Being more productive is kind of the dream, right? Getting more done in less time? Freeing you up to do the things you actually enjoy? Who doesn’t want that? It’s also kind of addictive. Once you start focusing on productivity, you get obsessed with it – trust me. So here are the 10 things that completely changed the game for me in terms of my productivity and helped move me closer to my goals.
1. Implement Batch Working
Batch working is one of those things that’s super simple but super effective. You batch similar activities together, meaning your brain only has to focus on one thing for a prolonged period of time, rather than constantly jumping between tasks. For example, I might write all of my blogposts one day and create all of my Pinterest pins for those posts the next day. I find that I’m much better at getting more done when I only have to focus on one task. Batch working also means that I have plenty of blogposts stored up and ready to go, which takes the pressure off future me. You can batch work almost anything from replying to emails to editing photos to booking appointments.
2. Create a Brain Dump List
For a long time, I was one of those people that always kept everything in my head rather than writing it down. And whilst I didn’t tend to forget anything, the constant micro-stress of thinking about future tasks I needed to do was super distracting. So I created a ‘brain dump list’ – a massive list of anything important that pops into my head. That way I can let the thought go and get on with what I’m supposed to be doing. I can then return to this list at the end of the day and work those tasks into my to-do list for tomorrow.
3. If It Takes 3 Minutes or Less, Do it NOW
Think of all the times that you could’ve put todays clothes into the washing basket but instead threw them on the floor. Or that you’ve left something in the sink to wash up later. Before you know it, your bedroom/kitchen is a tip and you’ve got to schedule an hour to tidy it up. Do micro-tasks as they appear and you’ll save so much time.
4. Automate Your Life
If you have the funds to do so, automate you life as much as possible. Outsource the mundane tasks that take up time that could be spent working on your goals. Hire a cleaner, get your supermarket shop delivered, hire an assistant to answer calls & emails. Delegate tasks that don’t move the needle.
5. Priorotise Your Tasks
When writing your to-do list, ask yourself which tasks are going to make the biggest difference to your goals/day/business. Use the 80/20 rule to do this – the concept that 80% of our outcomes are due to 20% of our efforts. Which tasks are the ones that make the biggest difference? These are the ones you need to prioritise. When scheduling your day, put these things at the start of your day to make sure they get done.
6. Create Life Lists & Templates
Life lists are a way of reducing thinking time. They’re checklists or instructions that you can refer to when doing an activity. For example, you might have a shopping list that you can use to make your food order online. This way you won’t spend as long browsing or trying to think of meals. You could have a cleaning list that tells you what to clean and when.
Templates are also a really useful tool, particularly in business, as they cut your workload down. For example, you might create a Pinterest pin template that just needs a photo & title inputting, rather than creating a new pin every time. Not only will this make your life easier, but it’ll also help you to delegate your work. Templates make it easy for someone else to do the work to the same standard you would.
7. Wake Up An Hour Earlier to Work on Your Goals
If you’re working on a particular goal but have a full-time job/a family/hobbies/other commitments, it can seem difficult to find the time. Most of us wait until the evening to fit things in but by that time we’re tired from the rest of our day and don’t have the energy to make meaningful progress towards our goals. Wake up an hour earlier and use this time to focus solely on your goal. These hours of laser-focused work quickly add up.
8. Turn Off All Notifications
Our phones are the biggest time wasters. We get a notification that someone liked our photo and, before we know it, we’ve been scrolling Instagram for half an hour. Turning off all notifications makes it less likely that you’ll open your apps up in the first place, which means less time lost to aimless scrolling.
9. Minimise Decision Fatigue
Make your life as easy as possible by reducing the amount of decisions you have to make. Create habits so that your brain can just go into autopilot and get the job done quickly. For example, you might consider giving yourself a uniform. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just jeans and a t-shirt will do. Wearing the same thing everyday might seem boring but it cuts down on time spent standing in front of your wardrobe wondering what to wear.
10. Set Your Own Deadlines – Parkinson’s Law
Parkinson’s Law is the idea that work expands to fill the time allocated to it. So if you give yourself 20 minutes to finish a task, you’ll complete it in 20 minutes. If you give yourself an hour, you’ll use the full hour to complete that same task. How efficiently we work depends on how much time we have, so set yourself deadlines for each task. If it’s not done, move on to the next thing, and come back to it later. I love using time blocking to do this.
