Many of us are overwhelmed with the number of things we need and want to get done each day. Creating just a few new habits can give you back some control over your time and help you get the important things done.
Here are 7 strategies for increasing your productivity everyday.
1. Get clear on what’s important to you. Having a to do list full of things that are not important to you or don’t support your values and goals can eat up a lot of your time and energy but not really give you a sense of accomplishment.
2. Start your day the night before. Take the time at the end of each day to think about the three most important things you want to accomplish the next day. Write them down.
3. Get a good night’s sleep. It is amazing how everything is really difficult when you are tired and how brilliant ideas just flow when you are rested.
4. Maximize your high and low energy times. Plan and complete the more brain intensive work during your high-energy time. Save the low energy tasks for when you start to drag.
5. Work in blocks of time. Instead of multitasking, focus on only one thing at a time. Fifteen to twenty minute time blocks tend to work well for most people. Believe it or not, you can get a lot done in that short amount of time. Brain studies show over and over that the quality and quantity of our work goes up when we don’t multi-task.
6. Stay focused throughout the day on your answers to #1 and #2 above. Start your day with your list from #2 and be sure to check in during the day to get them done. It is too easy to get sidetracked by busy work when you lose focus.
7. Reflect at the end of the day and learn. Take 5 minutes at the end of your day to think about what went well, what didn’t go so well and what you will do differently the next day to work around anything that may have prevented you from completing your important things for the day.