How to Improve Your Workday Productivity
From entry-level employee to CEO of a major corporation, stress, procrastination, and never-ending distractions can quickly steal your productivity and exhaust you throughout your workday. If you’re struggling to achieve the goals you’ve set or are set for you, it’s time to focus on ways to be more productive. Here are some simple tips and tricks you can use throughout your day, starting today.
First and foremost, it’s time to acknowledge you aren’t perfect. This may be easier for some than others, but it’s important to remember that you won’t be able to be 100% productive every second of the day. Allow yourself small breaks to rest, be distracted or to make mistakes as you slowly continue to build up your productive moments.
The key to improved productivity in the workplace is small moments. Slow and steady reductions of your distracting habits can lead to huge chunks of productive time by the end of the month. Whether you’re wasting minutes or hours at a time, slowly begin to reclaim small moments. This could mean finding ways to be productive on your daily commute, or it could mean reducing the number of distractions in your life.
Productivity doesn’t happen overnight or on your own. If you’ve struggled up to this point to stay productive on your own, it’s time to ask for help. Choose a trusted friend, family member or colleague to share your schedule with. If it becomes a burden for them, consider sharing parts of your schedule with different people. Ask them to keep you accountable and routinely check in with them to make sure you’re staying on track. Without accountability, it’s easy to give up when staying on task isn’t fun anymore.
Some unproductive moments are caused by the myth of multitasking. Research shows that no one is more effective multitasking. While you may get the sensation that you are accomplishing more, everyone is more effective at focusing on a single task at a time. This leads to fewer errors, more creative thinking, and an overall better project. Try to reduce or remove any periods of time where you’re attempting to multitask and concentrate on a single conversation, task or movement at a time.
Start keeping schedules, lists, and other milestone markets to help encourage you to accomplish more throughout your day. A simple list covered with checkmarks is incredibly rewarding for many individuals. Start today by keeping track of how you use your time and finding a single place where you can choose productivity.
