Productivity

Is your desk cluttered with things to take care of? Do you find that you spend more time organizing rather than working? Are you looking for ways to declutter and become more productive? We all face setbacks at different times of life where we find that we are not performing as well as we can. We need to increase our productivity but it seems hard to do. But, it is beneficial and essential to increase it as soon as possible. We cannot do everything we want to do in the limited time available to us if we don’t increase our productivity.

What is productivity?

Productivity is all about how efficient you are. It involves measuring whether you have got to the end of a task and how much time it took you to do so.

How to be productive

You can do many things to be productive and most don’t even need large changes in your existing patterns. Little changes go a long way, as long as it is consistent. Start with a to-do list. Simple but elegant, this solution works for so many people. Knowing what you need to do at any given time helps you achieve it. This list does not need to be long or large. In fact, you should not have large items like conquering the Himalayas on a daily to-do list!

You should break your list into smaller, much more manageable items. It is ok to have a long-term goal of climbing the Himalayas, but keep that in the goals list and only bring the immediately actionable items into the daily to-do list, like exercising and building core strength and endurance for 1 hour a day. This makes the list seem possible rather than daunting while also pushing you slowly to your overall goal.

Elements of productivity

• Identify what you need to do, what you would like to do, and what you would do if you had time. Then focus on the first two and delegate the last to someone else.
• From the first two, prioritise what you need to do and break that into smaller parts so that you can tick it off as you do each part.
• Once all of that is done, go on to what you would like to do and follow the same procedure.
• Have your lists and goals in an easily visible place so that you don’t lose track of what needs to be done or achieved.
• Find a method that works for you. Each of us has a different way of doing things and what works for you will not work for your friend. Identify your peak system through trial and error, and stick to that.
• Consistency is key. Build habits over the long-term although you start in the short-term. Doing something every day for a few weeks or months makes a massive difference to your overall productivity and life.
• Understand that some days you will not feel like doing it. It is ok to feel this way, but do it if you can. Don’t push yourself beyond what you can: Don’t exercise if you are in pain because you might end up physically hurting yourself. But, try to remain consistent and when you can’t, allow yourself a day to breathe and rest.

At the end of the day, productivity is meant to help us not hinder us, so learn to love the process and the planning. You will feel more accomplished once you have ticked off a few items from the list so keep the lists close to you. But don’t get so bogged down that it becomes a chore and you hate the sight of it!