5 Ways to ROCKET Productivity and Do More in Less Time
Here are practical ways to increase productivity and make good use of your time.
Sometimes it seems impossible to work on all your tasks within the available time. However, by applying the five tips discussed below, you’ll feel motivated to work on all your tasks within the shortest time possible.
- Set Timers for Every Task
Timers are among the things you should prioritize if you want ultimate productivity. Once you have timers in place, you can divide all your tasks into more manageable portions while also applying gentle pressure to complete each chunk within the stipulated time.
Having a timer means splitting your tasks and breaking down the workload, eventually reducing the backlog stress.
You don’t need additional costs for the timer, as you can find one on your smartphone. Alternatively, you can use advanced time-tracking apps that guide you on how best to break down your tasks and time every day.
- Practice Solo-Tasking
If you have a long to-do list, you might be tempted to work on several tasks at once, which leads to unwanted stress and sloppy work. Instead, you should do one thing at a time.
Unlike multitasking, solo-tasking lets you focus your attention on one task meaning that your thought will flow naturally.
Avoid diverting your focus when working on your tasks to avoid adversely affecting your productivity and line of thought. If you’re fond of getting distracted by ads, pop-ups, or opening social media pages, try out Focus Mode or Focus Assist apps for the best results.
- Prioritize Tasks
Nothing is more disappointing than encountering a high-priority task in your list when you’re already exhausted and out of time. The best way to avoid such an occurrence is to identify the high-priority tasks and highlight them among other tasks.
One simple and effective way to highlight the priority tasks is color-coding. Who doesn’t enjoy a bit of coloring? Coloring your high-priority tasks will help you quickly spot and remember them every time you look at your to-do list.
Your phone Reminder’s app comes in handy if you want to assign priority tags to your tasks. Similarly, you can use the Asana project management tool to easily color coordinate your tasks and start by working on what’s important.
Of course, you don’t need to fill your to-do list with an array of colors as this will lead to more confusion. Start with two colors indicating the low-priority and high-priority tasks. Feel free to include an additional color for the mid-priority tasks, if any. This way, you can tell which tasks to do immediately and which ones can wait.
- Group Tasks According to The Complexity
This involves sorting tasks as either deep or shallow. Notably, the shallow-work group comprises tasks that require minimal focus, attention, and input. On the contrary, deep work requires substantial mental energy and focus. This form of task-grouping will rocket your productivity, especially if you like to work in the zone.
Once you batch the tasks into the two categories, you create a seamless working flow throughout the day. You start with the complex tasks and leave the simpler ones for later in the day when the mind is struggling with exhaustion.
- Apply the Five-Minute Rule
Finally, we have a solution for you if you procrastinate all day to avoid starting on a task. The five-minute rule is perfect for you as it tricks the brain into trying out the very task you try to avoid. You only need to commit just five minutes to the task and have the freedom to stop once the five minutes are up. The cognitive-behavioral technique simply helps you overcome the challenging hurdle of having something started. The chances are that once you start, you can find it easy to continue and complete the entire task. It’s worth noting that you must solely focus on the task for the five minutes for the technique to work.
Apply The Tricks Gradually
It’s advisable to start with one or two of these productivity tricks and incorporate the rest later. Applying all of these at once could be confusing and counterproductive. You can start with prioritizing and attending to one-task at a time and eventually incorporate zoning and the five minutes rule.