People are obsessed with productivity and accomplishing more. Doing so, however, requires adopting habits to help you get things accomplished.
Your productivity concepts, beliefs, and behaviors may actually hinder you and stand in the way of your best attempts to increase your productivity.
If you find that you’re undermining yourself as you try to be more productive in your daily life, implement these following methods to help you get back on track.
Make a Check List
Do you find yourself spending a lot of time trying to remember what you need to get done?
Even if you don’t consider yourself someone who could benefit from creating lists, you may be surprised.
You can take the time to brainstorm everything that you need to get done and prioritize. This way, you can keep track of what tasks you’re completing. Besides, who doesn’t enjoy checking off or crossing off completed tasks?
If you find it hard to get into the habit of creating lists, remember that it takes a couple of weeks to form habits properly. If you’re consistent at creating and prioritizing daily lists, you’re sure to find a significant increase in your productivity.
Set Detailed Goals
If you have a lot of things you need to get done but find that you’re not accomplishing as nearly as much as necessary, consider whether or not you’ve set proper goals.
It’s not enough to write just a few words about what you want to achieve. You need to write out the essential features of your goal. For example, what are the first steps you need to take?
Research is key. Figure out what you need to do each step of the way. And most importantly, you need to set yourself some deadlines and time limits to help you achieve what you want.
For example, your goal might be to write a book by the end of this year. Then to make sure you’re working on it regularly, you could set an hour aside each day to research topics, create an outline, and write the pages!
Remember that when it comes to bigger goals, it takes a lot of consistent effort. You may not feel as though you’re being productive enough, and that can be discouraging. But if you do stay consistent, you will see progress and inevitably achieve your goals no matter how long they take.
Don’t Multitask
Multitasking used to be a skill that everyone wanted to accomplish more. But it turns out that it’s actually a very detrimental thing to do.
Not only does it dramatically decreases your productivity, but multitasking can also have lasting, if not permanent, disadvantages for your brain in terms of focus and efficiency.
If you know that you’re a multitasker, you can try to rewire your focus towards productivity by doing the following:
● Work on one project at a time.
● Don’t let yourself get distracted by social media or other projects.
● Create set times for the things that you’re working on so that you don’t feel pressured to flip between tasks.
Take Breaks
It sounds counterproductive, but actually, taking a break may be what you need if you’re the sort of person that tries to do work for a couple of hours straight. This is especially true if you aren’t getting the results you need.
There are reasons why in some countries labor laws dictate that employees should be given breaks. Not only is it ethical, but it also ensures a boost in productivity. Don’t be so hard on yourself, and make sure to take breaks so that you can also reap the benefits.
Conclusion
It’s essential to remember that working hard doesn’t always equal productivity.
While it’s possible to push yourself really hard until you burn out, that doesn’t mean that you’re automatically doing everything that you can to be more efficient.
In short, here’s a summary of the steps above that will bring you so much closer to completing what you need to get done:
- Have clear intentions on what you need to get done with lists and details goals.
- Prioritize the most important tasks- even if they’re the most difficult.
- Avoid multitasking and focus on one thing at a time.
- Take care of your personal needs by taking breaks.
Start implementing any of these techniques today to start improving your productivity!