In today’s fast-paced world, being productive is more important than ever. Productivity hacks are simple, yet powerful techniques that can help you work smarter, not harder.
In this blog post, we’ll explore what productivity hacks are, why they’re essential, and how they can transform your daily routine.Most productivity strategies focus on short-term efficiency: how to manage your to-do list effectively, how to get more done each morning, how to shorten your weekly meetings, and so on. These are all reasonable ideas.
What is Productivity?
Let’s define productivity. Productivity is a measure of efficiency of a person completing a task. We often assume that productivity means getting more things done each day. Wrong. Productivity is getting important things done consistently. And no matter what you are working on, there are only a few things that are truly important.
Being productive is about maintaining a steady, average speed on a few things, not maximum speed on everything.
More Productivity Ideas
Most productivity strategies focus on short-term efficiency: how to manage your to-do list effectively, how to get more done each morning, how to shorten your weekly meetings, and so on. These are all reasonable ideas.
We often fail to realize, however, that there are certain strategic choices we need to make if we want to maximize our productivity for the long-term. In these articles below, I break down some ideas about long-term productivity.
- A Different Way of Thinking About Productivity
- The Mistake Smart People Make: Being In Motion vs. Taking Action
- How to Stay Focused When You Get Bored Working Toward Your Goals
What’s fogging up focus?
Like a computer that slows with use, the brain accumulates wear and tear that affects processing. This can be caused by a number of physiological stressors such as inflammation, injury to blood vessels (especially if you have high blood pressure), the buildup of abnormal proteins, and naturally occurring brain shrinkage.
Underlying conditions. Depression or sleep disorders (such as sleep apnea) can undermine your ability to concentrate. So can the effects of vision or hearing loss. You waste precious cognitive resources when you spend too much time trying to make out what’s written on a page or just hear what someone is saying.
Medication side effects. Some drugs, especially anticholinergics (such as treatments for incontinence, depression, or allergies), can slow processing speed and your ability to think clearly.
Excessive drinking. Having too much alcohol impairs thinking and causes interrupted sleep, which affects concentration.
Information overload. We are bombarded with information from TVs, computers, and messages such as texts or emails. When there’s too much material, it burdens our filtering system and it’s easy to get distracted.
Mindfulness. “Mindfulness is about focusing attention on the present moment, and practicing mindfulness has been shown to rewire the brain so that attention is stronger in everyday life,” says Kim Willment, a neuropsychologist with Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She recommends sitting still for a few minutes each day, closing your eyes, and focusing on your breathing as well as the sounds and sensations around you.
Cognitive training. Computerized cognitive training games aim to improve your response times and attention. Evidence that this works has been mixed. “The goal of playing these Improve Focus and Boost Productivity
games is not to get better at them, but to get better in the cognitive activities of everyday life,” Willment says. “But there is evidence that a person’s ability to pay attention can be improved by progressively pushing the person to higher levels of performance. So if you reach a certain level of sustained attention, pushing it to the next level can help improve it, and this may translate to everyday life.”
Reduce distractions
According to the American Psychological Association, the human brain isn’t great at multitasking. That’s because even the most subtle act of task-switching (the act of stopping one task to focus on another) impacts our cognitive processing. Essentially, our ability to perform well at any task is disrupted any time we need to switch to something else, which is why removing potential distractions from your workspace is a great way to improve focus. Some ways you can do this is by:
- Putting your phone in a drawer or another room where you can’t see it, making use of the focus mode settings, or just turning it off altogether
- Using an app to temporarily block the websites you often find yourself drifting to when you struggle to concentrate (especially social media!)
- Turning off on-screen notifications and audio alerts on your email and messaging apps
- Finding a quiet place where you can work without interruption, such as a Bureau booth, a room/office with a door, or a desk in a low-traffic area
Embrace micro-tasking
Have you ever felt so overwhelmed by the amount of work in front of you that you don’t even know where to start? Being swamped can make us feel like we’re just spinning our wheels, and it’s demotivating! Research shows that the act of completing tasks releases dopamine—a neurotransmitter that creates feelings of accomplishment, happiness, and motivation—in our brains. The more motivated we are, the easier it is to focus on the task at hand. Give your brain more accomplishments to celebrate by:
- Breaking large tasks into smaller steps that can be completed faster and without spending as much mental energy
- Keeping your daily to-do list to a maximum of three priority tasks (Anything you accomplish beyond those three items will be bonus wins!)
- Writing an actual to-do list (or using a digital alternative) that allows you to check off/cross out your accomplishments
- Gamifying your to-do list by rewarding yourself when you complete X number of tasks
Protect your time
Finding time to focus on deep work can be hard when your schedule is constantly packed. Getting work done in stolen chunks of time between meetings and calls isn’t the most efficient strategy. This is why it’s important to not only make the time for your to-do list, but also to protect it from the multitude of other demands on your calendar. You can prioritize your focus time by:
- Blocking time in your calendar for deep work
- Asking your colleagues to respect the time you’ve set aside to focus on your work
- Setting aside the same time each day for deep work to establish a routine
Why Do You Need Productivity Hacks?
Incorporating productivity hacks into your routine can have numerous benefits:
– Reduce Stress: By managing your tasks more effectively, you can lower stress levels and avoid feeling overwhelmed.
– Increase Focus: Productivity hacks help eliminate distractions, allowing you to concentrate better on the tasks.
– Improve Work-Life Balance: Efficient work habits enable you to complete tasks quicker, giving you more time for personal activities and relaxation.
– Achieve Goals Faster: By working more efficiently, you can reach your goals in less time, boosting your overall satisfaction and motivation.
The Impact of Productivity Hacks
Implementing productivity hacks can lead to significant improvements in both your professional and personal life, alongside broader ways to improve efficiency in the workplace. Imagine being able to finish your workday with a sense of accomplishment, knowing you’ve been highly productive. Not only will you feel more in control of your tasks, but you’ll also have more free time to enjoy the things you love