Most of us struggle with having a productive day big time, and could certainly do with knowing a thing or two that can boost our concentration, focus and of course, productivity.
So without further ado, let’s talk about a few simple things that have been proven to be highly effective ways of being more productive and having better control over yourself.
Avoiding Electronics Until Breakfast
Most of us have a habit of diving straight into electronic stuff the moment we wake up. And it’s one of the hidden reasons for our productivity taking a hit.
Checking your emails, Facebook feed, Twitter feed, or even text messages is a very poor way to start the day. It takes away a very precious part of your morning, which sets a very negative tone for the rest of your day.
Instead, avoiding the use of any electronics when you wake up and doing some meditation and/or exercise, or even just exploring the nature outside can help you feel very positive and energetic. This can obviously lead to a significant boost to your productivity.
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And if you manage to stay off electronics until at least breakfast, you will have better control over yourself to avoid succumbing to distractions you would keep facing later in the day. This alone would help you get a lot of extra time out of your day, which is essentially bonus time, as you would hardly have to put in any extra effort to achieve it.
Set Achievable and Relevant Goals for the Day
The fact that goal-setting can go a long way in helping you have a productive day is backed by some reliable research and evidence. When you give your brain some concrete goals and clear instructions to follow, it will be able to perform much better than if it just works aimlessly.
Having specific and achievable goals helps you have much better control over things, as well as instills a sense of confidence in you. It also arouses a sense of urgency that calls for something to be completed within a specified period of time or risk failing.
This simple trick will work wonders at being able to avoid distractions and getting things done in a timely, organized manner. However, something to keep in mind here is that your goals should be something that you can break down into easy steps.
If you have a goal like “I want to write an article today,” it will not trigger any of the things we mentioned above. In fact, it can actually lead to effects opposite to the benefits that goal-setting offers. That said, you would instead want to re-phrase this goal into something along the lines of “I will complete this article today by writing five sections for it while making sure that I don’t spend more than an hour on each of them.”
Cleaning Your Workspace
Well, we just talked about a couple things that you need to do as “preparation” for your day, but now comes the real, “action” part. And when it comes to work, your workspace is obviously where you will spend most of your day.
But did you know that simply keeping your workspace clean can improve your productivity and focus significantly? Yes, particular research has proved that people who worked in a clean workspace ended up out-performing those that worked in a cluttered workspace.
A cluttered workspace is usually a cause of distractions, which are obviously the last thing you would want to have when you’re trying to be productive.
No Email Until You’re Done with the Big Tasks
Perhaps the best advice you could be given when trying to have a productive day is to get right to the big, most challenging tasks of the day as soon as your workday starts. The idea behind this approach is that the biggest and most challenging tasks are usually the biggest cause of your procrastination, and they also keep getting harder to finish as the day progresses.
So what you instead do is get right to these tasks that demand the most concentration, and until you’re done with them, you stay off email as well. Why not email though, you may ask?
It’s simply because email can be a big distraction in itself, and is generally also a procrastination tool, so it’s best to not bother with it until at least you’re done with three of the biggest tasks you’re supposed to finish on that particular day.