20th February 2020 | 4 min read
For many people, being productive is not something that comes easily – and is instead something that has to be worked at. However, there are certain methods you can use to make your working day more productive, leading to a higher success rate. By following these 6 productive things successful people do daily, you’ll be able to work smarter, achieve more, and fit more into each day.
Top of our list of productivity tips, having a good morning routine is a great way to kickstart your day, setting you up for anything that might come your way. You can tailor your routine to make it more personal, but we suggest following the same pattern every day to get into good habits. Examples of a solid morning routine habits could include light exercise such as yoga, a meditation session, an invigorating shower, doing a Sudoku, eating a healthy breakfast, or having a cup of tea or coffee to set you on your way. Test a few different routines to see what works best for you. After that, you’ll be ready to tackle anything.
Everyone has a different way of working, and the most successful people are able to recognise their personal working style and adjust their schedule to suit. For example, most people can be divided into either early birds or night owls, meaning that they are more alert and focused at certain times of day. So, if you’re a late-nights kind of person, forcing yourself to get up early will do your productivity no favours, while morning larks should avoid trying to work late into the evening. Similarly, don’t copy someone else’s working style just because it works for them. Working at your own pace and at the time that works best for you is much more productive.
Diving straight into your work with no strategy is not a productive use of your time. Therefore, a top way to make sure every day is productive is to sit down in the morning and create a list of goals and tasks, with rest breaks scheduled in. If you’re really on top of things, you could add time limits for each task. Taking half an hour each morning to give yourself a clear game plan for the day will enable you to work much more methodically and productively.
When you look at your to-do list, it’s always tempting to do the easier tasks first. Unfortunately, this then means you are left with the tougher or more tedious tasks. These sorts of tasks are often known as ‘frogs’, and one tip plenty of experts claim boosts productivity is to eat these frogs first, saving the easier tasks for later. Try to eat one or two frogs before you do anything else, and watch your workload lighten as the day goes on.
Although it’s tempting to reply to emails as soon as they come in, this has been shown to be an unproductive use of our time – and often we spend more time checking and replying to emails than we do on the most important tasks. To combat this, set aside certain times to go through your emails – we suggest one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. Time blocking will help you to be more productive and stay on course throughout the day.
One of the most common reasons why we don’t work as productively as we could is because we allow ourselves to become distracted. Chatting with colleagues, browsing the web, taking phone calls or even staring out of the window are all popular distractions we use to avoid work.
Savvy people therefore try to eliminate any possible distractions while at work. This could include putting temporary blockers on your social media accounts, wearing headphones to drown out background noise, or drawing the blinds on your window. Having a neat and tidy workspace is another fantastic way to minimise distractions and ensure you stay on track. Just remember not to work too hard – taking regular breaks away from your screen is also a good way to boost productivity.
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