Ever since I switched from working in an office to working for myself I realized that every minute in my work day counts. The more I work on something, the less time I have to accept other jobs. I started paying extra attention to what I did throughout the day that seemed to give me extra time and what I did that would steal my time. I also started listening to podcasts and reading articles on productivity as much as I could. After working for myself for some time now, the following 10 things have had a HUGE impact on my productivity and I hear these things consistently across all sources and people I talk to.
1. Batch Your Work
Batch similar tasks into one chunk of time throughout the week or month. Do as much of one task at once as possible and this will save you tons of time. If this is the only tip you adopt, it will singularly save you tons of time.
2. Create a Morning Routine
This is the second most important productivity tip. Creating a morning routine that inspired me to get moving in a positive direction for the day had a huge impact on my productivity and happiness level through the day. Some examples for things you can do are write in a journal, practice visualizations and armations, have a gratitude practice, meditate, do yoga or exercise, drink an herbal tea, or spend some time outdoors.
3. Tackle the Hardest Task First
As hard as this is, tackle the most dreaded task at the beginning of the work day. This way you won’t lose time procrastinating.
4. Don’t Overwork Yourself
I’m very guilty of this one. I would work 12 hour days until I burnt out and what I noticed was that I was making mistakes in those long days to the point where I’d have to work to undo my mistakes. Studies show that after 50 hours of work productivity cuts o. This is especially true if you have a family or other mentally draining tasks you have to take care of during the week.
5. Learn to Single Task & Eliminate Distractions
Multitasking doesn’t help you in the end. Sticking to one task at a time will lead to your work getting done faster and better in the end. Eliminating distractions such as having your inbox open at all times or your phone right next to your computer is also very important.
6. Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Sometimes it can be tempting to stay up all night to get a specic task done you’ve been wanting to nish, but in reality this will only hurt you. Studies show adults need 7-9 hours of sleep to perform to their fullest potential. It doesn’t mean you’ll crash and burn if you don’t, but in order to be your most productive, awesome self, 7-9 hours is needed.
7. Plan the Next Day the Day Before
Jotting down what to start with the following morning and what absolutely needs to get done saves you lots of time. Plan the next day at the end of your work day so that what you need to do is fresh on your mind and you don’t have to recap the next morning.
8. Exercise & Stay Active
Exercise is positively linked to both cognitive benets and positive mood, allowing you to be more productive at work, more clear-headed, and happier overall.
9. Take Breaks
Studies show that you should be taking 15 minutes to relax for every hour you work. This will make you more productive during the time you are working, so losing 15 minutes of work won’t make a dierence. Work smarter not harder!
10. Have a Positive Mindset & Check In Frequently
Finally if you really want to be productive, you need to adopt an ownership mentality and to not view “failure” or “mistakes” as bad or negative. Stay positive throughout your day and make sure you don’t fall into a victim mindset. Checking in frequently to make sure you have a positive mindset is extremely helpful for me. I use the Time Out app for this, which features a full screen takeover as often as you’d like.
