SMALL CHANGES TO MAKE TO INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY
Being a productive person or trying to increase your productivity is a common goal that most of us have. We all want to step away from the land of procrastination and laziness in attempt to conquer our goals.
Whether we are setting small daily goals, monthly goals, or even the big yearly goals, our level of productivity can define our journey of reaching these goals.
Increasing your productivity is not just applicable in your work life. Whether you are in college, a stay at home mom, or even work from home, these small changes will increase your productivity levels as well, and will be applicable to your daily routine!
HOW TO BECOME MORE PRODUCTIVE AND MOTIVATED
Set hourly reminders
Have alarm go off every hour when you are working or studying. When the alarm goes off, head over to check your to-do list to make sure you are on schedule and working towards crossing those items off.
I know I can get easily distracted from work, and my mind can wonder leading me to either work slower, or just completely getting me off task. Setting hourly reminders for myself helps me stay on track and bring myself back to reality.
Keep track of “mind” to-do’s
We all have those moments when we realize there is something that we need to do and make a mental note of it. How many times have you done that then completely forgot about the task? I can’t even count the amount of times that this has happened to me. Something as simple as telling SIRI to make a note or to send you reminder will do wonders! Get those thoughts and tasks down on paper so they will not be forgotten.
Keep a self compassion journal
I have had days when I am super productive, and other days where I can’t bring myself to do anything. When these days come around, I tend to beat myself up about it. That is why keeping a self compassion journal is so important! We have to normalize the fact that we are all just human, and one non-productive day is not going to end the world!
In your self compassion journal, write about why you feel the way you feel, what is blocking you from wanting to get up and get moving, and what you can do in the future to keep you from feeling this way.
Also Read: Self Discovery Journal Prompts to Promote Self Reflection
Have a list of healthy snacks
What you are fueling your body with can make or break your productivity levels throughout the day. By keeping a list of your favorite healthy snacks, you won’t have to worry about what to eat or what you should be eating throughout the day.
Hydrate throughout the day
Fill up a big water bottle to sip on and last throughout the day. I am personally really bad at making myself drink water, so I will set a timer every 20 minutes to take a moment and drink.
Your hydration levels need to stay up in order to aid in your productivity. Studies show that dehydration can lead to a 1-2% decrease in cognitive function and hydration can lead to a 14% increase in cognitive function.
Also Read: 31 Daily Habits Proven to Improve Your Life
10-20 Minute Tidy
To give your brain a break while preventing loss of your groove, I recommend trying a 10-20 minute tidy. Set your alarm for 10-20 minutes and organize/clean up as much as you can as fast as you can during this time period. This will allow you to get up and stretch your legs while still getting something that needs to be done, done.
Plan your week ahead
Pick one day a week to plan your entire week out. I typically choose Sunday but Monday will work too. Planning your week ahead of time will allow you to go into the week with an actionable plan to follow causing you to spend more time getting those things done.
Also Read: 7 Productive Things to Do on Sunday to Have a More Productive Week
Create checklists
Create checklists for anything that you do regularly in your life. This will overall make your life easier and will allow your to focus your time and energy thinking about the other things that you have to get done.
Use time blocking
Time blocking the night before will do wonders for your productivity levels the next day. Whenever I give myself a certain time to do something along with a specific time frame, I am more likely to get it done. Time blocking helps provide a really good visual of how your day is going to go.
Try different productivity apps
There are thousands of productivity and organization apps out there to try. So many that it is hard decide which one is right for you and helps you with your productivity and organizational goals.
I recommend trying maybe 1 or 2 over the course of 2-4 weeks to see if you like them. If you decide that you don’t, you can cross them off of your list and try something new until you find the one that is right for your needs.
Have a NOT to do list
Your not to-do list can contain things that you want to avoid while working. Examples of this would be checking you email, getting on social media, replying to texts, watching tv, etc.
This list can also contain things that you do not want to do for the day. For example, you can put not going through your emails for the day if you have too many tasks to tackle and you know going through your email takes a lot of time. You can also put specific projects that you need to work on but aren’t urgent.
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I hope this list of small changes to increase your productivity will help you reach your productivity goals and make productivity less scary!
Becoming more productive doesn’t have to mean major lifestyle changes. It’s the small changes that you make done over a period time that will lead to big results.
Are there any small changes that you have made your daily routine that have led to an increase in your productivity? I would love to read them in the comments and try them out for myself!
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