10 Productivity Tips You Wish You Knew Earlier
Every needs motivation every Now and Then to Stay Productive. Here Are 10 Tips to Help You Out.
We all know to “put our phones away,” or “stop scrolling,” but let’s cut the BS Aluxers – we’re just not going to do those things.
Your slump could be a daily occurrence around 3ish, so instead of using that time to skulk to the kitchen for a cookie and tea, rather plan to make the phone-calls that are eye-rollingly boring but need to be done. Basically, any low-priority tasks that don’t require a lot of mental attention to complete, are best left to this slumpish period of your day.
If you’re feeling low energy all the time, that’s a different story. Then you’ll need to figure out why you’re slumping, focus on what matters most to you, identify where you’re doing well and work on ways to build on that momentum. There’s nothing wrong with seeking professional help to give you a boost.
5
Get the Meeting Out of the Way
We would all love to ditch the meetings, but sometimes there is no way around them – you just have to sit through them.
When possible, schedule meetings as the first part of your day. This is to everyone’s benefit and will waste a whole lot less time during the day. Reason being, is that when a meeting is scheduled for later in the day, you tend to either be worrying about the meeting, or doing arbitrary things while you bide your time to the meeting. You can’t really get involved with anything major if you have to get up and leave, right? Right?
6
Take Advantage of Technology
Our parents didn’t have access to useful online work or scheduling platforms, like Trello or Monday.com – they used to rely on things like a Filofax or desktop calendars. We are spoilt for choice. With the help of a little tech, we can never have a clash of arrangements, we’ll never forget when the pets need their deworming medicine or when the car is due for its next service.
Try a variety of service on a trial basis and then sign up to the one that best matches your requirements and lifestyle.
Technology can even help you make money, check out 10 Technologies That Can Make You Rich.
7
Threes Not a Crowd
Entrepreneur and Youtuber, Erin on Demand, has some solid advice when it comes to being super productive.
Her method is to focus on three tasks daily.
So, like our 2-minute rule empowered us to keep going when we crossed off the smaller tasks, this method is slightly different. With the 3-task method you feel motivated to get those 3 tasks done quickly, and you’re empowered when you actually finish all three of them in one day.
So, Aluxers, you need to decide which method would suit your personality better.
8
Will the Real Aluxer Please Stand Up
Standing up will do you the world of good when you’re doing your best to be productive. Getting up on those two feet will help you out of your slump and give you a much-needed boost of energy.
You could try a stand-up desk, but if that’s not possible – try getting up every 15-minutes – stretch it out, walk a few paces, smile and then get back to work.
If you’re sitting on the fence with regard to converting to a standing desk, here are some benefits that you might want to consider:
Standing at your desk reduces shoulder and back pain, obesity, diabetes, cancers of the colon, cardiovascular disease and even premature death. The Washington Post affirmed that standing desks also make you more productive.
9
Prioritize Yourself and Then Your Most Important Tasks
Aluxers, you can’t be productive or motivated when you’re sitting in front of your computer without having brushed your teeth, changed out of your pyjamas, and have a desk that looks like it’s vomited stationery at you… So, go take care of yourself and your space first.
Take the advice of Stephen Covey from his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. There he says, “If I really want to improve my situation, I can work on the one thing over which I have control – myself.”
The whole book is a great listen, so get your free download from Audible and us by heading to alux.com/freebook.
Once you’ve taken care of yourself, you can start focusing on your most important tasks.
10
Read Things Properly
How much time do we waste by just skimming through a document or email? The answer is plenty. But forget about the time aspect and just think of the additional stress we put ourselves under when we don’t read things through properly.
One minute you’re happily employed with a decent salary, next minute you’re fearing for your job and wondering when the next pay check will arrive – when all your boss requested was a meeting to discuss a potential project in the pipeline.
Spend a few minutes going through every line. Don’t assume you know what the other person is asking for or explaining to you. Your future self will thank you, and you will be left with more time to focus on that potential project in the pipeline.
Question:
What productivity tips work well for you? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Everyone Needs Motivation Every Now and Then to Stay Productive. Here Are 10 Tips to Help You Out. We all know to “put our phones away,” or “stop scrolling,” but let’s cut the BS Aluxers – we’re just not going to do those things. Your slump could be a daily occurrence around 3ish, so instead of using that time to skulk to the kitchen for a cookie and tea, rather plan to make the phone-calls that are eye-rollingly boring but need to be done. Basically, any low-priority tasks that don’t require a lot of mental attention to complete, are best left to this slumpish period of your day. If you’re feeling low energy all the time, that’s a different story. Then you’ll need to figure out why you’re slumping, focus on what matters most to you, identify where you’re doing well and work on ways to build on that momentum. There’s nothing wrong with seeking professional help to give you a boost. 5 Get the Meeting Out of the Way We would all love to ditch the meetings, but sometimes there is no way around them – you just have to sit through them. When possible, schedule meetings as the first part of your day. This is to everyone’s benefit and will waste a whole lot less time during the day. Reason being, is that when a meeting is scheduled for later in the day, you tend to either be worrying about the meeting, or doing arbitrary things while you bide your time to the meeting. You can’t really get involved with anything major if you have to get up and leave, right? Right? 6 Take Advantage of Technology Our parents didn’t have access to useful online work or scheduling platforms, like Trello or Monday.com – they used to rely on things like a Filofax or desktop calendars. We are spoilt for choice. With the help of a little tech, we can never have a clash of arrangements, we’ll never forget when the pets need their deworming medicine or when the car is due for its next service. Try a variety of service on a trial basis and then sign up to the one that best matches your requirements and lifestyle. Technology can even help you make money, check out 10 Technologies That Can Make You Rich. 7 Threes Not a Crowd Entrepreneur and Youtuber, Erin on Demand, has some solid advice when it comes to being super productive. Her method is to focus on three tasks daily. So, like our 2-minute rule empowered us to keep going when we crossed off the smaller tasks, this method is slightly different. With the 3-task method you feel motivated to get those 3 tasks done quickly, and you’re empowered when you actually finish all three of them in one day. So, Aluxers, you need to decide which method would suit your personality better. 8 Will the Real Aluxer Please Stand Up Standing up will do you the world of good when you’re doing your best to be productive. Getting up on those two feet will help you out of your slump and give you a much-needed boost of energy. You could try a stand-up desk, but if that’s not possible – try getting up every 15-minutes – stretch it out, walk a few paces, smile and then get back to work. If you’re sitting on the fence with regard to converting to a standing desk, here are some benefits that you might want to consider: Standing at your desk reduces shoulder and back pain, obesity, diabetes, cancers of the colon, cardiovascular disease and even premature death. The Washington Post affirmed that standing desks also make you more productive. 9 Prioritize Yourself and Then Your Most Important Tasks Aluxers, you can’t be productive or motivated when you’re sitting in front of your computer without having brushed your teeth, changed out of your pyjamas, and have a desk that looks like it’s vomited stationery at you… So, go take care of yourself and your space first. Take the advice of Stephen Covey from his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. There he says, “If I really want to improve my situation, I can work on the one thing over which I have control – myself.” The whole book is a great listen, so get your free download from Audible and us by heading to alux.com/freebook. Once you’ve taken care of yourself, you can start focusing on your most important tasks. 10 Read Things Properly How much time do we waste by just skimming through a document or email? The answer is plenty. But forget about the time aspect and just think of the additional stress we put ourselves under when we don’t read things through properly. One minute you’re happily employed with a decent salary, next minute you’re fearing for your job and wondering when the next pay check will arrive – when all your boss requested was a meeting to discuss a potential project in the pipeline. Spend a few minutes going through every line. Don’t assume you know what the other person is asking for or explaining to you. Your future self will thank you, and you will be left with more time to focus on that potential project in the pipeline.
Question: What productivity tips work well for you? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!