9 Tips to Ignite Your Productivity
When was the last time you felt energized, confident, and ready to tackle your to-do list — knowing you could get it all crossed off in a day?
On that note — when was the last time you actually did complete your to-do list by the end of the day?
If you’re anything like me, it probably wasn’t today. Mine had gotten so overwhelming and unfinishable that there were days I wouldn’t even look at it.
I would overstuff my list every day, thinking I would get so much done…but usually, that just led to more stress throughout the day, more self-loathing at the end of every day, and a pile of unfinished tasks moved to the following day.
It was a vicious cycle.
We too often get bogged down with our work, side projects, and home life to make the most of our time.
And being in the Age of Distractions isn’t a help either — many of us unable to escape a notification of some kind (Facebook, email, text message) for a mere five minutes.
We are so distracted, yet, if you have a dream or are working towards something big, you know how important it is to be productive. When you’re productive and focused, you can get more out of your day and accomplish your goals.
But when you’re stressed and distracted, well…you just don’t to have a very productive day, and that spills over into tomorrow, and often into the weekend, and then into the next week.
A distracted and unproductive approach causes many tasks to be finished uninspired, many goals to be accomplished late and half-assed, and many big goals to be abandoned along the way.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
That’s where the following tips come into play. They will help you achieve more in your days and ignite your productivity, so you can get more done, accomplish your goals (big and small) and live your best life.
So read on for some excellent tips to ignite your productivity.
Productivity Tips to Make it a Great Day
To make it a great day, it’s time to have a better strategy.
Make your to-do list work for you, avoid distractions, stay motivated and positive throughout every day.
And maybe, just maybe, by the end of the day today, you’ll cross off your last to-do.
1. Wake Up Earlier
Some of the most productive people I know wake up at 5 am, and they get more done in the first three hours of their day — when nobody else is around to distract them — than many get done in their entire day.
But you don’t have to jump in the deep end — start by getting up an hour earlier than usual and see how it can impact your day.
And have a plan for that hour, not laying in bed scrolling through Instagram.
Spend it on a class you’re trying to finish, so it’s out of the way and off your mind. Complete unfinished tasks from the day before, so they don’t stress you out all day. Use it to do your writing for Medium, so you don’t have to do it at 8 pm, when you’re finally finished with your other tasks.
And who knows, maybe you’ll be so elated that one day you’ll join the 5 am club.
2. Use a To-Do List
Not everyone uses a to-do list, or you’re like me, and when it’s not working for you, you abandon it because it’s too overwhelming and shameful to look at.
But jotting things down makes it a lot easier to get started with your day and plan things out. It also helps you transition from one task to the next — no pondering involved, just look at your list and follow along.
But be real — don’t overload and overwhelm yourself by trying to put too much onto your list. Just stick with what must get done, and if you have extra time, you can always add tasks once you complete the essential items for the day.
Working from a list is not only motivating, but it also gives you a feeling of accomplishment and success.
3. Plan Your Day the Night Before
One of the easiest yet most remarkable things I did was to take just fifteen minutes to plan my day the night before.
You don’t have to plan it all out to a ‘T’, but I realized how much time I wasted getting into my day every morning and deciding what I would start with and what I would do next. And when you don’t have a plan, your mind wanders to distractions —I should check my email. I wonder if there’s anything fun on Instagram this morning. Maybe I’ll check on some Amazon deals for my kitchen — and the next thing you know, it’s 11 am and you’ve barely gotten started.
If you have a list waiting for you when you wake up, you have no excuses.
4. Start With the Most Important Thing First
Not sure what the most important thing on your to-do list is?
It’s usually the task you avoid until you have to do it.
Don’t wait for that to happen. Doing the most critical task first will give you a sense of accomplishment and make the rest of your to-do list topple with ease.
5. Spend an Hour on Tasks You’ve Been Avoiding
We all have those sticky notes surrounding our computer, our desk, (our lives) reminding us to do those tasks we find tedious or those minor tasks that seem insignificant. Those same tasks we put off, and off, until they pile up until it all seems insurmountable.
Set aside a little time each day to focus on completing those lingering, annoying tasks before they build to a crippling pile.
Once you set your sights on them, you’ll be amazed at how quickly and efficiently they get done.
And then it’s away with those pesky sticky notes!
6. Acknowledge When a Task is No Longer Necessary
Sometimes a task becomes unnecessary, and yet it sits on our to-do list. And sits…and sits.
Maybe it’s just on hold, you think it may come back soon, or it’s now in someone else’s hands, but you want to track it.
It’s vital to move the item off your to-do list. Things that sit, collecting dust, make you feel like you’re never able to accomplish everything.
Sometimes it’s just time to accept that a task is no longer relevant.
You can always add it back if it pops back up. But for now, vamoose.
7. Productivity “Time-Frames” — Limit Interruptions and Distractions
Getting back into your groove after an interruption can take serious time — we’re talkin’ 25 minutes.
And if you let them, interruptions and distractions will plague you all day long.
Choose time-frames of 30 to 60 minutes to focus and avoid interruptions — I picked up a cheap timer from Amazon and use the Pomodoro method.
No matter how you choose to do it, silence your phone and turn it upside down, close your email, and avoid any other distractions at all costs. When you take a break from your productivity time-frame, you can catch up on your missed notification.
It may surprise you, but in doing this, I’ve found that rarely is anything so important it can’t wait until I’m ready.
And once you begin to gain that control, you won’t want to relinquish it. You answer others on your time, not theirs.
And it’s so refreshing.
8. Return all Your Messages
Take time during your breaks or at the end of each day (depending on the urgency) to return all phone calls, text messages, and emails so that you don’t let those get bogged down.
If it’s not urgent, I usually take a little time in the evening to catch up on that stuff.
Just like your to-do list, ignored or ‘put-off’ messages and phone calls can pile up and begin to stress you out.
9. Acknowledge What You Accomplished Today
Look at your list, check it twice, and see what you’ve accomplished today. If you didn’t check something off, was there a reason? Did it get stalled because of something out of your control? Or maybe it got moved, and you can take it off your list.
Then congratulate yourself on a job well done. Celebrate that you were effective and productive, that you crossed off a lot of tasks, and that you made progress on your goals.
Stop Falling Behind by Igniting Your Productivity, Today
Are you sick of finishing up the workday feeling like you accomplished nothing? And yet, you’re somehow still worn out, stressed, and feel like you just put in a twenty-hour day…
Start getting your day back and master your own productivity.
Remember — if you don’t set your priorities, someone else will.
So use the tips above to ignite your productivity and crush your goals.
