We should all want to increase our productivity at work or school. To me, being productive means getting things done in an efficient amount of time, while keeping a good mindset. It’s so easy to get stressed out or even frustrated with certain tasks, but these tips will help you to stay level-headed, and get things done at a good pace.
1. Wake Up Early
Like 5:00 AM early. If you wake up before everyone else, you have more time to get things done. This gives you the chance to quickly clean up your house, get a load of laundry done, enjoy breakfast, workout, and more! You also will be less groggy by the time you get to work or school, since you have been awake for three hours already.
2. Use Time-Blocking
Have you ever had too many meetings to get your tasks done? Time-blocking will prevent this common issue. Try to block off at least two hours throughout the day specifically to work on your tasks, to ensure that you will not be pulled into meetings. You can also dedicate half a day, or even a full day, to getting tasks done if you are not able to do two hours a day.
3. Write Morning Pages
Right when you wake up, immediately write down anything. Just fill out three pages with whatever comes to your mind. This will help you see what the most important things in your life are, and come up with new ideas. For some more information on morning pages, click here.
4. Meal Prep
Have you noticed how long it takes you to cook your meals every day? Have you noticed the stress that comes with rushing to make your lunch for the day at 6:00 AM? Meal planning and prepping solves this problem. On a day that you don’t have work, take some time to check out your Pinterest recipes, make a grocery list, then make all of those delicious recipes for the week ahead! For some meal prep tips and tricks, click here.
5. Take Advantage of Days Off
Use your days off of work or school to prepare for the week ahead. For me, I use Saturdays and Sundays to do my laundry, to wash my dishes, and to plan my goals for the week. I will meal prep on the weekends too!
6. Listen to Classical or Instrumental Music
Try listening to a study or focus playlist on Spotify. Studies show that listening to classical music helps productivity and memory. These two music styles have a soothing nature and may help you to remain calm when completing your tasks.
7. Do Your Least Favorite Tasks First
Start out doing the tasks you dread first, so that way your favorite tasks will give you some motivation to push through the pesky ones. You could also do the tasks that take the most time first, to get them out of the way first.
8. Set a Timer
If you have a day that’s filled with long, boring tasks, set a timer for 20-30 minutes. When your time is up, either change tasks or take a short break. You might find that you will be more productive when you focus for a straight 20 minutes, knowing that you will get a break when your focus time is up.
I hope these eight tips help you to reach new levels of productivity! Remember, your mental health and mindset are more important than being the best worker in your office, so take good care of yourself! Have a great New Year!
