Let me tell you, being productive is hard. You have to leave the comfort of your bed, your home and your Netflix and face the outside world. It definitely isn’t easy. I’m the type of person that has 20 different alarms saying, “WAKE UP LAZY.” It hurts. But, over the past few years I’ve learned simple things to help me be more productive in the day. Hopefully they help you too…
Do your least favourite task first
For me, I HATE, and I mean hate, brushing my teeth (I still do it obviously) but if I could, I’d pay someone to brush my teeth. But, I will literally procrastinate before I have to leave for the day just because I hate it. So now, instead of dreading my least favourite task, I brush my teeth ASAP. As soon as I get out of bed, I brush. It makes my mornings better and makes me get my least favourite thing out of the way. This can apply to work too. Dreading sending emails or having that conference call with your boss? If you can, do it first. Then, it’s out of the way and you don’t have to worry about it or put it off for the rest of the day and focus on the less strenuous task.
Get back to the basics
This means… eight hours of sleep! I’m serious. Eight hours, no more, no less. Once your body becomes accustomed to eight hours a day, you’ll feel ready to take on the world. It’s so important to sleep and really switch off, especially when we’re working for most of the day and can sometimes be so busy that it feels like all we want to do when we get home is relax on the sofa. That’s completely fine, but if you’re doing the necessities like sleeping for eight hours, you’ll be well-rested and less likely to feel exhausted at the end of the working day. Also, set time aside to work out and eat breakfast. If you get yourself into a routine where you sleep for eight hours, have breakfast and work-out either before work (if you do this, we genuinely think you’re a superhero and salute you!) or after work, you’ll start to get used to this time that you carve out for yourself and it will become less of a task and more of a routine. These simple tasks will make you feel like you’re ready to deal with anything, whether it’s a super hectic busy day or difficult tasks.
Take a social media break
This might be the toughest one. Remove yourself from social media, whether it be for two hours or a whole day, any amount of time will help you be more productive. Take a break, stop the scrolling, and pay attention to the task at hand. This will not only make you feel more productive, but also helps you complete things in half the time. Imagine actually concentrating on the task at hand without stopping every so often to scroll through an app or reply to messages. It would be done so much quicker, meaning when you finish work, you finish work. You can carve out time for your friends/family/partner/social life/Netflix life once everything you have to do is complete.
These tips are amazing, and while they seem simple, they go a long way. Be more productive – reach out and tell us how you boost your productivity!
