One of the biggest problems facing people today is how to become more productive. Try as they might, they find that the day gets away from them and they fall behind important deadlines. They use all sorts of tools to try and stay on top of things but nothing seems to work. If you have not been able to stay productive in the recent past you may be wondering what you can do to ensure that you achieve your goals at the end of each day.
Stay away from social media
Social media has been called a “time-suck” and rightly so – it is one of the biggest time wasters of today. People find themselves spending hours following up on what is going on in other people’s lives without stopping to ask themselves how their own are affected by spending time this way. If you want to become instantly more productive it is high time you asked yourself what your gain from being on social media websites all the time. If you really must catch up set aside some time at the end of the day – just a few minutes – to see what has been going on. Get involved only in conversations that will add value to your life.
Set aside time to deal with email
The most productive people will tell you that they do not reply to emails as they come in – it can be hugely distracting. Instead, they set aside some time and reply to all emails, usually at the beginning of the day and right at the end. Emails are never very urgent – if anything was that urgent the sender would call instead of sending an email.
Learn to focus on the task at hand
How many times do you start to carry out a task only to find yourself moving on to something else without finishing what you had set out to do in the first place? That is a common characteristic of unproductive people – they allow themselves to be easily distracted. You should discipline your brain to always focus on a task until it is complete. If it helps you can lock yourself away for a few hours at a time.
Allow yourself time to rest
If you tire your brain out too much you will not be able to accomplish much. The brain works best when you get short breaks in between tasks. It is up to you to decide how long you want to work during each task and how long your breaks should be. Determine a rhythm that helps you get tasks accomplished effectively.
Set your goals and stick to them
Goal setting is the best thing you can do for yourself if you want to become a more productive person. Invest in a good goal planner and start by writing down your long term goals. Break these down into shorter term goals and then make them weekly goals and then daily goals. At the end of everyday check to see what you have been able to accomplish. If there are goals that weren’t achievable you should ask yourself what you could have done differently to be able to meet them.
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