PRODUCTIVITY HACKS PART 1

       Productivity has become the topmost priority for many firms and businesses. The era of putting of today’s work for the next day is long gone and businesses look for ways to finish high amount of work in a lesser period of time. There’ has been a surge in productivity software and philosophies, which is good because there are lot of resources to our reach. The downside is the hidden sales pitches among the genuine advice.

   Even after watching 100 videos on “How to be productive”, scrolling through countless posts on Instagram, reading success stories of billionaires, we still fail to be productive on certain days. This blog tells you on how to get work done even on the days you feel the laziest. All of these are taken from personal experiences so don’t fret on not being able to practice them.

1. Changing of habits : This is one of the key things you can do to be more productive. Making small changes in your morning routine can have drastic effects on how productive you are. Waking up and immediately scrolling on social media makes you sit on the bed and can hold you from going on with the tasks of the day. The one habit that has changed how I work has been making my bed as soon as I wake up. It’s the smallest of tasks but impacts your day in a large way.

2. Set a single goal each day : This can include small things like working out for 20 minutes, reading a page from a novel, finishing your work step by step, etc. The smaller you divide the work into the more you accomplish over the day.

3. Work in schedules: Set up time frames to finish your work. Finish the decided work in that time frame itself without giving into external distractions. Once you finish it within the time frame, you’ll be motivated to take up the next task, thus, making you productive.

4. Work in short bursts : The human mind can concentrate on the same task for only a certain amount of time. Some studies claim that people lose focus after 10-20 minutes, while others are a little more generous. Certain recent studies indicate that in the digital age, people’s attention spans are much shorter. In either case, an hour is a long time to maintain focus, which is why working in short bursts makes sense. The Pomodoro Technique, which involves working in 25-minute increments followed by a five-minute break, is one of the most popular productivity principles and one that works for a lot of people.

5. Block distracting apps/websites : According to research carried out by RescueTime, the average digital worker can’t go more than 6 minutes without checking their email or instant messaging. The digital nature of our work and social lives leaves us constantly checking for notifications and this constant distraction hampers our ability to focus on tasks for even short periods of time.

6. Listen to music : When taking a break between different tasks some people say that listening to music for about 8-10 minutes can make them more focused and concentrated.

7. Plan ahead : Take about 30 mins off your weekend to plan the week ahead. This will help you decide all the tasks for the week ahead and makes it easier to schedule it according to your time frame. This way you don’t waste time on the weekdays trying to figure out how to fit in your schedule.

8. Journal : When asked how they motivate themselves, some people said they write down what they didn’t like about their day before going to bed so they can focus on bettering themselves the next day.

      While we’ve discussed a variety of approaches in this blog, the emphasis is on developing productive habits and simply selecting tools to help you focus on meeting your goals. It doesn’t stop here. Keep an eye out for Part 2!

– By Prakruthi Bharadwaj