Simple habits to adopt to boost your productivity
Improving your English or learning Spanish is something you would love to do. But you don’t have enough time. At work, you feel overwhelmed. There are only so many hours in the day, and your good resolutions quickly fall by the wayside. However, there are a few habits you can adopt to become more efficient and effective. Here are our best tricks for boosting your productivity on a daily basis.
Focus on what matters
1. Where are you going?
You want to be more productive, fine, but for what reason(s)? Clearly define your current aspirations: what do you want to accomplish? Setting off without knowing your destination is one approach, but you risk taking the longest route or even going around in circles! Determine your monthly and weekly objectives and then organise your week accordingly.
2. Prioritise
Lack of focus is probably one of the most obvious causes of inefficiency at work. Since you know your objectives, identify the projects that will help you achieve them. Apply the Pareto principle, according to which 20% of actions generate 80% of results. These are the ones you should put at the top of your to-do list!
3. Eliminate Time Wasters
These are anything that takes you away from your goal:
- Distractions (social media, e-mails, etc.): turn off notifications and silence your phone when you are working on something that requires your full attention;
- Off-topic requests: learn to say no!
- False emergencies: if necessary, set aside a specific period of time during the day to deal with them as quickly as possible.
4. Optimise Your Actions
Get rid of anything that does not require your full concentration:
- Automate repetitive tasks. There are numerous applications and software tools available for all professional fields;
- Establish processes that allow you to save time when working on similar projects;
- Delegate tasks where you do not bring any real added value, especially if you don’t enjoy doing them!
Slowly but surely…
Now that the path is clearly marked and free of obstacles, you can move forward!
5. Divide and Conquer
You arrive at the office, grab a coffee and… there is that huge file sitting at the top of the pile that has been waiting for you for a week. Enough to make you feel discouraged before you even begin. To avoid feeling overwhelmed, divide your project into several phases, and then divide those phases into as many basic tasks as necessary. Identify the very first “small action” you need to take: now you know where to begin.
6. Plan
Every evening, review your to-do list and decide which tasks you need to complete next. The following day, you will know what you have to do and won’t waste your time daydreaming or hesitating between two files. Don’t deprive yourself of the pleasure of ticking off each completed task!
7. Set Deadlines
This time, think about Parkinson’s law: a task tends to consume all of the time you allocate to it. In other words, if you don’t give it a deadline, you may never finish it! Allow yourself enough time and leave some room for the unexpected.
8. Forget the Myth of Multitasking!
No, you won’t increase your productivity by starting everything at the same time! On the contrary, you risk becoming overwhelmed and doing everything only halfway.
You’re not a machine
9. Take a Breather!
If you want to go far, you need to conserve your energy. So plan regular breaks to recharge your batteries. Do you find yourself nodding off in the early afternoon? That is the perfect time to take a power nap or stretch your legs. It will wake you up and get more oxygen to your brain.
10. Make Life Easier for Yourself
For better concentration, stop yourself from constantly thinking about everything you still have to do. Use a task manager to free up your mind. Whether it is a fun app or , Ryder Carroll’s famous bullet journal, choose the tool that best suits your activities. Experiment, and don’t hesitate to change tools until you find the one that works best for you
And there you have it! You no longer have any excuses not to revise your Dutch! ! What are you going to put in place today to save time and boost your productivity?
