Working hard and being productive are not the same thing. It is easy to spin your wheels but never get any traction or momentum. These five productivity tips can help you. It’s not all about work either. How you rest and play affects how you work.
Take a few of these top tips to the office with you to increase productivity and work smarter, not harder
1. Rest For Success
This is a productivity tip from the experts that seems counter-intuitive but is guaranteed to work as long as you are disciplined. Take a break. It’s that simple. Burnout costs you time and money, and it is bad for your health. Make sure you take regular breaks and very regular ones. Many studies have shown that taking ten minutes out of every hour boosts your productivity in the other 50.
Extended periods of ‘me time’ are also highly recommended. Take days off and do the things you enjoy. If you like playing games and want a chance at some extra financial success, play some poker or spin a roulette wheel. Playing classic casino games online is quick and easy at Jackpot Casino. There are all the traditional games you expect, plus slot machines and live streams. This is a fun way to spend your leisure time, and it can be quite profitable if you are lucky.
2. Plan Your Workload And Workflow
Spreadsheets are your friend. Without managing your workflow, it is impossible to stay on top of tasks and manage your time. This can make working incredibly inefficient. Use spreadsheets to plan your work and set your deadlines. If you fail to plan you are planning to fail. Make a rough template to get you started. Put tasks on the left and deadlines on the right. Break jobs up into smaller, manageable chunks.
Be flexible. Your spreadsheet may need to change over time so simply update it. Spend a few minutes each day tweaking your workflow and managing your workload so you can adapt to demands. When you are managing your time effectively you will find you have more of it each day. You can use this to get ahead and do some extra work or take a well-earned break, or work finish early.
3. Have A Schedule
Try to do the same things each day at the same times. If you have regular administrative tasks like responding to emails, get these done in the morning, so they are out of the way. Do not let small jobs like these hang over you all day. It’s distracting. You will get more from the rest of your workday if you complete these tasks early. Take note of your work habits too.
Are you more productive in the mornings? Plan complicated tasks in this period, so they do not slow you down. People usually slow down in the afternoons, especially immediately after lunch. Schedule your work so that you have slightly more to do in the mornings to account for the post-lunch slowdown. Integrate calls or regular meetings to make sure you have the time for them, and that they do not disturb your workflow.
4. Daily Social Media Lockdowns
If you are trying to get your work done it is easy to get distracted by social media and news apps. Do not blame your phone, your PC or laptop makes it even easier to hop on to social media and start scrolling. There are apps and web browser plugins that can help you. They increase your productivity by blocking popular media sites for a while of your choosing. You cannot access them even if you try. This is a great way to guarantee you will be spending your time working and not watching videos or sharing memes.
If social media is a part of your job, this can be difficult to do. You will have to rely on your self-discipline to stop yourself from getting distracted by Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Try to stick to official accounts and do not get distracted by news and hashtag feeds you follow outside of work.
5. Work Smarter, Not Harder
Try to avoid the common traps that stop people from being productive. When it comes to productivity, Multitasking is not your friend. If you try to do two or three things at once, you will do none of them very well. Focus your attention on the most important task first, complete it, and move on. Having too much to do can be stressful and distracting, which makes tasks take longer.
Break your task down into smaller pieces and work through them. Consistency is key to getting things done. Stick to the job at hand, complete each element of the task in order, and finish it. This way you will work continuously, and your jobs will get your full attention, helping you to achieve the best possible results. Do not get ahead of yourself either. Thinking about the next job on your list is distracting.
One of these productivity tips is not enough. You need all five together to get control of your workflow, boost productivity, and achieve success. Get more from your workday and then rest easy by utilizing these top productivity tips.
Watch this space for updates in the Hacks category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
Want to promote your business, event, product or service? We get more than 14,000 pageviews a month! Contact us for marketing and advertising options.
