It’s no surprise that we all want to increase our productivity. It’s a dilemma that we have all had to face at one time or another. The real question is, how do we increase productivity with what we have on hand? Keep reading for some tools and tips on increasing your productivity.
Designate time for emails
Emails very easily derail your whole day. Emails are important, but they have a time and a place. Designate specific times throughout the day for you to check and answer emails. This will keep you on track with other projects and not crash your productivity for the day.
Set realistic goals
Set and hold yourself to substantial goals that push you. The key is to make sure they are realistic, so you do not become discouraged if you don’t hit them. Setting goals keeps you accountable and also serves as a measurement for you success and accomplishments.
Reduce Multi-tasking
Multi-tasking sounds like a good idea in theory, but in practice, it’s a productivity killer. If you find yourself working on 3 different projects at once, you complete them all much slower. It is better to focus all your brain power on completing one task and then moving onto another. The work will be better, you will feel a sense of accomplishment, and you don’t have to switch gears every few minutes.
Eliminate distractions
Distractions are the biggest productivity killers. Social media, news articles, and even meetings, can be detrimental to your workflow. In order to cut down on distractions, you will need a fair amount of discipline. Knowing that checking Facebook can wait until your lunch break will help keep you focused but also give you something to look forward to when you want to take a break and mentally check out for a bit. If you are having trouble unplugging during the workday, turn of notifications so you are not tempted by a buzzing phone!
Use Free Tools
There are some great free tools out there to help shave wasted time out of your day. The tools vary from trimming distractions to making cut/paste a breeze.
Pocket is a fantastic browser extension that allows you to save webpages for later. It can be used to save articles or videos that would normally distract you. It can also be used to save infographics and other web based things for clients. The real beauty of pocket is the ability to label or tag posts so you can organize them for efficient use later.
Trello
Trello is a web-based to-do list. It’s extremely intuitive and allows you to order tasks by importance and gives you a clear direction on your day. You can assign tasks with names to delegate later, check off items once they are completed, and add new tasks in the event an urgent matter comes up. Trello is great to do at the end of each workday to prepare for the following day.
Flycut
Flycut is an incredible time saver in ways you would never imagine. This downloadable tool allows you to cut many different things from passwords to quotes and quickly paste them all from one clipboard. It saves a ton of time and lets you have all the pieces of the puzzle you may need without relentlessly flipping through web pages and documents.
