak Hours

Some people are night owls and others are early birds. Most of us have a point sometime in the day when we have the most natural energy. This is typically a two-to-three-hour window when you’d get the most out of tackling some of your most critical and even difficult tasks.

If your peak hours are between seven and ten in the morning, don’t spend those first few hours checking your emails. Instead, hyper-focus on a vital project that has a rapidly approaching deadline.

7. Design Your Ideal Work Space

Regardless of your line of work, everyone needs an environment that promotes our ideal work style. Odds are it’s way past time to declutter and organize your space.

Add plants and other greenery to bring the area to life. Adjust your work desk to get closer to a window where you can enjoy more natural light.

Place your whiteboard where it’s easily accessible, with all your necessary tools like dry-erase markers and sticky notes. In sum, identify what works best for you and create an ideal workspace.

8. Improve Your Emotional Intelligence

A study conducted in 2021 found that people who had high levels of emotional intelligence ended up receiving higher salaries. Why would this be the case?

Strong emotional intelligence refers to a better sense of self-control and awareness. These are two factors that contribute a lot toward a worker’s productivity.

In order to improve this facet of your life, you might need some self-analysis as well as to carefully observe how others interact – not to mention your impact on them. This will definitely pay off in the long run.

Summary

If you want to live a more productive life, you’re going to have to make some changes. Organizing your tasks, appointments, and even your workspace are among the initial steps.

After that, start to look inward at ways to delegate, manage stress, and identify your peak hours. Most important: Give yourself little breaks throughout the day. That’ll help you stay focused and avoid unnecessary burnout.