Are you wondering if you’re one of the few people that struggles to stay focused on the job? The good news is that you aren’t alone. Studies show that up to 85% of employees on the market aren’t actively engaged in their job.
If you’re struggling to stay productive during the day, there are a few simple things you can do to up your game. Follow the six productivity tips and tricks below to learn how to be more productive.
- Focus on Only One Task
People like to believe that they’re great at multitasking. They start working on a task, listen to music in the background, have something running on the TV, and talk to co-workers all at once.
The problem is that people aren’t natural multitaskers. Doing this will damage your productivity.
When your focus is on multiple things, it takes time to readjust your focus when you start doing something new. If you do this continually, it’s hard to get in a deep state of focus for an extended period.
Instead, block out all distractions so you can focus on your current tasks. You can also use white noise to help you focus, but make sure it’s sound that you aren’t tempted to pay direct attention to.
- Use the Pomodoro Technique
Understanding that you need to focus on one thing at once is all well and good, but it’s still hard to do. You likely have a ton of inputs coming at you during the day. If you don’t have a system of dealing with them, you won’t keep your focus on what matters most.
You can solve this problem by using the Pomodoro technique.
With this technique, you set aside 25-minute blocks of time. During this time, eliminate every other distraction until that time block is over. Once your 25 minutes are up, you take a five-minute break and do everything over again.
Once you do four Pomodoro blocks, you take a more extended 15 – 30 minute break.
You’ll need a timer to make sure you stay on track for these sections. You can download a Windows or Mac countdown timer to make sure you stay on track.
- Focus on Difficult Items First
Challenging items can be intimidating for many people when it’s time to dive into work. We don’t want to do a lousy job, so it’s tempting to put off hard work for something simpler. Doing this is a mistake.
Instead of putting off your demanding tasks, take them on when you first start working. Your goal with doing this is to build up momentum. If you can accomplish something hard quickly, it makes everything else that much easier.
Stick to at most three critical items to start your day. Once you finish these items, you can begin less intensive tasks that don’t take as much mental energy to complete.
- Identify Your Most Productive Time
Not everyone works geat during the typical workday. They spend their day drifting on social media, waiting for the end of the day when they get more work done. While some people consider this a problem, others consider it an advantage.
You need to find your most productive time of the day and focus on your most important tasks during that time. For many people, they’re more creative in the morning. In cases like this, you’d focus on your creative tasks during that time and block out distractions from other people.
If you’re a night owl and work better in the evening, check with your boss to see if you can have a more flexible work schedule. When you’re in a work from home environment where typical schedules aren’t as important, you’re more likely to get a flexible schedule if you ask for one.
- Set Boundaries With Family and Co-Workers
Even if you do a great job creating a distraction-free environment for yourself, that doesn’t stop someone close to you from speaking up and breaking your focus. Every time this happens, it takes time to get back to your task. You’ll need to set boundaries for people who are in the same location as you.
Start by sitting down with people there to discuss what you’re doing. You don’t want them to feel bad about interrupting you. However, they need to know that it’s harder for you to get work done each time they do.
Make sure they understand the times you set aside to focus on essential tasks. Once you finish with those, they should be more than welcome to come chat.
- Do a Weekly Review
You can’t be productive if you don’t know what needs to be done. If you don’t set aside some time to create your weekly goals, you’re going to be stuck in a cycle of jumping from one task to the other. The perfect chance to do this is on the first day of the week.
Your weekly review is a time to look through the projects you need to take on during the week. This time is when you’ll create your tasks, assign task importance, and figure out which tasks will take the most effort.
Once you have your list of tasks, you can start blocking off your time for the week. If you’ve done your homework, you know which parts of the day you’re more productive. Start blocking off these sections with your most important tasks, so you know exactly what you’re going to do during the week.
This small amount of time planning can save you from floundering during the week and not knowing what to do.
Use These Productivity Tips for Success
Improving your productivity is a task that isn’t likely to end just because you followed a few productivity tips. You’ll need to keep learning about how to be productive if you want to stay focused and accomplish your goals and work. Stay on top of your routine, so you don’t fall back into old habits.
If these tips helped, then make sure to head back to our blog. Our latest posts will help you continue to get the most out of your time.
