How to Boost Productivity: Doing more with less. If that’s not the title of a book, it should be. Managing time and figuring out how to boost productivity is THE constant challenge. It’s an endless race against the clock to achieve outcomes and accomplish goals. And more often than not, it can feel like a rat race.
There are plenty of resources out there and countless books filled with way to better manage your time and boost productivity and I’ve definitely read my share. Ironically , we have to make time to read said books and often that just doesn’t rank high on our productivity list. While I’d love to hear which time management or productivity book is your favorite (comments below are welcome) for now, let’s review some tips that can be applied right now:
3 Simple Ways to Boost Productivity
- Disconnect from the internet. Ouch. OK so maybe I should have started with a different point and eased my way into this one. But this is probably the single biggest factor you can quickly adjust to increase your productivity so let’s start here. I’m not recommending all day or even half the day. I’m saying set times within your day that you disconnect from the internet (that includes your phone, too) allowing yourself to tackle bigger projects, write and plan.There can be some fear here. You’re going to have to push through that and just do it. More than likely, the world will not fall a part, a client crisis will not happen and you will have accomplished much more than you ever would have checking your email every 5 minutes. Try it. If you hate it, tell me and give me your alternative.
- Stop multitasking. I’ve always considered multitasking to be one of my strengths. Turns out, only 2% of people can actually multitask. Darn it. Although I’m sure we’d love to all be a part of that percentage, odds are, we’re not. On top of that, multitasking can actually add stress and decrease your productivity by overloading your brain.
We’re trained to multitask. We read texts while having conversations, check our emails while on the phone and think about what we need to buy at the grocery store during meetings (oops). This isn’t something that can be fixed in one day. However, you can start making yourself more aware of how many times you multitask and gradually improve your productivity as you begin to focus on one task at a time. - Allocate time for social media. For most of us, allocating time on social media isn’t an issue, it’s how much time we spend on social media. This is an ever-present battle for me because it seems that every email, text, idea, client or even conversation ties back to social media in some way.To help keep my social network time in check, I try (this is so hard) to stick to scheduled times each day where I reply, post and monitor social media. Of course you can monitor alerts and respond to interactions, especially if you’re managing client communities, but if you’re being completely honest, you could probably manage your time online better.Honestly, who has their social media time completely in check? Please, reveal your magic to the rest of the group. I bet people would even pay you for it! For everyone else, try allocating specific time to be on social media and then disconnect.
What tips, tricks or tools do you use to better manage your time, stay on track and boost productivity?
