Nowadays, most people are obsessed with becoming more productive at the workplace. Some people even try to find out if they are becoming more productive – every single day.
From my personal experience, I have found that when you try to measure the amount of work you have done in a week or in a month instead of measuring how much work you have done daily – you can get more work done and thus you become more productive at work.
Because when you try to measure your work progress daily, you spend more energy on measuring things that you could spend on doing some actual work.
Read on if you would like to read some practical advice on how to be more productive at work and what you should avoid when you are trying to be more productive.
What does being productive actually means
When it comes to measuring productivity, some people measure it the wrong way. The right way to measure your productivity is actually how much work you are doing within a specific time.
While measuring your productivity, you should not add time spent while measuring your progress or the time spent on your project management.
Because if you add the time you are spending on project management and time spent while measuring your progress then you might become productive at work on paper but you will do less actual work.
So, you need to measure productivity as the amount of work you are actually doing and not time spent on other things.
Because some people get so obsessed with becoming more productive at the workplace that they try to measure everything they do. And they also count those times as work.
To become productive at work – first, you need to have a clear idea about what you should count as work and what you should count as your project management work.
9 Tips on becoming more productive at work
There are many ways you can be more productive at work. But it’s important to practise those that will actually make you more productive at work. While a lot of things might make you feel you are being more productive – on paper, but in real life, they might not perform that well.
When you are trying to be more productive, you need to follow a simple yet effective productivity framework that you can easily adopt into your workflow. Here are 9 tips on how to be more productive at your workplace.
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1. Time block your peak energy hours.
To increase your work productivity you can try time blocking your peak energy hours.
Your peak energy hour is when you feel most energetic during the day. In a day, you will find there are 2-3 time periods when you are most energetic. Time blocking your peak energy hours can help you to get more things done and can help you to become more productive at your work.
To find out your peak energy hours you should try to note down when you are most energetic in a day for an entire week. After finding out your peak energy hour, you can simply make a plan to do your most important task at that time.
Also, to be more productive – you can prepare the things you will need to do work beforehand. So that when you began to work during your peak energy hours – you can dive into your work without needing to waste your valuable time finding things you will need to get started working.
2. Follow a routine while working.
Following a routine, while working can help you to get into a habit and can increase your work productivity as time goes by.
Creating a work routine also helps you to avoid distractions while working and when you follow your work routine – you can better use your working hours.
Following a work routine where you do certain tasks at a fixed time most of the days can help you to get more used to your work. If in any case, you are not motivated to work, following a work routine can help you to push through the work as with time you will be able to build it as a habit.
Thus following a work routine is helpful to improve your continuity and can increase your productivity over time.
3. Start with work where you can succeed.
Starting your day with work that you know you can complete can help you to better start your day and give you a feeling of accomplishing something early in the day.
But while choosing your first task of the day, you should not choose something very easy to do or completing it does not affect that much in your workflow.
You can start your day with work that you love to do and does have little challenges that you can overcome without sweating a lot.
4. Do the most difficult work earlier in the day.
After you have started your workday with some work that can be easily accomplished, you need to focus on doing your most difficult work before the lunch break.
For most people, one of their peak energy hours remains before lunch break. So, if you pick some difficult task and decide to complete it before the lunch break, then you will be ready to face further challenges during the day and it will help you in becoming more productive at work.
5. Spend your low-energy hours on less important tasks.
Answering emails or noting down future tasks and any other small tasks can be sifted to at the time when you are less energetic.
Doing this will help you to free up your hand and you will only be left with fewer important tasks that you can easily do when you are feeling energetic or during your peak energy hours.
6. Don’t forget to take regular breaks in between work hours to increase your productivity.
When you work for long hours without taking breaks, over time you start to slow down at work and your productive score goes down. So, don’t forget to take regular breaks from time to time.
While working on a project, when you feel you have done quite a bit of work but you are starting to feel lethargic then take a break.
It’s found that when you are feeling lethargic from long work hours you began to work at a slower pace. But to replenish your energy you don’t need to take long breaks. You can take a break for just 5 minutes and it will refresh your mood and you will notice you can work at your normal pace.
Make a habit of taking small breaks in between your work hours. Taking breaks in between long work hours can help you to increase your productivity at your workplace.
7. Create a better to-do list and stick to it.
Creating a to-do list is a great way to track your tasks throughout the day. And you can easily find out what tasks to do next after you finish one task. But if you create a cluttered to-do list then it can hamper your productivity.
Some people like to note down everything they will do in a day. Thus they end up with a long to-do list. When you have a long to-do list, you can easily get lost and might miss an important task.
If anything can be done within 5-10 minutes then consider not adding that task to your main to-do list. In your to-do list, you should first note down your important tasks and tasks which will take more than 30 minutes.
For other small tasks that can be completed within 5-10 minutes, prepare a separate to-do list. Doing this will help you to easily make some free time and you can complete all of your small tasks in a batch so you can complete them within an hour or less.
8. Have an adequate amount of sleep at night.
Having an adequate amount of sleep at night and feeling fresh throughout the day can help you to increase your work productivity.
Many people don’t give enough importance to their sleeping habits. When you don’t have 6-7 hours of uninterrupted sleep for a few days in a row – you will feel sluggish throughout the day and it will make you less productive.
When you don’t have an adequate amount of sleep at first you will not notice any major changes in your work habits. But slowly it can make you less productive and as it will impact slowly over time that it becomes hard to notice.
So, if you want to increase your work productivity, make sure you are having a healthy amount of sleep every single night.
9. Focus on one task at a time to become more productive.
Jumping from one task to another or multitasking can be a big productivity killer.
If you develop a habit of multitasking most of the time, it can cause you to lose focus on your work. Also, it takes longer to focus on something if you continuously jump from one task to another.
You can become much more productive if you try to focus on one task at a time.
How to be more efficient and productive at work
Two main things can help you to be more efficient and productive at work. The first thing that will help you to increase your productivity at work is finding your flow state. And the second thing that will help you to be more efficient at your work is doing your vital tasks at your peak energy hours.
Use your flow state while working to increase your productivity: Flow state or being in the zone is a state of mind where you are completely immersed in doing something. Attaining your flow state means when you do your work effortlessly and you have an intense focus on the activity that is in your hand and you enjoy the process of doing that activity.
Do vital tasks at your peak energy hours to become productive at work: Doing your most important tasks at your peak energy hours can help you to become more efficient in your work.
During your peak energy hours, you can do your work at a faster pace and it greatly reduces the amount of time it takes to complete a task.
To take full advantage of your peak energy hours first you have to notice when you normally feel highly energetic and love to do your work naturally. Noticing your work pattern for a week can help you to find 2-3 peak energy hours within a day.
What you should avoid when you want to be more productive at work
When you are working on something and want to become more productive, there are a few things that you need to avoid to actually become more productive at work.
Here is a list of things you should avoid when you want to be more productive at work:
- Trying to measure how much work you have done in a day. Instead of it, track the amount of work you have done in a week or in a month.
- Your to-do list or your workflow is scattered across more than three platforms.
- You are obsessed with measuring everything rather than doing the actual work.
- You are trying to do every work by yourself. Get some help for those works that you don’t enjoy. And simply do more work that you love. This can help you to become more productive at work.
- Not focusing on improving your health and fitness. Don’t let your body fitness become a bottleneck and ruin your productivity score. Participate in daily fitness activities for 15-20 minutes a day to stay fit.
Conclusion
If you have read this far then I guess now you have a clear idea of how to become more productive at work.
These are the tips that personally helped me to increase my productivity over time. There is no secret trick that will increase your productivity overnight.
To increase your productivity at your workplace you have to follow a framework and stick to your work routine. Having a work routine or doing one task at a specific time most of the days in a week can help you to make it a habit. This will help you to work effortlessly on days when you are not that motivated to work. Thus creating a work routine and maintaining it can actually increase your work productivity.
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