03 Nov Seven Productivity Hacks To Boost Your Success
How can we achieve the highest levels of productivity so that we attain our goals faster? How can we maximize our potential and achieve the success we desire? First of all, everyone has a different definition of success. What success means to one person can be entirely different from what it means to another person. However, what is common for every successful individual is that attitude and steps that they have gone through. But how exactly can we improve our productivity and boost our success? Of course, there are plenty of productivity hacks out there. We have selected seven most efficient and practical hacks to help boost your success:
USE THE RIGHT TOOLS
When it comes to improving our productivity, we are often as good as the tools we use. Making use of the right tools, in the right way, will instantly help improve our effectiveness and efficiency all through the day. When it comes to boosting success, there are three tools in particular that are of most significance. These tools include checklists, task lists, and calendars. Use a task list to highlight the key tasks and projects you will work on each day. Use a calendar to plan the time for carrying out these tasks and projects. Use checklists to draft and accelerate your workflow as you work through each individual task.
GET RID OF DISTRACTIONS
Making use of the right tools is a great start, but they will end up being rather useless if you are unable to get rid of the distractions that disturb your workflow. There are precisely two types of distractions which you must address. The first is the external distraction which includes people, noise, physical discomfort, smells, and visual stimuli that interfere with your ability to concentrate. On the other hand, the internal distractions that come as emotions and thoughts that affect your ability to focus. Be ruthless whenever you are dealing with these distractions.
BE TASK EFFICIENT
Now that you are fully focused and have your priorities set, it’s time to work through your tasks more professionally. Productivity is all about working smarter, not harder. In order to work smarter, you must use your time more effectively. One way you can do that is to classify related tasks together (also called chunking in Psychology) and then within the fixed time slots, you walk through them. This will save you the stress of working through similar tasks several times per day. Of course, this is beneficial as it helps you avoid falling into the trap of multi-tasking. Multi-tasking involves dividing your attention between two different tasks, which often ends up hurting productivity.
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WORK WITH PURPOSE
Improving productivity to boost success isn’t only about what you do and how you go about completing those tasks. It’s also about the attitude you bring to each task. Specifically, it’s all about working with a sense of purpose, a deep desire, and a passion for accomplishing the job. When you work with a purpose, all your energy and efforts are united in one direction. This certainly helps you to stay focused for a longer time. However, working with a purpose requires an understanding of why you are doing what you are doing. It also requires getting very clear about the true lasting value you will gain from working through each task.
USE A TIMER
One of the fastest ways to instantly improve your productivity levels comes in the form of a timer. A timer is a very effective tool because it helps create that sense of urgency. When we work with no time limit, we are more at ease and we relax our way into our work routine. However, when there is an imminent time limit on the horizon, that is when we gather up the extra energy we need to get stuff done in time. Having that in mind, schedule all your tasks into certain time slots, then set a timer for accomplishing each task. This will provide you with the urgency you need to accomplish your work.
MAKE WORK FUN
In order to maintain a high level of productivity over the long-run, it’s important that you stay adequately motivated. One of the best ways to do that is to make your work fun and exciting. For example, instead of being frightened of going through that budget report, you can turn it into a game and challenge yourself to complete it within a specific time frame. Or how about you pretend that you are a secret agent who is on a mission to unlock a secret code that is found in that report. Or what about encouraging some friendly competition between you and your colleagues. By making things fun, work will no longer feel like a chore, but more like playtime.
TAKE REGULAR BREAKS
Working for hours continuously is certainly commendable. But is it actually sensible? Does working for longer period mean that you will achieve more at the end of the day? Well, in fact, it doesn’t. Research has discovered that we can only maintain a high level of focus and concentration for short bursts at a time. After this period, our focus and concentration level declines, until we reach that point where we start to feel mentally tired. This afterward makes us more vulnerable to distractions, which of course reduces our levels of productivity. To avoid falling into this trap, it can be really helpful to spend 45 minutes working, and 5 minutes resting.
By concluding all of the above discussion, I can say that boosting success is not just a day game; it requires proper planning, effective time management, and dedicated efforts. Being productive in life is a great challenge, and to boost success, one should give the above productivity hacks a little try. It’s up to you to pick up what works best for you and make it a part of your everyday life!
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