Jan 19, 2015
5 simple productivity hacks
Am I the only one who goes to bed tired, but with the sensation that I've accomplished little throughout the day? I juggle emails, social media, relationships, web development, marketing, sales, meals and the list goes on. But because I have so much to do, my productivity level is far from stellar. So, if you're anything like me try these easy to adopt tips that have been helping me.
1. Stop reading about productivity — Well, that means if you stopped reading this blog post you would be more productive. Think about it! You could then focus on something else, right? Reading about productivity in itself is not productive. All it does is overwhelm you with so many options that you end up spending time trying to implement them. Trust me, I'm talking from experience here! Heck, Hunter Walk would agree with me as well: https://medium.com/@hunterwalk/productivity-tip-1-dont-read-anything-now-including-this-80b4a81cf180
2. Let go of your phone — That one is a toughy, but all it takes is a little bit of willingness. I had decided to switch from my smartphone to a flip phone to help me deal with my phone addiction (Kudos to Allison Davis for doing it though. Here’s her story: http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/10/my-week-with-a-flip-phone.html) but that wasn’t going to work for me. Apps like Twitter, Instagram, Gmail, Google Maps and my calendar have become essential to my businesses. So here’s what I've done instead: “Disable all the notifications on my phone” and only check it twice a day.
3. Less tabs on your web browser — Over the years, I've become quite the multiple open tabs ninja. Or at least so I thought. See, the problem with having multiple tabs open is it make us multitask and the human brain by design cannot multitask. Multitasking prevents you from focusing on a specific task and doing it right. Don't believe me? Read this article from NPR:
My recommendation: have at most of 4 tabs open on your web browser.
4. Do one thing at a time — Yup, this one comes back to the multitasking issue. Don't be on your laptop and watch TV at the same time, no matter what you say, you're not doing any of them right! There are plenty of these situations, so next time you find yourself doing two things at once just try to evaluate your performance.
5. Take a break — Getting away from your desk or whatever you're doing for even 10 minutes is enough to refuel for another work shift. Think of your brain as a muscle or even a machine; it needs to disconnect to perform at its peak. So, go take a walk or talk to a coworker for a while. No, you cannot check Facebook during that break.
Bonus tip: Don't try all the hacks at once, take it slow and give yourself time to get use to one before you move to the next.
Now it’s your turn, share your productivity tips with me and the world.
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