Have you ever had that feeling of being unproductive after a day of work? You start the day feeling optimistic you’ll get things done and that you’ll improve your productivity level, yet you find the list of tasks piling up instead. As much as we hate to admit it, the problem lies with us. There are factors we can’t just shake out of our system which directly affects our productivity. Albeit, quality, and efficiency should come first before quantity.
Getting out of that unproductive state requires changes. Imagine getting out of work knowing you have completed your task. You can enjoy the rest of the night relaxing or hanging out with family or friends without worrying about things you need to get done the next day. Start to take responsibility for your actions and follow these tips on how to improve productivity.
How To Improve Productivity?
1. Create a to-do list.
How many minutes have gone to waste every morning because you don’t have any idea what you’re going to do first? Having a to-do list is the perfect solution for that. It is vital in increasing productivity and will serve as your guide in going through your task. When you feel like things are getting out of hand, your to-do list will help you organized. It would also give you a feeling of satisfaction once you crossed off things you’ve managed to complete
Write your to-do list the night before. Break-down the level of urgency amongst your tasks so you will know the most important tasks to the less important ones.
2. Start your morning right.
Our lives have been undeniably made easy with the rise of technology. Work is now accessible, thus making people pressured to do work any time of the day. However, make your mornings free of work. You can’t enjoy sipping your coffee while answering emails or talking about work over the phone. Make your morning time for yourself. Eat breakfast, read the news, work out, or have a morning talk with your family.
Starting your morning right will energize you in going through the day. You won’t be able to enjoy a relaxing morning at work, so better do it at home.
3. Avoid distractions.
Distractions by emails, phone calls, social media, and even colleagues are the most common killer of productivity. In fact, a survey conducted by Salary.com showed that 89 percent of respondents admitted that they waste time at work each day and a small percentage admitted they waste at least half of an eight-hour workday on non-work-related tasks. For example, one minute you are checking emails, the next you are visiting social media sites, and a simple request from a colleague turned to be a 30 minutes’ discussion of the latest fashion trends.
Unless it’s break time, we should refrain ourselves from checking social media sites or even talking about non-work-related things to colleagues. Make sure to prioritize your tasks at hand before doing other things.
4. Get enough sleep.
We all agree that lack of sleep affects our productivity as well as our efficiency. A study confirms that a whopping 70% of Americans sleep on the job. The reasons why we do it varies. It may be because of a long commute, responsibilities at home, binge-watching a series, or just hanging out with friends and colleagues.
One night of sleep deprivation can hugely affect our performance. Make sure you get 7-9 hours’ worth of sleep to be productive.