We all wish to be more productive. I mean you’d get more done in less time so what’s not to like about it?
This blog post is going to be useful doesn’t matter whether you own your own business, are self-employed, or work for a major company.
Let’s go!
Table of Contents
1. Know what you should do every hour
Knowing what you should do every hour is going to prevent you from wasting time while stopping to figure out what you should do next.
At the end of the day, you should have a well-thought-out plan for what you should do tomorrow.
That way, you can move from one task to another seamlessly without stopping too much.
This can of course help speed up your work and make you more productive.
2. Keep your small talks short
I get it. Sometimes you need to catch up with people at work. You want to stay in the loop and maintain your relationship with everyone at work.
However, to be more productive you should learn to keep your small talks short.
It’s okay to chit-chat for a bit but know when to stop. 5 minutes is a good amount already and it’d be time to excuse yourself back to your work.
You can simply say, “It’s great catching up with you! I gotta get back to work. I’ll talk to you soon!”. It’s simple, polite, and gets right to the point without offending anybody.
3. Go easy on the lunch
Some of you would go hard on the lunch. You’d bring a whole chicken or an entire family size pie to work and I have no doubts that you can consume it no problem in your lunch break but heavy meals can often mean extra work on your digestive system which would take more circulating blood away from your brain to be focused on your stomach.
This is why many of us may feel tired and sleepy after eating.
To stay productive, you should take a light meal. A vegetarian hamburger, some lightly seasoned spaghetti, some salads, water, etc.
4. Visualize how you’d feel when you’re done
Imagine how you’d feel when you’re done the work for the day. Imagine how you’d feel when you got no more items on your to-do list to cross off. Would you feel relaxed? Would your anxiety be lifted? Would you feel proud? Would you tell someone that you’re done? Visualize it.
It can be easy to falsely assume how much time you have left in the day to get work done when it’s early in the morning or when it’s still hours away from the end of your day. So keeping track of what you have to do is crucial. You should also visualize the relief and outcome when you’re done to keep everything more manageable.
I know it can be daunting to look at how much work you have to do and that may discourage many of you from continuing on. This is why we should keep working away at it little by little.
Thinking about the end goal definitely helps as the only way to get there is to get to work.
5. Remember your motivator
You should have a motivator for working. Maybe your motivator is as simple as needing to pay for rent or mortgage. That’s a valid motivator. After all, you don’t want to lose your shelter.
Your motivator could also be:
- To be promoted
- To make more money
- To improve your skills so you can get a better job
- To make your parents proud
- To make yourself proud
- To finish work faster
Having a motivator for being productive can surely help you stay on top of tasks.
6. Focus on taking the break when you’re on break
When you’re resting, focus on resting, when you’re working, focus on working.
It may seem like you’re wasting time when you’re resting but in fact, you’re preparing your mind and body to take on more work later on.
When you’re on your lunch break, don’t think about work. I know it can be hard to suddenly shift out of work mode but you have to try. This will give you time to properly rest and use the regained energy on being productive.
It’s best not to watch any show or scroll on your phone during your break. Active resting and true resting are when you allow your brain to not be constantly stimulated. Instead, you can sit and enjoy your lunch in silence or talk to your favorite coworker.
It can take more energy out of you to interact with people you can’t relax around so I’d say, when you’re on your break, it’s best not to feel obligated in spending it next to someone who isn’t your favorite coworker.
7. Keep a positive outlook
Keeping a positive outlook can for sure help you stay productive. It’s better than thinking, “Oh god I have so much work to do I can never finish it. I’m useless”.
Instead, you should think more positive thoughts such as:
- “I can do it”
- “I’ll finish what I plan for today”
- “I know I’m perfectly capable to handle all the work to do today”
- “Even if I don’t finish everything I set out to do today, I can finish it quickly tomorrow and still be on track”
8. Don’t be a perfectionist
Being a perfectionist is a waste of time. If you want to learn how to stop being a perfectionist, click here.
Sure, you can do everything perfectly but at some point, higher quality work doesn’t always guarantee a better result.
It’s sort of like blogging, I always try to create the best articles possible that are original and insightful but I know I may miss a thing or two. I may think about one more thing to add that won’t necessarily make the article better although more comprehensive and longer. And it won’t necessarily attract more pageviews.
Our need to do things perfectly may come from the school system that we’ve all been through. We’re taught that we can’t make any mistake because any small mistake accounts for a lower grade and it’s such perfectionistic tendencies that we won’t allow ourselves the creative freedom to just go at it.
Many of us will sit and stare at a screen all day instead of getting to work because we want things to be done well. Careful planning doesn’t always beats “just do it”.
You can always go back and edit things later on if you want but it’s important to have something down first.
9. Take fewer bathroom breaks
Bathroom breaks at work don’t always mean “bathroom” breaks. It could be a time to quickly text someone we love or a time to chill for a bit.
If you can take fewer bathrooms breaks, it’ll surely free up a lot more time for you to focus on working and getting more done.
Every time you go to the bathroom you have to mentally pause your work and on your way there you may run into a few coworkers to whom you’ll say a quick ‘hi’ and then when you get back, you may need a bit more time to get accustomed to the working again before you regain pure focus. That 5 minutes bathroom break can quickly turn into 15 minutes of breaks if you aren’t careful.
You can drink more water at certain times instead of taking small sips here and there. That’ll prevent you from having to take a lot of bathroom breaks.
You can use the extra time to get more work done.
10. Keep yourself hydrated
When your brain is dehydrated, it may be a bit fuzzier and things may seem less clear to you. We call this brain fog.
Make sure to keep yourself hydrated so you can stay focused and keep your brain sharp.
Final thought
So here we are, 10 useful tips to make you more productive at work. Which of these tips do you think would be the most useful to you? Let me know in the comment below!
Is there anything I missed?
Also, check out this article on how to make time go by faster at work by clicking here.
You can also read this article on the 10 signs you should quit your job immediately.
