Modern life has a high pace, and only those who keep up with it can count on success. Not a single minute of the life of a successful person goes nowhere. It works quickly, efficiently, and efficiently. These three concepts can be called productivity skills.
You can say that you don’t waste your time either, you are busy all day long, but, nevertheless, this does not affect the quality of your life. So, productivity is not only work, but also rest, or rather their qualitative ratio. You will not be able to work effectively if you do not rest well. You should not mix these two concepts into one, there should be a clear distinction between work and rest time.
Permanent employment also does not affect the amount of work performed. You can do a lot of minor work, get very tired, and still have no result. And productivity is just aimed at the result, that is, the number of important tasks completed in a certain period of time.
There is the Pareto principle or the 20/80 law, which says that 20 percent of the actions give 80 percent of the result and vice versa. In order to develop your product, you need to calculate these 20 percent and work on the first, and only then move on to the remaining tasks. Although it is possible, after completing important tasks, secondary ones will disappear on their own.
So, our task is to work less and get a better result.
In this article, we will look at 10 tips on how to become a productive (read: successful) person.
1. List, list, and more list
This item is not without reason the first one, you need to start with it. Learn to make a list of tasks and work with it. In order to make a list, it is advisable to allocate 15 minutes of your time in the evening, on the eve of the working day. Although you can have a cup of coffee in the morning. The advantage of the evening list is the best consolidation of tasks during sleep.
You need to take a pen and paper or open the notes on your phone and write down everything that you think needs to be done that day. After compiling the list, highlight the important things. Then, divide the tasks into short-term and long-term. Short-term ones are those that need to be done urgently, and long-term ones are those for which there is more time. After that, you will see the most important things that need to be done urgently, that is, in the first place. Perhaps these will be the most unpleasant things, but they are, those 20 percent that we talked about above. After completing them, try to give yourself time for a short rest.
You will also notice that you have unimportant and non-urgent things on your list. Feel free to save them for later. Do not be afraid to miss something, it is better to spend your time on relaxation than on unnecessary things.
An approximate list should be compiled for a longer period – a week, a month, or a year.
2. Determine the value of the task
There is work that you do not do very well and slowly, but you need to do it. At the same time, you understand that you can do work during this time that will bring more income. Let’s take an example.
You work at home and earn 200 dollars per hour, but now you need to wash your car. At the sink, they will wash it for 300 dollars, but if you wash it yourself, then spend 2 hours on it. That is, you will lose 100 dollars, instead of saving.
Therefore, you can transfer the task to someone if you have a more profitable job for this time.
3. Imaginary competitor
This item is for those who work from home. Competition always motivates someone to perform better and faster. Imagine a competitor and try to do the job faster and better than him.
4. Punctuality is the courtesy of kings
Be mindful of deadlines. Do not be late for meetings and meetings, so you will save your time and the time of others. Try to set a time frame for others around you, and explain that spending your time waiting is a great luxury for you. Punctuality is also reflected in the timing of the work. Set a reminder on your phone about the due date of work in a couple of hours so that you have time to complete it if you forgot.
5. I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.
It is with this phrase that it is worth responding to the endless and useless requests of some people. You’ll save a lot of time if you learn to respond negatively to requests to do someone’s work. Sometimes, even a trifle can take more than one hour from you, but at this time, your important and urgent tasks will remain unfulfilled. It must be remembered that it is impossible to be good for everyone.
6. Distracting thoughts and objects
Look at your workplace. Analyze it for foreign objects. Perhaps those folders with reports for the last month are no longer needed, and they can be put away in a closet. And this souvenir brought back from a trip, can distract you with memories. Move it to a place where you can see it after hours. Make the most of your desktop.
If you do not need the Internet and phone to work, turn off both. If necessary, be distracted only by calls and work alerts.
Believe me, by focusing on the work, you will complete it in the shortest possible time, and you will have time for other things.
7. Routine tasks
Select tasks of the same type from the list and perform them at the same time. It will take only one time to prepare, and many tasks can be completed. For example, if you need to make several calls today, then call one after another without hanging up and switching to other things.
8. Good health and lifestyle
So far, we’ve looked at to-do lists, due dates, importance, and time savings, but all of this can’t be followed if you’re sick or lead an unhealthy lifestyle. You probably know about your diseases, and it would be nice to do prevention, it will take much less time than treatment.
Don’t neglect a healthy lifestyle. There is no need to make a cult of a healthy lifestyle, but no one has canceled the simple rules. Sleeping too much, like too little, is harmful. A day at the computer will also have a bad effect on your physical and psychological health in the future.
9. Be flexible!
This means that sometimes unforeseen details come to light along the way, and it seems to you that all plans are falling apart. The main thing is not to panic. You always have the option to make a new list if the old one fails. Be flexible and use your logic to solve the problem in the least amount of time.
10. Rest time
A rule without which you will not be able to fulfill all the others. Mark your rest time on your list. How much do you want to rest and how? Come up with a recreational activity that allows you to relax physically and mentally.
Outcome
Decide to follow these points for at least a week, and you will see that at the end of the day you will miraculously have extra time and satisfaction from a sense of accomplishment. By checking the boxes next to the items, you will understand that you have done everything possible, and now you can have a good rest without remorse for the unfinished work.