Simple Practices to Help You Be More Productive
By Pamela Wong
Pamela is a Trained Professional Organizer based in Oakville, Ontario and is the owner of Zen N Organized. She helps homeowners and small business owners transform their homes and home offices into organized spaces. She has a practical, non-judgemental approach to organizing. Her objective is to create functional and harmonious spaces for her clients.
What does Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Elon Musk and you have in common? We all get 24 hours in a day. Have you wondered how these successful people get so much more done in the same 24 hours? How do they manage to cross more items off of their to-do lists?
The following is a list of practices that will help to a more productive life:
1. FOCUS
Remove all distractions. Period. Yes, turn off the email notifications, the text pings and forget about social media. Focus and stay on the task at hand. Some people find soft background music helps them focus. Other people prefer silence. Choose what works best for you.
2. PRIORITIZE
Organize your tasks in a to-do list. Prioritize the most important ones and make a point of completing them. More urgent matters may arise as your day goes on so make adjustments and re-prioritize as often as needed.
3. DELEGATE
Time is precious, so spend it wisely and outsource when it makes sense to do so. Spend time on what you are good at and delegate the rest to someone who can get the other tasks done twice as fast.
4. SAY “NO”
Have you ever had someone ask you to help them and you hesitantly say yes, even though you know you already have too much on your plate? You must remind yourself that it is impossible to do everything that we are asked to do every day. We have to learn to say no.
Read more about Saying No by James Clear: https://jamesclear.com/saying-no
5. FIND THE RIGHT TIME
What part of the day do you perform at your optimal productivity? Are you are an early bird? If so, then first thing in the morning would be your best time. If you are a night owl, then nighttime would be your best time. Think about the best time you should work on your most challenging tasks.
6. TAKE BREAKS
Yes, you do need breaks. Let’s be honest, your brain needs a break every now and then. Sometimes taking a short break from what you are working on can actually help your brain refocus and get the job done faster.
7. CLEAN UP YOUR DESK
Take 2 minutes to clean up your desk at the end of the day, so you will always start with a fresh space the next morning. A neat and tidy desk will induce creativity and clarity, which is a perfect way to start your day.
8. HYDRATION, NUTRITION AND SLEEP
When your body is properly fuelled with the right nutrients, you will be able to better focus on the task at hand. Ask any athlete how their nutrition choices have affected their performance. Same goes with sleep. Research has shown that getting good quality sleep will improve memory and focus. A brain simply cannot function at optimal level when it is not well rested.
Take these simple practices and create daily routines to get them done. By adapting these practices may not make you rich and famous, but they will certainly help you lead a more productive life.
Zen N Organized helps transform your office space into a more functional environment. Check out our Facebook and Instagram posts for additional inspiration.
I’m a morning person who finds it difficult to work on a new project or challenging task later in the day. I run into problems when I have more of those than there are mornings in the week! Fortunately, that doesn’t happen too often.
Hi Janet, it is so true that everyone has a “top productivity time”. One of my clients is a night owl and can get majority of her work done in the evening/night time. Unlike you, she couldn’t possibly do much before 9am.
These are all great tips. It is especially difficult to maintain focus these days, where distractions abound. I really feel for parents who are trying to monitor distance learning while conducting their jobs from home – not easy! I think drinking a lot of water and taking breaks are wonderful tips. We are humans, not machines, and we need to restore and refresh our bodies and minds!
Thank you Seana. I could’t agree with you more about staying hydrated and taking breaks. I used to think that an afternoon caffeine fix would help me, but I’ve learned that water works much better.
I love all your tips. I can’t function unless my desk is clear, so I do it at the end of everyday and something several times a day.
Thank you Janet. I believe a clear desk with less visual clutter can help with productivity. It sounds like you are doing exactly that.
I’m getting better at all of these things. I’ve also discovered it helpful to switch up my routine from time to time as other things change in my personal and work life.