If you’re like most people, then you’ve undoubtedly made some new commitments to ensure that this year and the following are improvements on the last year. This can entail making changes in your home life, your interaction with friends and family, and your work life – in particular, enhancing your productivity in the latter.
1. Planning for the Future – Your Health
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On the home and life front, you cannot effectively plan for future improvements without taking into account your health, for starters. This can mean changing your diet, starting your workout plan, or putting the pieces in place to make sure that future health issues don’t blindside and bankrupt you. One of the most efficient solutions of the latter is to invest in a health insurance plan. To facilitate this, use a federal, state, or private marketplace to find an option amenable to your lifestyle, risk factors, and age.
2. Workplace Productivity – Dial Down Distractions
If you actually start to think about it, it would probably surprise you just how much time various workplace distractions take from the day. One of the main reasons for this is that “small” actions such as checking your email every time you get a ping, actually take a lot longer to resolve than you think. Research shows that we do not generally gauge time accurately when we take breaks it or not time. Today, with the wealth of social media and smartphone apps around, distractions are taking up a surprisingly large part of the day.
The first part of solving this is simply mindfulness. Do whatever you have to do to keep track of time – this might Intel buying a dedicated hourglass or stopwatch to serve as a workplace Sentinel.
3. Work Smarter, Not Harder
Although you have no problem working harder, sometimes you will likely find yourself putting in a lot of effort for little return. This year, all that changes; you can start by outsourcing work whenever possible – so that you can focus on the things that actually require your unique skills and talent.
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For example, if you have a long drive to work or a long train ride then you can easily take advantage of this time to be productive. Instead of playing games on your phone, you can send out emails, schedule meetings, or if driving, use a program such as Nuance Dragon dictates letters or make a to-do list. Similarly, you can use your extroverted thinking to perform some brainstorming – you’d be surprised how many good ideas you come up with when there’s no pressure and you’re doing it as an activity instead of as a requirement.
4. Stop Postponing Small Tasks
The reason for this one is simple: quite a few small tasks crop up during the average workday; chances are, intent to push these off and procrastinates in favor of more pressing tasks that take longer. Fact is, by the time you get to the small ones you’ve got quite a few of them to do, I have probably missed out on the chance to do some of them efficiently.
The solution to this comes in the form of the “two-minute rule.” It is very simple to understand: whenever you have a task before you that would take less than 120 seconds to perform, then do it right then and there. Since very few people can work full-tilt for more than about an hour and a half, you can find 120 seconds in between primary tasks and keep the small ones from piling up.
5. Manage Your Deadlines Better
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Much of this productivity tip entails setting your own mini-deadlines. This lets you put just the amount of stress on yourself necessary to perform tasks. It’s really just a simple as watching the clock and being mindful of the minutes ticking by. When you combine this with the two-minute, the effectiveness of taking short regular breaks to improve concentration, and the shutting off of social media notifications, you can turn yourself into an efficient human that doesn’t burn out.
If you do all of the above diligently, you can even find yourself being more productive despite its objectively putting in less work. The key to this year and the years to come to his efficiency; work smarter, not harder. Who knows, you might even become so passionate about health that it’ll become your profession! Companies like Day Webster can help kickstart a career in health.
About The Author:
Ashley is a super-connector who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, and networking. She frequently writes about the latest advancements in digital marketing and focuses her efforts on developing customized blogger outreach plans depending on the industry and competition.
