There are only so many hours in a work day and it’s really frustrating when you feel you’ve been unproductive. The real key to productivity lies in managing your energy as much as your time. Here are 5 simple tips to boost your efficiency:
- Find your golden hour
There’s value in finding out the time of day you do your best work, so you can build your schedule around your energy levels. Personally I’m a morning person, so I make sure I do my most important or creative tasks first thing. But if you function better after your second coffee or after dark, schedule that time block for doing the work that needs your optimum brain power. Don’t waste your golden hour on low-priority tasks!
- Avoid context-switching
Multi-tasking can reportedly reduce productivity by up to 40%. Of course it’s fine to combine certain activities like listening to a podcast and driving, but when you really need mental focus to drive a project forward, it’s better to avoid combining or switching between different tasks. Aim to schedule meetings and other work on a particular project close together, so you can maintain deep focus on that project.
- Minimise distractions
Try this: when you need to get something done, decide to do a 25-minute sprint, focusing only on that activity and then give yourself a small break/reward. Our phones are the biggest distraction. Even if it is face down on your desk but within your line of vision, you’ll want to keep checking it! Putting your phone in another room is the best way to remove that distraction and loss of focus. Another good way to remove interruptions when you’re doing focussed work is to turn off email notifications (setting up an automated response giving another way to message you in urgent cases if necessary.)
- The 3-minute rule
When a task lands on you, assess how long you think it’s going to take to deal with. Some tasks are annoying but take less than 3 minutes to handle. For those tasks, deal with them right away. It’ll feel good to clear it away and it’ll take up less of your time and mental energy than adding it to your to-do list, triaging it and having it clogging up your inbox.
- Use strategic pauses
Build in intentional pauses or “white space” between activities in your day. This helps you be thoughtful about your work, rather than running on a stressful hamster-wheel of busyness. Schedule your meetings at 10 past the hour if that works for you, and just take a moment to move away from your desk, breathe and maybe walk round the block. There’s two types of “white space” – one to give yourself a mental break – so intentionally divert yourself from work for these and maybe listen to some music or move outside. And the other type of pause is for allowing creative or strategic thinking. Here you might just want to follow a train of thought or use the time to step back and consider the bigger picture of the project. Scheduling (and taking!) short moments throughout the day will help you to stay alert, calm and productive.