YOU Will Be Amazed What Happens When YOU Change THIS!
The day has 24 hours. Sometimes double that would be too little to get everything done that needs to be done. While some people seem to get everything done effortlessly, others fail at even the smallest things. The times we live in are demanding. We have to deliver, be productive, meet our planned target and, on the side, be good-looking, happy and satisfied people. The stress of work seamlessly transitions into the stress of leisure, not to mention balancing family and career. How are we supposed to manage all this without collapsing at the end of each day completely exhausted and drained? The answer is to pay attention to the details. Small changes to your daily routine and habits can do amazing things when it comes to productivity. We'd like to share 6 such practical tips with you in this article.
1. Make a list
The good old to-do list is far from obsolete, on the contrary. It's amazing what writing down important items can do for our productivity and especially the way we get there. Every day in the morning, or as early as the night before, jot down what you need to get done. Rank the items either by urgency or the timing that gives you the least amount of idle time or detours. If all items are equally important, start with the one that can be completed the fastest. You can allow yourself this luxury, because it also hides a helpful psychological trick. By completing the first to-do quickly and confidently, you will spontaneously feel a sense of achievement. This is additionally reinforced by the impression of having already accomplished a substantial part of the day's work. We are satisfied with ourselves, perhaps even release a few happy hormones, and can then use this momentum to devote ourselves to the rest of our tasks.
2. Use the time from A to B
Depending on how much time per day you have to commute to work or elsewhere, make sure you use it as much as possible. If you're driving, you won't be able to do much that's productive on the side, at least not if you care about your own safety and that of other road users. In the car, however, you have the chance to work on your stress resistance and resilience. You can listen to music that relaxes you or puts you in a good mood. If reading gets far too little time in your day, treat yourself to an audiobook on your way through morning traffic. If you draw your mental strength from silence, enjoy it if possible. If you're traveling by public transportation and circumstances allow, get productive now. Maybe you can take notes or jot down some creative ideas on paper. Of course, with a good pair of headphones in hand, this is another great time to relax and work on your resilience.
3. Short breaks increase productivity
If you're one of those people who works through hours without breaks and maybe even without eating or drinking, it's high time for a change of perspective. You're not only harming yourself physically and psychologically with this monster program, no... Your productivity doesn't benefit from this approach at all either, not to mention the executive floor. Our brain is only able to concentrate for a relatively short period of time. If we force it to overwork, mistakes and carelessness will accumulate, and the bottom line is that we'll spend more time on a task or project than is actually necessary. But your eyes also suffer when you stare at the screen for hours without interruption, not to mention your back and arms, from sitting hunched over, organs bruised. If you can, try a completely new way of organizing your time. The tried and tested Pomodoro principle, for example, is recommended here.
4. Set yourself concrete goals and deadlines
Without concrete targets, our projects tend to hover around us much longer than they should. Anyone who has ever succumbed to the enticing siren song of procrastination will not be able to escape this spell too quickly. Being productive is a different way. Set specific goals for yourself every day, with a timeline to stick to.
5. Shift down a gear
The great entrepreneur and visionary Henry Ford left us with many memorable quotes. One that we should ideally recite to ourselves several times a day like a mantra is, "The greatest enemy of quality is haste." It is ten times better to get fewer things done in a day that are well and solidly done than to sit at the end of the day in front of a mountain of half-finished compromises that need to be picked up and perfected all the more. Sometimes we are unproductive because we want or have to do too much at once. A workload that exceeds our capacity is neither appropriate nor purposeful. If you can manage your time and energy yourself, you will find a very good opportunity to optimize yourself and your output. If the pressure to perform comes from management and becomes constant, you will have to have unpleasant conversations and make unpopular decisions. Your health must absolutely take priority. And always remember: no one thanks you for sacrificing yourself on the altar of maximizing the profits of others.
6. Give social media and yourself a break.
One break that will probably benefit your productivity the most is the one from social media in particular and your smartphone in general. For one day, consciously observe how often you reach for your phone for no reason other than to catch up on gossip and the latest from the digital world. Very few scrolls serve the conscious search for concrete information. Science explains why we enjoy these senselessly wasted minutes, which can quickly expand into hours, like this: When surfing social networks, our brain releases the neurotransmitter dopamine. It is also known colloquially as the pleasure hormone, which says everything about why we give ourselves over to it so readily. We want more of it and remain glued to the display, which produces more and more dopamine. What is missing, however, is the reward, i.e. the satisfaction that the pleasure hormone so promisingly holds out to us. Every minute you spend uselessly scrolling through the colorful world of images on the Internet is dead time for you. Minimize this idle time and you will automatically increase your productivity.
Today’s Conclusion: If you are in a hurry, go slowly.
This quote from Confucius is something we should all take much more to heart in our everyday lives. Stress not only causes us physical and mental discomfort, it also increases the risk of accidents and injuries. Remember also: haste is the enemy of quality. What you can do should be done well and not require rework. In this way, you minimize your error rate and at the same time increase your track record. No one but yourself can free you from your droning hamster wheel. If you don't want your daily routine to become an instrument of torture, simply turn off the power to it. No one but you is at the controls, no one but you can make that decision for you. Sometimes life brings us to our knees so that we can make the jump. That's it for today.