A wealth of amazing productivity habits to transform your work (2023)

Originally posted on:https://thegreatupdraft.com/powerful-productivity-habits/

Do you find yourself wandering aimlessly through projects and plagued by distractions? Want to learn how to make the most of your time and increase your productivity?

In this comprehensive guide, you'll learn more than 25 of the best productivity tips I could find. This first follows up on my short and sweet oneProductivity Articles.

I've been self-employed since I was a 19-year-old student, doing a combination of freelance tutoring in maths, languages ​​and building multiple websites. Aside from my career, I also struggle with productivity in my studies and hobbies.

Over the years, I've wasted a lot of time on pointless tasks and multimedia distractions instead of using it productively. I also feel bored, directionless and distracted during the work day.

You need to squeeze every last drop of your time and work smart, especially if you are a freelancer or entrepreneur. With great freedom comes great challenge. It's easy to waste an entire day doing something sweet to promote your project or build your business. It shocks me when I hear someone thinking about their work day and not knowing where eight hours went.

This step-by-step guide contains simple productivity habits you can implement right now to transform your workday and your results.

From the big picture, we cover all the areas you need to work productively, with purpose and direction, from diet to environment to alarms, colleagues, bosses and habits.

Productivity can mean 101 things, so let's find out what we mean here.

By productivity, I mean optimizing our workdays in healthy ways so that we can do the many things that matter most to us - and do them well. So we are not talking about a 14-hour work day. We don't get into microdosing or pill research or learning the art of multitasking like an octopus.

Instead, we will move with the times, reduce and minimize our contribution and create the lifelong conditions necessary for good work to bear fruit. We went beyond the usual Pomodoro technique and online calendars to take a holistic look at the way we live and work.

There's a lot to say, so let's get started.

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Without a clear direction, we are like a rudderless ship destined to run aground. Let's take a high-level look at what you're doing and why. This knowledge will then allow us to analyze more deeply and create a clear road map for our day and week.

What are you trying to do and why? This is a crucial question, especially for entrepreneurs, self-learners and business owners. How to get a job if we don't know what we produce and why? How can we work smarter?

Three types of lists are key to productivity:

1. a big goal: Zoom out of your project to see it from a distance. Think about the purpose of it all. What is your ultimate goal, what is your mission? How many customers will you serve each month? What new business do you want to start? These goals should be on an annual basis. It's a good idea to review this list every day so you can live and breathe your big goals.
2. weekly and monthly goals: Start with your meta goals, settle down and create weekly and monthly goals as stepping stones to your bigger ambitions. Make them very practical - When it comes to goals, short, simple and measurable are often better than complex and over the top.
3. daily goals: Now we zoom in further and create daily goals and milestones. You can do this at the beginning of the week, plan your route according to your weekly or monthly goals, or every morning. This is easy to skip – I should have known – but knowing exactly what you're doing each day is key to focusing your efforts. We will return to this later.

And make sure those goals are exciting. If not, how will you mobilize yourself to act? If you've ever worked in a professional field, I'm sure you've encountered daily struggles. This comes from working at jobs that drain our soul, bore us to tears, or are against our morals and ideals. So what sets your soul on fire? What do you do when you jump out of bed in the morning? Recognize this, use it to set goals, and you'll be well on your way to great productivity.

This is caused byProductivity Guide at Sammon.com.This applies to our weekly and monthly goals. We achieve huge goals by doing hundreds or thousands of small tasks. By setting small goals and achieving them regularly, you can develop a habit of success and a sense of motivation. They also tend to be practical, concrete and actionable, which prevents procrastination, while long-term, general goals are more vague and abstract.

However, small does not mean unambitious or unnecessarily conservative. Although high standards can be intimidating, you'll be surprised how high you can jump.

When you reach a goal, give yourself a reward proportional to its size. After I finish a new article, I take a good bath. If this is a long-term goal, a vacation may be appropriate.

No matter how passionate we are about our goals, the process of achieving them is not always sweet. Breaking milestones requires days, weeks and months of energy, planning and hard work. Once we're done with that, we could turn our attention elsewhere, and it's nice to see behind the scenes of your work. Adding a predetermined goal sweetens the journey and serves as a celebration of our efforts.

Have you ever run your own coffee shop business and had a great new idea? If you are an entrepreneur or a freelancer, you will have many such moments. Great creators, from Dylan to Edison, openly worshiped spontaneous creativity. Don't dismiss those flashes of inspiration - write them down! Be sure to have a notebook or a gold recording device with you. You can review them later and bring those inspired ideas to life.

We are only human. Deviating is part of the journey itself. Accountability structures are the basic pillars that support us when things get rocky. You can discuss your project with coaches, colleagues, business partners and even family. When you know your goals, they push you into action or lend you a shoulder when needed.

Now that we've developed a master plan for your project, let's zoom in on your daily life and explore some strategies for optimizing it.

under et interviewa bikeProductivity expert David Allen reveals that he always prepares his schedule for the next day, dividing his to-do list into "softscape" and "hardscape."

Difficult tasks are those that cannot be changed, such as meetings or interviews. Soft tasks are those where we can move freely. Use the hard landscape as a wireframe for the day where you can organize the soft tasks. Now that you know what your goal is, it should be easy!

Planning for tomorrow also frees us up from work for the next day, knowing that our schedule is covered.

Disclaimer: If you hate mornings, better stay in bed!

This is the wisdom of the 5AM Club. Getting up early allows us to establish a solid morning routine and feel fully awake before going to work. If we get up earlier than those we live with, we can enjoy the silence of the house and the festivities of tomorrow and turn them into good work.

Besides, getting up early means that we are more disciplined in the evening. If we go to sleep at a specific time, we are less likely to waste time on unimportant things.

SoJames Clear's Guide to ProductivityAmong other things, he recommends developing morning rituals and habits. It is wise to create a morning routine or repeat small tasks every morning. Every morning, for example, I clean the dried vegetables from the night before and drink cold water. Sometimes I go for a local morning walk. It keeps me focused and motivated before the work day.

Let's see which habit is perhaps the most difficult to acquire. Several productivity writers recommend tackling the least interesting tasks first.

If you are faced with such tasks in your daily life, you will find that your brain constantly postpones them with cunning strategies that are not familiar. Even if you have worked up the courage to drink it, your desire for coffee suddenly appears and before you know it, you are boiling the kettle or starting the coffee machine. You will do anything but accept the quest.

Act first to nip this infatuation in the bud. In this way, the resistance does not increase. Plus, these tasks are never as painful as we think (see habit #37).

Accept the right task at the right time on similar tracks. If you're a writer (like me), find your best time to write and schedule that time to write words. Leave monotonous tasks that save energy and short tasks for your energy rest. That way, you can use the best fuel for your highest priority tasks.

Big thanks to my friend Sher who isRecoveringSpiritualBeing.com, before that. The strategy summarizes the best of flexible working, freelancing and entrepreneurship. This is a brilliant idea!

If the situation allows, ditch the outdated 9-to-5 job and work only when you are most productive. You may need to share your schedule here. My friend Sher does just that - she works from 10am to 3pm, then 8pm to 10pm!

By doing this, you tune in to your energy cycles and synchronize your performance with them. When do you actually work best?

While working on myself, I was surprised by my energy cycles. I find that I am productive in the morning and then rest between 12:30 and 1:30, a nap is a must. Then the energy came back and he didn't see me until around 4 pm But I can only get my morning energy back from 6 pm.

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I'm sure you've heard of the Pareto Principle, a basic idea in the world of business and productivity. If not, let me introduce you.

When it comes to getting things done, 80% of the results come from 20% of your effort. So what does this 20% stake mean to you? Which minority tasks produce disproportionate results? Identify them and devote more time to them, leaving them to others or rejecting them. That way, you'll spend more time on tasks that produce results, and less time wasted.

I highly recommend keeping track of what you do and when, an online calendar is a good planning solution. You can create a calendar, add upcoming events and reminders, and organize your time.

I chose a DIY solution using Excel to create a spreadsheet of my administrative tasks. But using a ready-made product saves time and can give you ideas you hadn't thought of before.

Doing similar tasks at once is an effective way to organize your thoughts and use your time efficiently. With batch processing, we avoid jumping back and forth throughout the day and instead focus our attention on a continuous set of related tasks.

My friend Sher swears by 20 minute breaks after meetings. If virtual meetings aren't your thing or if they're draining you, a short vacation might be a good option. We will return to the break later in the guide.

Managers and colleagues have a lot on their minds. Unaware of the principles of productivity and time management, they will often give you unexpected tasks with unclear deadlines and unclear expectations.

If you work with others, take the lead in creating structure. Otherwise, their disorganization can infect you and affect your productivity. If you have an overbearing boss, you could find yourself under the thumb, who usually works overtime.

Define your boundaries and seek clarity and structure. Don't get caught up in the mental vortex of those around you.

On that topic, be ready to say no to projects and tasks. This is especially important for freelancers. This is a smart idea for several reasons.

First, you won't overburden yourself and burn out. You can also avoid project delays and cancellations. And more subtly, turning down projects demonstrates your need, increasing your value to employers. It's supply and demand! Plus, confidently saying "no" will earn you respect.

When I turn down projects, half of me is nonchalant, believing that I have more than enough work, and the other half is still crying out for more money, worried that more projects won't come. It takes confidence and self-respect to turn down projects that pay well but are overwhelming.

We often limped into the weekend, desperate to shut down the computer. Not so fast! Did you achieve the goals you set for yourself? Are you doing more or less than you expected? This is not self-deception, but an honest weekly assessment to help you sort your course and move forward.

We often make these reviews subconsciously when we mentally reflect on the week during the commute or at dinner. Be sure to consciously do this at your desk at specific times throughout the day. Also write notes. Brings clarity to your work week.

Now that we have our goals, structure, and plans in place, let's take a look at your workplace. Most of these apply to those who work from home, but if you implement these ideas in your office, you might just build a reputation as a full-time interior designer.

Organize your desk first! Find objects in your field of vision that you do not need for work and remove them all. If you can't, at least reduce the number of objects around you and arrange them neatly.

Seriously, this simple change can make a big difference. First, your brain has less information to process, giving you more energy for important tasks. Second, the fewer objects in your field of vision, the less likely you will be distracted. Third, it feels great! There is a palpable sense of relief and relaxation when I clear the space around me. Try it now!

This is caused byJames Clear and his productivity articles.Warm rooms make us feel lethargic. Let enough cold air into the room to keep you awake or move to a cooler place. You have to pay attention and focus on doing the job well.

The amount of time we spend commuting is staggering. Have you ever thought about it? If you work 230 days a year and commute an hour each way, that's 460 hours of commuting – almost 20 full days! Not to mention commuting costs, which can knock thousands of dollars out of your pocket every year.

Let's be honest, we often waste time commuting to work scrolling through our phones or sulking about public transport delays. Time to flush it down the toilet. You can set aside those 20 days for work, side projects, studying or recharging.

We have already introduced the need to remove objects from sight in order to increase attention. Let's extend this to the entire room or place where we are working.

Have you ever worked in an office full of white collar equipment? Then you know what chaos can do to you. A messy room can be annoying.

Therefore, keep the room around you tidy. Put unnecessary things away, put the dishes in the kitchen and organize your things. This is especially true for the room you work in, but it can extend to the entire building. Having a clear, clean space puts you in a different state of mind.

This is caused byBusiness News Network.Plants give a wonderful visual touch to your space and you can look at them while resting. It is worth noting thatThe survey was conducted by the American Horticultural SocietyIt shows that plants increase productivity and reduce stress!

Sodaily business newsFor this habit. It's one of those hidden productivity tricks that can freak out professionals who are used to working at work. Changing workplaces throughout the day and week can change your mindset and throw you off autopilot. You may even experience enlightenment while traveling.

You can go to a coffee shop, a park, a library or a co-working space, or simply take a walk in your room. I usually work at a desk, but sometimes I move to the dining table or the couch. Sometimes I even work in bed (don't tell anyone I do).

in theirsArticles on productivity tips, The hive clarifies the meaning of boundaries. I admit that working from home has some drawbacks. One is that people come and go, make noise and demand your attention. Protecting your time is relatively easy if you work in an office, but not so easy if your home is also where you work. This is where control comes in. If you know your goals, your best hours, and the space you've set for success, it's time to tell your coworkers. Now is your time to get things done - make sure you and your loved ones respect that!