If you’ve been wondering how to be more productive, you’re not alone.
Many of us find ourselves secretly wishing, scheming and dreaming about how to get more done in a day.
We overbook our calendars, procrastinate on important tasks and get bogged down by activities that don’t move the needle. Sometimes we simply take on too much—even when we know better.
So, how do we get past this conundrum of wanting to get a lot accomplished but feeling like there’s just not enough time? If you’re wondering how to be more productive, I have some tips for you.
Embrace these five productivity hacks and I bet you’ll get more done in less time.
1. Make Your Calendar Your Friend
Wondering if you should get involved in another fundraising activity? Want to know how much time you can spare for that new project?
Start by blocking off time on your calendar for all your existing projects. Fill in all your appointments, church events, kids’ activities, time for meals and family functions, work deadlines and everything else you’re committed to.
Make it a habit to block off time in your calendar for every commitment, and you’ll never again over-promise or over-commit.
2. Check Your Habits and Rituals
Without thinking about it, we often have certain habits and rituals we follow. When we’re trying to figure out how to be more productive it’s a good idea to take a closer look at them.
You have a morning ritual (wake up, brush your teeth, have your devotions, work out, eat, shower, and get to work), evening ritual (check homework, tuck the kids in, watch the evening news, and hit the sack), weekend ritual (sleep late, grocery shop, catch a movie, go to church, visit your mom), and so on.
The trouble is, if you’re not careful your rituals can turn into productivity killers.
Is checking Facebook or email a part of your morning ritual? Distractions such as these can turn even your best intentions into hours of wasted time.
Take a good look at your rituals and routines, and see what needs to change, even if it means moving some activities to another part of your day.
3. Let Go of the Reins
Here’s some good news: you don’t have to do everything all by yourself.
Whether it’s at work or at home, you can (and should) hand over certain tasks to someone else. At work you can have an assistant create documents and manage your calendar. At home, get the children involved in age-appropriate chores that will benefit them and you.
The time you free up will allow you to work on what’s truly important—and on the things that only you can do.
4. Get Laser-focused
You might think you can get more done by doing several things at once, but multi-tasking simply doesn’t work.
Instead, block time for important tasks, then turn everything else off so you can focus on one task at a time. No phone, no Facebook, no kids or husbands or neighbors or pets demanding “just a minute” of your time. Tune everything out, and you’ll find your tasks getting done much faster.
5. Make Time for Play
Trying to do too much without any time for rest and relaxation is a sure way to burn out. You cannot work all day, every day and hope to be at your best.
Get some rest. Go for a prayer walk. Head to the beach. Plan a personal retreat. Take a friend out to lunch. See a movie. Do something—anything—other than work.
Not only will you return feeling much more refreshed, but you’ll find yourself more creative and productive than before as well.
So, give these tips a try and let me know how they help you get more done in your day.
I admit I don’t have a well established morning ritual (and yes, it includes checking emails, browsing through Facebook and the News). But I’m also not a morning person. I need some time in the morning to really feel awake and ready to tackle my tasks, so I accepted that and schedule important, focus-heavy tasks for late mornings and afternoons instead. To organize better my day and daily focus I started using the Momentum Chrome extension. I love it that it greets me by name (OK, you’ve to tell it your name first, but still :)). And when you add your main focus task for the day, once you’re done and mark it complete, it gives you a heart-warming acknowledgement like, Good work! Nice! Way to go! When you’re working most of the time alone and in your home office, it’s such a positive vibe to see your accomplishments recognized (even in this way)! To cut it short, this small thing really helped me with my to-do list and task tracking and focus.