Staying always productive and making the most of your time is crucial for your further career development. In order to increase productivity and achieve success, you have to be more conscious of how you manage your working hours, what is your daily routine and change your habits if needed. We have prepared for you the most useful tips to boost productivity, ways to improve performance at work and most importantly to stress less.
Believe, you can make the most of time at work and complete projects more effectively. Implement following tips to improve personal productivity:
1. Have a good sleep
If you are not productive enough, the lack of sleep is probably the main reason. Your productivity increases when you are well rested. It is only one way to combat the sleepy feeling. People need at least 7 hours of sleep each night to show productivity in the workplace. Waking up refreshed will benefit the whole day at office. In addition, the main mistake is to go to work right after you roll out of your bed. Give yourself extra 20-30 minutes period of your time to get to work in order to prepare mentally before the beginning of the workday. By the way, going to bed early and waking up early is the best-case scenario for a successful day but still, you have to consider which time works best for you.
2. Make the most of your time by eliminating all distractions
If you are wondering how to be more focused, the answer is quite simple. Productivity can be improved by weeding out all main distractions like chatting with colleagues, checking email, social media profiles or simply surfing the Internet. The temptation to check browse pages seems to be invincible. If you truly want to increase your work efficiency, resist this temptation at all costs. In order to concentrate completely, turn off all phone and computer notifications. However, interruption is inevitable but try to minimize it while working on a project otherwise all your staying focused efforts will be failed. Read the next tip, if you want to know how to get work done and have quality rest during your workday.
3. Try out intelligent planning
Intelligent planning will teach you how to be productive and at the same time switch occasionally your working environment. The most common question is how to improve time management. Researches have revealed that the perfect for you will be to work no more than 90 minutes. Working with 1.5-hour intervals is the best choice. Don’t skip your break - drink a cup of coffee or browse your favorite social media. When you try to leave work early by skipping your rest time, you lose job done quality. Take regular breaks and do whatever you want to clear your mind and relax. It helps to maintain the high level of your concentration and work performance. Also, bear in mind that exercise breaks will be beneficial not just for your performance but for your physical and mental health. If you feel that your energy is fading in the middle of your workday, short gym session or yoga will be the great decision. It will increase your workplace productivity, boost your metabolism, make your brain work faster and give you positive mindset for the rest of the day.
4. Create to-do list for each day
Each day you get a bunch of more complex and simple tasks. It is vital for your productivity to know how to prioritize them. Decide what tasks are the most urgent and important and make a to-do list but keep it short. Set some realistic goals for each day that you are able to perform. It will help you to monitor your activity and to keep track of your progress. Include on your to-do list only most important and relevant tasks that need to be done first. You can break some large tasks into smaller ones that will be easier to accomplish. For your comfort, you can use diverse tools that will facilitate you this process such as Google Tasks, Evernote, Trello or Google Calendar which are so easy to use.
5. Tackle the hardest tasks at first
Productive day means starting with the most daunting tasks first. Leave answering your emails and other daily routine tasks that don’t require any mental or creative efforts for the last hour of work. Instead, start your day with the most challenging duties. Take this time to work on areas that need improvement to increase professional performance. Morning is the most productive time when you are at your best and fueled with energy to work hard. It will be much easier for you to cope with issues occurred, or come up with some fresh and innovative ideas.
6. Say no to multitasking
You are so mistaken if you think that tackling multiple tasks at a time will help you to do more. You should avoid multitasking at all costs because it kills your productivity. Trying to do more than one task will definitely affect your work performance. Innumerous studies have proven that people who try to do multiple activities simultaneously are easily distracted and respectively quality of work suffers significantly. Moreover, multitasking reduces your level of creativity. Therefore, it is highly recommended to do no more than one task at once.
7. Delegate tasks properly
From time to time, everybody needs help. In this case, delegating your tasks that need to be done can save your time. It’s the best way how to be more productive at work. If you delegate tasks properly, you will be able to concentrate on some more complex and serious duties. You can assign responsibilities you are not able to complete to some of your trustworthy colleagues. After delegating the task, don’t supervise colleagues closely, otherwise it is micromanaging. Give them all supporting documents and resources that will help them in completing the task. There are some tasks that can be automated thank to modern technologies.
8. Improve workplace conditions
Take care of your workplace conditions. It can also be a decisive factor in your work productivity. Make sure temperature at office is comfortable. Too hot or too cold working environment will distract you. The perfect temperature is 68-70° F. In addition, it is crucial to eat well at work. A good lunch will increase your productivity. It is advisable to leave your office for lunch to give you some additional time to clear your head and refocus.
9. Be optimistic
Yes, it is a complete truth that happy people are much more productive. According to the series of studies at the University of Warwick, it was revealed that happy and optimistic people are 12% more productive than those who are not. How to become one? The main route to happiness is providing social support to other people and co-workers. These people are 40% more likely to get promoted, by the way.
By implementing these strategies, you will see how productive you can be. Don’t wait - start changing your habits right now!
