5 Simple Tips to Boost your Productivity

Make the most of your day with these simple tips

We all want to do a billion things: starting a new business, learning a new skill, spending more time with your children and family, etc. How can we fit all these into our busy life which was already occupied by the “work, eat and sleep” routine?

While most people think that they can be highly productive by keep on adding things to their to-do list, it is better to know your limits and start cutting out things that sabotage your productivity. Often we assume that productivity means getting more things done every day. Wrong! productivity is “how efficiently an individual completes the task”.

“It is not enough to be busy… The question is: What are we busy about?” — Henry David Thoreau

If you are ready to skyrocket your productivity and perform more than ever before, follow these 5 simple tips for your lifestyle. Once you turned these tips into habits, you can see your productivity grow rapidly.

Focus on results, not busywork:

Being productive doesn’t mean how much busywork you have done in an hour or having an inbox with zero mails or finishing your to-do list. It’s about how much you have delivered.

Highly productive people tend to deliver their work to the world overcoming all the obstacles and fear. If the results are not improving, then it’s all just busywork done more effectively. The measure of your productivity is the results, not the flow. Of course, we need to focus on the process but don’t overlook the results.

Be clear on what you want to achieve. Set practical millstones and work towards it. Once the results are improving your productivity will skyrocket.

Be practical, do not overload yourself:

In general, it is good to have a schedule or a to-do list. It is been proven that following an organized plan will improve our productivity. But the issue here is having a very tight schedule and focusing too deep on the plan. We are not robots it’s okay to lag behind the plan sometimes.

Studies show that excessive focus on too many things will exhaust your brain. It can drain your energy and make you lose self-control. Excessive focus tends to make us more impulsive and less helpful.

Accept your limitations and try to plan smart without overloading yourself. Highly productive people don’t produce better results by trying to achieve unpractical goals. For high productivity, we need to accept reality and set practical milestones to work on.

Zone out:

Another important psychological fact is that our mind has limits. Focusing on a task for a long time is not going to improve your results rather it’s going to dull your mind. Taking your mind off the hook from the task for few minutes can boost your productivity.

A psychologist at Harvard University says “If the task is easy, intentionally mind wandering will likely not result in performance costs, but it should afford people the opportunity to reap the benefits of mind wandering, such as problem-solving and planning”

Our mind must relax to function at its maximum potential when required. Give yourself the advantage of mind-wandering now and then for few minutes. It will help you to perform more effectively on the task. Also, it may check some of the subconscious activities which caused your mind to wander in the first place.

Set priorities, learn to say NO:

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” — Stephen Covey

Highly productive people know their boundaries. They will not accept all the work and then feel obligated to do it. Getting committed to the things you don’t like will kill your productivity. Learn to set rank, not everything on your to-do list is important. You cannot be highly productive by focusing on the things you feel not important. Manage your plan to suit your lifestyle for effective results.

Before starting your work, try to prioritize and plan smart to get the most out of your time. For example, if you feel creative in the morning hours, you can plan to do the task that requires creativity in the morning times to be more effective.

Don’t say “YES” to everything, it is okay to say “NO” to the things you feel not important or things you don’t like to do. This doesn’t show you are weak, rather it shows you know what is important and make others envy you.

Avoid getting exhausted:

“STOP working till EXHAUSTION”

Working long hours without any break is not going to help your productivity rather it will kill your performance. Our body needs some rest every now and then to be active. The challenge is to know when to take a break and how long.

Studies suggest that due to natural variations in our cycle of alertness, we can concentrate for no longer than 90 minutes before needing a 15-minute break.

Do not just stare outside the window, your body deserves a break for all the hard work it’s been doing. Take a walk outside, meditate or brainstorm on an area that is not related to your task. This will help you perform better.

Remember that being productive is not getting more things done every day. It’s all about knowing what is important and how to manage them. Convert these tips into your habits to perform better than ever before.