How to be more Productive.
You are not born with productivity, It is a skill you can learn and master. How to be more productive is a question everyone has, so here is the answer. Grab a piece of paper and get ready to take notes.
1. Change your environment
“If you want to change the world - start by making your bed”
Small changes in your environment can lead to huge behavioral changes in You. That’s because your environment provides cues that influence your actions. For example, if you want to study more, you can change your environment by cleaning your messy desk and keeping only the necessary books and supplies on it. You are far more likely to study on a clean desk rather than a messy one.
The point is to change your environment in a way that Good things are easy to do and bad things are harder to do. That is how to be more productive.
Make the changes in order to make good things easier to do,
examples :
- Prepare your gym bag the night before.
- Place your running shoes by your bed night before
- Clean your desk the night before so you can just wake up do your work and be productive
Make the changes in order to make procrastination hard,
examples :
- move your phone charger out of your bedroom so you won’t procrastinate on your bed
- Remove social media apps from your phone and only access them on your computer
- Changing your environment in this manner will increase your productivity because You reduce the friction between you and productivity while increasing friction between you and procrastination.
2. Embrace Deep Work
“To do two things at once is to do neither ” - Publius Syrus
Multitasking is inefficient. It makes You do a bad job at all things you were doing. Although how cool multitasking sounds for you Deep work is way 10x productive
.
What is deep work?
It means doing one task at a time, with full deep focus only on that task. For example if you are working on making a powerpoint presentation You will only focus on that task and that task only.
Now if You are checking and replying to email, You will only focus on that. No checking email while making the presentation. No texting, No chatting, No scrolling. Just fully focus on one task, no mixing. Set aside time for those tasks too, And don’t do anything else when it’s your time to text.
The point is to focus on a single task at a time.
Also You won’t be able to focus on a single task straight for more than 90 minutes. So remember to take a 5 - 10 minutes break every 90minuts. (Please don’t scroll on your phone while you are on your break, Just go on a walk. IT’S GOOD FOR YOU!)
“Well I have to reply to my Emails / Text immediately”
Nope! You don’t have to. Set up your phone/computer notifications so that when you are doing deep work, texts, emails, and calls only come from the really important people you know and care about. You can use the "do not disturb" feature on your devices for that.
To be more productive focus on one task at a time.
You can find more information, along with practical implementation guides for deep work, in the book "Deep Work" by Cal Newport.
3. Manage your time properly.
“How can you be productive if You don’t know when to do stuff”
Using a proper time management system is a must for a productive person. It only takes you less than 5 minutes yet helps you save hours of your life. There are many ways to manage your time. Here is an efficient easy time management system You can use.
For this You will need a small pocket Notebook.
(Fancy apps on your phone can works too but they are more distracting than helpful)
First you write down the things due today in the morning. (Leave some space on the page bottom)
ex : 8:30 to 9:00 - Read a books
10:00 to 11:00 - Study econ
12:00 to 13:00 - Go to the bank
13:30 to 16:30 - Gym
etc.
Then you cross out those to-dos as you finish them.
ex : 8:30 to 9:00 - Read a books
10:00 to 11:00 - Study econ
12: to 13:00 - Go to the bank
13:30 to 16:30 - Gym
In this “Things to remember'' Write down the to-dos for tomorrow as they cross your mind.Then in the next morning write them down on your to-do list. With this system You won’t forget anything and you won’t waste energy trying to remember them.
If you fail to do a task today, write it under “Things to remember” and move it to a day possible.
This system only takes less than 5 minutes of your time.
Time is a created thing. To say, “I don't have any time” is to say “I don't want to”.
4. Cure your phone addiction.
‘Ever wondered why you open social media apps randomly?’
Your phone is like a slot machine, You are spinning the wheel by opening apps and finding out what's new.
It gives you instant gratification and a hit of dopamine, with that an addiction is formed.
Phone addiction is the number one cause of lost productivity.
You can be addicted to your phone without you even knowing about it. Scrolling all day on social media or playing mobile games for hours is all a part of it.
The solution to this problem is not as easy as just turning off your notification.
You have to make big changes to cure your phone addiction. Such as,
- Deleting all social media from your phone (Including Youtube) and only acces the necessary social media from a computer.
- Deleting all of your mobile games
- Understanding what kind of phone your is absolutely necessary for you and only use your phone for those tasks
- Changing your phone to a dumb flip phone
At first those changes look huge, odd and you are going to say “Well I can’t do that”.
I understand, but if you dive deep into this topic you will find those changes reasonable. Productivity comes at a cost. Social media especially, is designed to make you addicted. Billions of dollars invested to ensure that happens. If you read the book “Digital minimalism by Cal Newport” You will find arguments and more reasons backing up those “Big changes' '.
If your phone is the reason you are not productive. It’s time to make some "big changes".
5. Maintain a Good energy level.
“To burn energy working, Gain energy first.”
Ever found yourself all pumped up to be productive and work hard just to stop working because you're tired or sleepy. That is probably because Your energy level is low. You need lots of energy to do lots of good productive work.
How to maintain a good energy level to be more productive?
- Eat healthy food - To maintain energy without any crashes eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. Learn how to cook and mix spices so You can cook your own healthy meals. Don’t eat highly processed food; they give you huge energy crashes. If you don’t have a problem with weight, eat some calorie dense nuts throughout the day.
- Exercise regularly - Exercise increases your baseline energy level thus increasing your focus and productivity. Walking is one of the best exercises for your health by the way. (WALK MORE!)
- Drink more water - Drinking more water increases your alertness and focus. Which is useful to be more productive. Fill up a water bottle and place it on your desk, The water bottle will be a visual reminder leading you to drink more water.
- Sleep properly - What’s the point of sleeping if you wake up tired. Take at least 7 hours of sleep every day. Avoid using screens and eating heavy meals before going to bed. Buy a good pillow if you can.
'To be productive, be energised'.
6. Find WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!
One thing Depression, anxiety, dopamine addiction, low self-esteem, ADHD have in common is they all lead you to procrastination. No matter how hard You try, if You are suffering from one of these conditions You will find it very hard to be productive and focused.
Not only that, physical health conditions such as poor sleep can make it hard to be productive, No matter how much caffeine you consume.
So make sure to stay healthy both physically and mentally to be more productive and focused.
Bonus Tip - Read these books.
- Deep Work by Cal Newport
- Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
- Atomic Habits James Clear
- 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma
Conclusion : In this article I point out that the answer for the question How to be more productive is to change your environment, Embrace Deep work, Manage Your time, Cure your phone addiction and stay healthy both physically and mentally.
Share this article with your unproductive friends and coworkers.
Author - Sithija Kawishan.
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