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Everyone goes through bouts of productivity at one point or another. There are days where you actually do cross off everything on the to-do list and feel good about it, but it always seems to lead back to that regular state of procrastination (for lots of us, at least). Think back to one of those extremely productive days and imagine if you could kill it like that every day AND have free time.
The truth is, it’s not only possible, it’s easier than you think. I used to be a professional procrastinator, so I understand exactly what it’s like to feel the impending weight of seemingly excessive responsibility on your shoulders, it sucks. It sucks so bad that I was thinking about it over a cup of coffee about 10 minutes ago, and now here I am writing this.
1.) Technology/ Apps
For the longest time I was paper and pen only. I didn’t see the efficiency in using my phone as a calendar when I had one on the wall in front of me. In fact, I didn’t see technology as a means to enhance productivity at all.
This was until my birthday a year ago when someone bought me a “smartwatch”. I didn’t use it for the first month, but one day I decided to just set it up and give it a shot. In the midst of my exploring it’s functions I became interested in it’s potential, opening my mind to the use of technology for productivity.
Technology is quickly accessible on the go. You just made a new appointment? Type it in. Got a free second to answer emails? Whip out your phone. There are truly endless possibilities when it comes to technology and the best part is it’s constantly new and improving. At any moment, I am able to look down at my watch and check my calendar/ notifications/ activity/ etc. Though, I am still a firm believer in the live-in-the-moment mentality, but I admit technology truly does boost your productivity if used correctly.
There are apps for everything. There are now thousands of app creators hopping into the profitable market of app creation, attempting to create the best most innovative productivity apps out there. That on it’s own shows how seriously useful this stuff is.
Being there are millions of apps in the world, I can’t quite go over all of them, but here is a list of ones I personally use and recommend. Check them out:
Apps that me me more efficient:
- Evernote: Insanely efficient digital notebook
- Google Drive: Awesome digital file organization program
- Runtastic: Keeps track of runs/ bike rides
Tech to get:
- Pebble Smartwatch (Awesome on a budget)
- Samsung Gear s2 Smartwatch (The better one, but a tad more expensive)
2.) Have Fun
You’ll be miserable if you don’t find a way to smile and have fun while going about your productive day of work and errands. You already don’t want to be doing it, don’t make it worse by succumbing to the negativity.
Keep a positive outlook. Always see the glass half full and imagine how you’ll feel after you get everything done. Do anything it takes to keep smiling. Responsibility is inevitable, and imperative if you want to be successful. That said, productivity (getting responsibilities done quickly) is essential. You may as well be happy while you tackle your to do list.
Find ways to have more fun. You have to clean the house today? Cool, blast some music and have a good ol’ time doing that. Running errands? Nice, grab a coffee first and enjoy the car ride. There are millions of ways to have more fun, you just have to figure out what you like, and implement that into your productive day.
3.) Sticky Notes
One day I got sucked into surfing YouTube. One video turned into another, which turned into another, which turned into opening multiple tabs of videos, etc. You know how it goes. Anyhow, in the midst of my surfing, I came across a video about the utilization of sticky notes. Weird, I had to click on it. That one click changed my world. You think I’m kidding, but there are roughly 80 sticky notes on the wall next to me. Do guests think I’m crazy? Yeah. Am I more productive because of it? Hell yeah.
Seriously, get some sticky notes here.
Use them as reminders. You thought of something you can’t forget before work tomorrow morning? Write it on a sticky not and post it to your coffee machine. Use them for any reminder, then put them somewhere clever. It’s fun and effective.
Write down positive affirmations. This may not quite boost your productivity, but it will boost your mood which can lead to being more productive. Write down a positive or motivating quote every once in a while and leave it on the bathroom mirror.
Make clusters! I basically dedicated a wall in my office to stickies. I have different clusters that I add to. There’s a cluster for things I need, good ideas, post ideas, etc. Clusters help to get all of my thoughts out of my head and right in front of me to physically see. I find that it helps to stay organized and not forget ideas or things I have to do.
4.) Eat the Frog!
For those who have never heard that phrase, Mark Twain once said that if the first thing you do each morning is eat a live frog, you can go through the rest of the day with the satisfaction of knowing that it’s probably (hopefully) the worse task you’ll have to conquer all day. In other words: do the least enticing, most difficult task on your to do list first to get it out of the way.
Look forward to the rest of the day. Once you finish that horrid task, whatever it may be, you know that it’s the worst thing you’ll have to do all day. Of course you’ll have days with multiple frogs, but get them out of the way and you’ll feel ten times better than if you had procrastinated them into the future, trust me.
Exert 100% of your effort into that task. Being that it’s the first whale on your to do list, you’ll be fully charged and able to go into it at 100%. The most enormous task is typically the most important, therefore it deserves the most effort. Then it’s a nice downhill from there.
5.) Never-Ending To-Do List
I know that sounds absolutely terrifying, but it’s a truly amazing concept that helps me get twice as much quality work done. In a nutshell: plan to do errands from X o’clock to X o’clock, rather than to cross off everything on the list. Finish what you can, whether it’s more or less. I’m not saying to literally write a never-ending list, and I’m certainly not saying to never take a break.
The never-ending to-do list is an ideology that makes you a productive person. Plan breaks and time to not be working, but remember the “never-ending list” concept, during the time you are working.
Instead of basing when your day’s over on the number of items on your to-do list, base it on a time. In other words, instead of focusing on finishing just those ten things today, focus on doing as much as you can by say 8 o’clock. Whether you get 6 or 19 items completed, the point is you got quality work done.