Do you often find that you struggle to keep your productivity throughout the day? Are you being swamped by your workload? Procrastinating because you don’t want to look at your ginormous pile of unread emails? Here are some tips that will help you get the maximum productivity from your day.
Identify your most productive times of the day
Naturally, freelancers and people that work from home are able to be more flexible with their day. As are those currently at university. Some people might be 5am-ers, who can do all of their best work before the rest of the world wakes up, and get a yoga session in too. However, I know a lot of people who tend to work into the evening, preferring to get up later.
If you work a 9-5 in an office, for example, try to establish a healthy in-work routine, recognizing when you are zoning out. Don’t try to compete with technology, even your laptop starts to zone out when it gets overwhelmed.
Identify when you aren’t so productive
I call these the ‘dead zones’. Times of the day where the tiredness creeps in, or you begin to doomscroll (mine hits at about 3pm!) They can be the bane of your life when trying to get maximum productivity out of your day. They can also have a big impact on your wellbeing.
Instead of feeling guilty for dropping productivity, head out for a walk or prepare your dinner. Do something that is going to take you away from your desk for a while. If you are going to spend the next 40 minutes scrolling, do something productive instead.
Allow yourself to rest
Working from dawn until dusk certainly isn’t the way to go, the burn-out will get you long before you reach your deadlines.
Use a to-do list
For me, this is the ultimate productivity tip. Make your list colourful, with a big red marker pen ready to tick that box once it’s done. If you’re anything like me, the satisfaction that you will feel will spur you on to work a little harder. Or use an online platform such as Todoist!
If you are able to, make your to-do list at the end of the day before. That way, you won’t have to worry about trying to remember things overnight, helping you to feel rested and ready to start a new day. A classic university trick is to stop writing mid-sentence, so you have somewhere to pick up from when you next sit down. Getting started is often the hardest part, so by doing this, you’ll be surprised at how much easier starting your tasks can be.
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