Stay conscious and focused all day long — with the help of these hacks!
What is a Productivity Hack?
Productivity hacks can help you get more done in less time. They can be as simple as a writing hack — like writing with your non-dominant hand or not looking at the keyboard — to something more complex, like creating a morning routine that will help you start the day off right.
We are living in an age where using your phone to check email or social media is now considered normal behavior. This has created an entitlement mentality for people who now expect immediate responses from others, even if it is just for a “thank you.”
Here are six proven tips to boost your productivity and improve your organization.
1. Make lists and prioritize
The brain likes to work in a linear fashion and when we start prioritizing things, we can decide what’s important and what’s not. Start by making a list of the tasks you think need to be done and then prioritize them based on importance and urgency.
2. Set deadlines
Setting deadlines for yourself will help you stay focused on finishing the task at hand instead of getting distracted by other things that come up in your day-to-day life. You’ll be able to see how much time you have left to complete your task and what needs to be done next. You’ll also know when it’s time to take a break, which will give you more energy when you get back.
3. Timing Techniques
Everyone needs to manage their time more efficiently in order to get more done. In this section, we will explore different timing techniques that can help you to take control of your time and be more productive.
- To-do Lists: A to-do list is a list of tasks that need to be completed within a certain time frame. It’s a great strategy for managing one’s limited time and prioritizing the tasks at hand.
- The Pomodoro Technique: This technique helps people take control of their limited attention span by breaking down work into bits. We will talk about it in the next step.
4. Be Super-Efficient with Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro technique is a time management technique that breaks work into intervals of 25 minutes, separated by short breaks.
The Pomodoro Technique has the following phases:
- Choose an activity to be performed.
- Set the Pomodoro timer (traditionally to 25 minutes) for the activity.
- Work on the task until the timer rings.
- Take a short break (traditionally 5 minutes), then go back to work if there’s time remaining on the Pomodoro timer.
Repeat this process 4 times, then take a longer break (traditionally 15–30 minutes).
5. Brain-Dump Everything on Paper
One of the most effective techniques for brainstorming is to write everything down on paper.
When you are brainstorming, it may be hard for you to weed out the good ideas from the bad ideas. Brain-dump everything on paper and then take a break.
When you come back, you will be able to see the good ideas among all that was written down.
6. Create an Ergonomic Home Office
Home office organization shouldn’t be a complicated task. It’s a process that can be broken down into four steps: an initial overhaul, weekly tidying, seasonal updates, and annually decluttering.
Below are some tips on home office organization to help you get started.
- Keep your desk tidy by storing all the items you use on a regular basis in one place.
- Make sure that your monitor is at eye level and about an arm’s length away from the desk to prevent back pain from sitting too long in front of it.
- Choose furniture that can handle heavy use and will last for years
- Get a standing desk if you spend most of your time on the computer
The Benefits of Simplifying Your Life and What’s Holding Us Back From Doing It
When it comes to simplifying one’s life, there are many benefits that may be hard to see at the beginning. It’s important to take action and start slowly with one thing at a time.
Simplifying your life will lead you to actually spend more time being present in the moment. When you have less clutter in your home or less clutter on your desk, you don’t have as much “stuff” weighing down on you. Simplifying is about getting rid of what’s holding us back from living our best lives.
