Hi everyone! I hope you're all doing well and taking care of yourselves. If you haven't noticed, I revamped the website! I had the old one for about 5 years and I figured I needed a new look/layout that fit my personality. The new site will also allow me to better engage with you guys, and it's mobile friendly :)
Ok, back to the topic! I recently ran a poll on my Instagram and most of you agreed that you wanted a post on how to be more productive. Many of us procrastinate and sometimes find it hard to stay energized and motivated enough to finish a task. To help combat procrastination and increase productivity, I've put together a few tips for you guys.
1. Make to-do lists
One of the best ways to make sure you're on track and remaining productive is to make to-do lists. This will help you visualize your tasks and serve as a reminder of what you need to get done. Within that same list, it helps if you divide the categories. For example, you can have items on the list relating to work, your personal life, things to do around the household, etc. If you're not really a to-do list kind of person, you can also use the reminder app on your phone to remind you of things that need to be prioritized.
2. Focus on important tasks first
With that being said, when you have a number of tasks to do, it's important to separate the secondary tasks from the important ones. Instead of trying to do everything all at once, focus on the significant ones that need to be done as soon as possible. Afterwards, if you still have the motivation and energy, you can focus on the less important ones.
3. Break big tasks into smaller ones
Another way to stop procrastination and increase your productivity levels is to break your big tasks into smaller ones. When we have a big task, it's easy for us to get intimidated and put it off (which then leads to procrastination as we fear completing it). Therefore, it's best to break that large "to-do" into smalller "to-do's". For example, I had the task of writing a new blogpost. I wrote the task on my to-do list and then under that, I put down the smaller steps I would have to do to achieve the big task (ie: run a poll with my readers/followers to figure out what topic they would prefer, create a draft outline with key ideas for the post, find 2 hours during the day to write, etc).
4. Take breaks
An important way to become more productive is to incorporate break times while you're performing an activity. None of us can work straight for 8 hours or more. Taking breaks every 30-40 minutes throughout the day will help your brain recharge. To keep a routine, you can schedule the same "break time" everyday. If you find that you're someone who gets distracted easily, you can set a timer so that when your break time is over, you can get right back to work.
5. Eliminate distractions
Speaking of distractions, they are one of productivity's biggest enemy. Try to limit or eliminate distractions around you all together - this includes cellphones or other devices, and of course, social media apps! You can set aside time to look at your phone and social media accounts during your breaks.
6. Practice discipline
Finally, the last tip I would give is to practice discipline. Discipline is the key to a lot of things, and once you have it instilled in you, it can have such positive effects on your life. You won't always be motivated to do the work, and that's why discipline is important because it'll bring you structure and stability, which in turn, is more likely to make you productive.
I hope this was helpful! Have a lovely week :)
Love,
Penda