We all have daily work goals – that plan of what we want to get done by the end of the day. But for so many of us unforeseeable demands and an ever growing task list means that getting done what we want to can be difficult.
To boost your productivity, here are our top five tips and tricks to help you establish daily habits which will save you time, reduce stress and improve productivity, boosting your chance to achieve your goals and get that much needed feeling of accomplishment.
- Plan for tomorrow
OUR TOP TIP: Take 5–10 minutes at the end of each day to set tomorrow’s priorities and create your action plan.
WHY IT WORKS: You’ll start your day knowing your “MITs” (most important tasks), enabling you to hit the ground running, be in control of unexpected demands and be more focused towards high-priority tasks. Label your top five priorities in order of importance and each time you get distracted from your list come back and focus on what is most important to you and your company.
- Optimise breaks with the Pomodoro Technique
OUR TOP TIP: Work in focused 25 minute intervals, broken up with 5 minute breaks.
WHY IT WORKS: This famous technique helps you to maintain sustained focus, helps prevent burnout and increases productivity by giving you consistent mental breaks. If you find that a 25/5 split doesn’t work best for you then try different timings to see what works best for your brain. Remember to use the breaks for movement even if it’s just going to get a cup of tea as that will help to re-energise your mind.
- Declutter your workspace
OUR TOP TIP: Each week spend 10–15 minutes organising and decluttering your workspace.
WHY IT WORKS: A clean, organised workspace will reduce distractions, create a calmer work environment and boost your focus. We often overlook the impact that the direct area we work in has on us but it’s an area you spend a lot of time so increase your love of your workspace by making it reflect your personality. Add pictures, plants, etc, and choose items which will increase your feeling of calm and focus.
- Set boundaries for focus time
OUR TOP TIP: Utilise your calendar and block time in your day to focus on core tasks.
WHY IT WORKS: By protecting your focus time and giving space to tackle high-priority work you’ll achieve higher quality of output and a faster task completion rate.
- Hire yourself a Virtual Assistant
OUR TOP TIP: Employ a Virtual Assistant and delegate tasks which do not require your expertise.
WHY IT WORKS: A Virtual Assistant, like us, will free up your time by removing those time consuming and ongoing tasks that pull you away from things which require your expertise and skill set. We’ll take on the tasks that you don’t enjoy because those are the ones which are probably taking you much longer to do than they need. We’ll work with you to help you to work at your very best.
Sound good? Then contact us today to find out more – with our help next week could be even more productive for you!