Top 5 Productivity Hacks to Get You Doing More

Every new day comes with tasks waiting to be completed, whether you’re a startup founder, an entrepreneur or a professional you’d find yourself busy most of the time. And there’s usually less space to sit back and make strategic plans that will help you take better control of your business or career. You feel stuck in a routine that’s increasing draining your productivity. If only there were productivity hacks that will put you in control once again. 

Well not to worry. We’ve put together 5 productivity hacks that will help you reach your daily goals and also afford you the time to relax and refresh your creative juices.

1. Take one step at a time.

There’s a widespread belief that multitasking can help you achieve more. But does it? The truth is, it’s impossible to intentionally focus on more that one thing at a time.  Keith Shields, CEO at Designli, put it right when he said, “Multitasking only works with tasks that don’t require concentration.”

Focusing on one task at a time allows you to be more productive. When you check emails and put the finishing touches on a presentation while on a phone call, you can feel productive, but you’ll slow yourself down and miss things. You’ll actually increase your productivity by doing one thing at a time.

2. Take better care of yourself.

You might be convinced you’re doing fine and go ‘Yeah I take care of myself, nothing to worry about there’ But have you sat back and asked yourself when last you had some quality sleep, exercise or a balanced diet? We get so caught up with our daily lives that we forget the biological machine making it all happen – our bodies. The more you care for yourself, the more productive you’ll become.

3. Reject unnecessary tasks

As a business or career person, there’ll always be someone interested in your time or wants you to perform a task. This will often make you feel overloaded with things to do. That’s where your top priorities must take the forefront. You can simply say ‘no’ and be back on track with what truly matters.

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4. Make time for Self-development

Make time on a weekly basis for activities that inspire your imagination or help you develop as an individual. It could be leaning a new skill, reading a book or going to a show. The knowledge and release gained from these activities will help you find better ways to handle challenges that arise as you work. 

5. Reduce your workday.

This one sounds counterproductive but it’s actually effective. We get so buried in a jampacked work culture that even weekends have become workdays. Keith Shields asks the question “Have you ever found yourself working a 12-hour day, only to find yourself staring at your computer unable to get your thoughts together to complete the task you started an hour earlier?”. That’s the human mind for you. There’s simply a limit to how much work we can do in a stretch. You can push yourself all you want but at some point you’d need to take break otherwise you simply won’t be productive anymore. 

If you work for excessively long hours, find a window to rearrange your workweek fewer hours. You’ll notice you’re fresh and alert for a longer period of time and you get more work done.