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The Importance of Being Productive
Your ability to be productive can be one of the critical determinants of your professional success and personal happiness. Those who can consistently produce good quality output at a sustainable rate can advance in work and life.
Here are a few of the top productivity hacks you may utilize in your work day:
Plan Your Day Ahead of Time
The first step to being productive is planning a day's schedule in advance. You should know what you're doing when you're doing it, and how long on any given day. Without a schedule, you're likely to miss out on important tasks.
Write Down the Three Most Important Daily Tasks
Jot down the three most important tasks for the day. Describe the tasks in detail to avoid any ambiguity. Focus on important tasks rather than urgent ones.
Set Specific Times to Check Email
Email checking accounts for one of the main distractions that wastes valuable time during the workday. Choose to check emails twice a day, preferably before lunch and before finishing the day's work.
Use red and blue colours more often
Remove clutter from your desk. Studies suggest that red and blue colours improve brain performance, with red known to increase attention to details while blue sparks creativity. Surround your workplace with these colours to enhance productivity.
Two-Minute Rule for Small Tasks
Do not waste time deciding whether you should do small tasks that keep cropping up throughout your day. Instead, ask yourself if you can complete the task in 2 minutes or less – if yes, go ahead with the task. If not, add the task to your to-do list for later.
Group Similar Tasks
Batch similar tasks so you can complete them with the same frame of mind. This will make your work process flow smoothly and help you do more in less time.
Avoid Multitasking
It might be tempting to do two things simultaneously, but multitasking does more harm than good. Research shows that about 98% of people are less productive when they multitask as they are not focusing on a single task.
Start Your Day With a Tough or Easy Task
The way you start your day dictates the flow of the rest of the day. You can either start by doing the most demanding task first, so everything else feels more effortless, or do the easiest thing first to gain valuable momentum.
Work Near Natural Light
A simple productivity hack is to create your workspace near natural light. Exposure to sunlight is believed to improve sleep, thereby contributing to your well-being and productivity levels.
Break Down Your Goals
Instead of procrastinating on your far-fetched ultimate goals, break down the goals into smaller, more attainable goals that seem more realistic. These goals should be easy to accomplish and fit into your schedule.
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Schedule Time for Self-Care
Schedule self-care activities to recharge yourself to prevent burnout from work pressure. It could be anything that helps you relax and unwind — leisurely reading on your favorite couch, a relaxing bedtime ritual, a 10-minute walk, meditating, painting, or anything else.
Let Go of Perfectionism
Nothing is perfect, so don't waste time trying to make every task perfect. If the work is good enough, move on to the next thing.
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