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How to be More Productive:
Four (4) Ways to Help Boost Productivity
Do you find yourself constantly not accomplishing tasks on your to-do lists? Are you behind on the goals and achievements that you set for yourself this year? Then you may be struggling with staying productive during the week. If this you, don’t stress! You’re not the only one struggling with this. According to a report done by the Engagement Institute, 9.7 million people in the US are less productive because of stress. This loss of productivity ends up costing US businesses up to $550 Billion a year. Therefore, showing that it truly pays to be more productive.
If you or your employees are struggling with hitting your goals, here are 4 ways you can improve overall productivity.
1.) Track Time
Most people don’t realize how much time is wasted on things that aren't working or goal-related. A recent study found that Americans spend 90% of our time on social media applications like Facebook. That is approximately 2 full workdays or 15-18 hours per month. That is a lot of time that could be used to accomplish tasks that of higher value. If you or your employees are struggling with staying on task, it may be best to start tracking the amount of time it takes you to complete work. Many freelancers use software programs like Everhour, Freshbooks, or Harvest to keep track of their time spent on projects. Within these software programs, there is an option to live track of how long it takes you to finish a task. By tracking it may help identify what’s distracting you and how you can limit it to be more productive.
2.) Stop Multi-Tasking
Some people pride themselves on being multi-taskers... But that may no longer be a great thing to brag about. Research has shown that multitasking is less productive than completing one single task at a time. Why is that? This study showed that multitasking reduces your brain’s ability to process information so that you can perform efficiently. Multi-taskers, overall, performed worse than those who only focused on one task at a time. Overtime if you consistently do this (i.e. scrolling through social media while also trying to complete a project), you have a higher chance of causing brain damage by decreasing your brain density. If you have a lot of items to check off your to-do list or one item that’s going to take a few hours, be sure to only focus on one section at a time.
3.) Take More Breaks
Most people assume that to be productive you have to get as much done in as little amount of time as possible. However, if you notice that your head literally feels like it may explode after working on a project for hours, then that may mean you need to take more breaks throughout the day. Many people in sales use this tactic to hit their goals. Time-blocking is simply scheduling your day out in chunks of time with planned breaks spread throughout the day. Not only will this help you stay on top of goals you’re trying to accomplish but it will help you work during the time of day you’re most productive in. Be sure that during your breaks you get up from your desk to stretch and move around. It will help feel refreshed and ready to finish your day out.
4.) Be Accountable to Other People
Most people in work environments work in teams where someone is relying on your work to be done in a timely manner so that they’re able to accomplish their assigned tasks. In the ever-increasing world or remote work or entrepreneurship, this may be harder to do than someone who works in a physical office. If you don’t have team members, it may be best to hire a business or productivity coach to challenge you to perform better. Like personal trainers, business coaches help discuss with you the goals that you want to accomplish and one of those things will probably focus on how to efficiently manage your time. If you working with a remote team there are plenty of project management software programs like Trello, Asana, and Dubsado that aide in helping teams stay informed of your own and each other’s progress.
Being productive is more than just writing down a to-do list and hoping things will get done. It is a lifestyle change that has to be worked on consistently in order to improve. If you’ve been struggling with it, don’t feel like a failure. Try one of these tips at a time in order to see a difference. Usingcandles is a great way to help clear your mind during the workday so that you can perform your best. Head over to our store and check out our variety of scents.
Written By: Ericka Ige