In today’s modern society, it is all about productivity. No matter where you work or what you do, we are all looking for ways to be more productive at work and then go home and productively tackle all our chores at home.
Nowadays we are expected to be productive in everything we do, but if you are like the majority of people, you can most likely benefit from a boost in productivity. It’s easy to get sidetracked, things and people disrupt the flow of our day and it gets harder and harder to stay focused and pay attention to the task at hand.
We all get sidetracked for different reasons and with that our productivity takes a nosedive, but the good news is that by developing certain habits that help us to be more effective we can boost our productivity and can leave the office at the end of the day with a sense of accomplishment.
Here are our TOP 10 productivity habits to boost your performance and help you get things done.
#1 Create a Morning Ritual
The most productive and successful people in the world all have a powerful morning ritual they follow. Keep in mind, the first hour of your day sets the tone for the rest of the day, so make sure that you plan your morning in a way that you take care of your emotional, mental and physical health and well-being instead of frantically trying to respond to phone calls or emails. Wake up early, meditate, read, write, exercise, eat a healthy, well-balanced breakfast and make sure to do something good for yourself.
#2 Review Your Goals in the Morning
Setting goals is an important productivity habit that will help you achieve anything you set your mind to and we are not just talking about long-term goals, but effective short-term goals for the day and week. Review your weekly goals on a daily basis and track them with precision. This way you know exactly how much you have achieved and how much you still need to do. When you keep your weekly goals in the forefront of your mind, it is much harder to get distracted.
#3 Manage Your Energy
While time management is an important skill to have, properly managing our energy is even more so. Just think about it, if your energy is low, so is your productivity. Most people’s energy levels go down the drain after lunch, because their lunch is too heavy and half of our body’s energy goes towards digesting food. The blood rushes to our stomach and digestive system and with that leaves us in a brain fog and fatigued. An easy solution is to eat smaller meals all throughout the day and stock up on healthy snacks, so you don’t fall into a food coma after lunch. When you can manage your energy more effectively, you will also be able to manage your time better and boost your level of productivity.
#4 Don’t Multi-Task
Research shows over and over again that we are terrible at multi-tasking and what’s more, our brains can’t handle the information overload that comes with multi-tasking, especially when we have to deal with lots of new information. The most productive way to get things done is to focus on one specific task at a time and only pay attention to what is right in front of you. Keep in mind, every time your attention goes from one task to the next it can take up to 45 minutes to find your focus, so don’t keep jumping around, but focus on a single task at a time.
#5 Make Exercise a Non-Negotiable
According to several studies, working out just 20 minutes every single day increases the amount of oxygen that is transported to the brain and with that boosts brain function particularly in terms of information processing and memory. On top of that, exercise helps our brain to build new neural pathways and speeds up our ability to get things done. Make working out a daily habit like taking a shower or brushing your teeth. Once you make exercise a non-negotiable on your schedule you don’t have to think about it anymore and free up important time to be more productive.
#6 Take Regular Breaks
When we simply push forward day in and day our and go hours without stepping away from our desk, we deprive our body’s and mind’s ability to function at their best. Research shows that incorporating breaks to rest between tasks can significantly increase our productivity level and taking an actual lunch break that includes walking in nature, quiet time and relaxing will support our ability to stay on task and effectively get things done. So do yourself a favor and make it a habit to regularly take breaks, even if it’s just a 5-minute walk around the block.
#7 Schedule Technology-Free Time
While technology has allowed us to be incredibly productive, it also has a huge downside. Our smart phone can be a huge distraction with the constant ping of an email, text, notification or phone call. Set aside certain times throughout your day, when you turn off your phone. Shut down your email server and only check your emails twice a day and don’t let them distract you from an important task that needs to get done by the end of the day. Make it a point to power down all your gadgets after 9pm and don’t turn them back on until after your morning routine. You’ll be surprised how much more you can actually get done and how much more fulfilled you will feel.
#8 Plan Your Day the Night Before
Did you ever get up 10 minutes late and then spent the rest of the day catching up? Take some time the night before to prepare for the day ahead and all of a sudden it feels like you win 20 minutes in the morning that you can use for your morning ritual and to prime yourself for a fantastic, productive day ahead. Choose your clothes the night before, pack your lunch and prepare your coffeemaker. This way you can start your day off calm and collected, knowing that you are ready for whatever lies ahead.
#9 Learn to Delegate
In order to be productive and focus on what’s most important to get to your ultimate goal, it is detrimental to figure out which tasks are simply sucking your energy dry and eat up important time that somebody else could do just as good or even better than you. Know when your plate is getting too full and delegate everything you can to allow yourself to focus on the task that you are most suited for. Outsourcing and delegating tasks is essential to keep your energy up and allows you to play to your strengths. But make sure that you know that the other person will be able to do the task to a high standard.
#10 Make Sleep a Priority
A good night’s sleep is the cure for everything, even your productivity level. Research shows that people who get less than 7 hours of sleep a night tend to be less productive. Keep in mind, sleep is detrimental to give our body and mind the chance to recharge and rejuvenate and if we get a good night’s sleep we get a big boost to our motivation, mood, energy and productivity.
Developing and nurturing habits that boost our productivity are extremely powerful and can fuel our motivation to reach our goals. Just think about it, approximately 40% of the things we do on a daily basis, we do without even thinking about them, so creating habits that boost our productivity can help us achieve bigger and better results without depleting our willpower to get there.
SAY GOOD-BYE TO PROCRASTINATING AND DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE
Joschi & Monika
#BoldNaked