5 Easy Tips For A More Productive Day
It's the end of the day. You know you have done a lot of stuff, or at least you're pretty sure you did because you were "busy" all day.
But it doesn't seem like all that much was accomplished. You did things, but you sure didn't feel productive.
If you can't relate to that feeling, this post isn't for you (and please sure with me your superpowers).
If you do resonate with the feeling described above, this post is for you. Here are five easy things you can do to help you feel (and actually be) more productive with your day.
1. Don't check email/social media until lunch
This is a relatively recent change for me, but I can't tell you how much of a positive impact this has made for me. In fact, it has caused a significant reduction in the amount of stress or overwhelm I used to often feel.
It's not simply the time drain email and social media can create, but the distraction and lack of focus it causes.
Now, I start my day focusing on the tasks I need and want to get done without being distracted by some issue I read about in my inbox.
Currently, I check my email twice a day (lunchtime and end of the workday) and social media three times a day (lunch, end of the workday, and once in the evening).
Your time and focus are the biggest factors in your efficiency and effectiveness. Regardless of when you wake up, the early part of your day is when you are most energized and able to focus.
Don't waste that on things that don't help you accomplish what you do best.
2. Schedule your day ahead of time
One of the leading causes of "busyness" is unscheduled time. When you don't prioritize what you should do it's easy to get caught up in doing a lot of various tasks and have no idea where your day went.
The easiest way to begin to be proactive with your schedule is simply to schedule out the next day at the end of your current workday.
It's ok if you under or overestimate how long some tasks should take, it takes some trial and error to figure it out. What is important is creating the habit of controlling your time instead of having your time control you.
Plus, giving yourself hard end times to your various responsibilities helps you focus on the task at hand which often reduces how long it takes you to do it.
Put it all on the calendar, adjust it at lunchtime if you need to, and do it again the next day.
But be careful, you might find yourself getting more done and feeling better at the end of the day. You've been warned.
3. Start the night before
Our willpower and decision-making ability reduces as the day goes on. So making easy decisions about your day the night before helps you spend your finite awesomeness on things that really matter.
Here is what it looks like for me. Each evening before bed, I do the following:
I pick my clothes out for the next day
I make my lunch for the next day
I put out any breakfast supplies I need if I'm making breakfast the next day (if I'm not just eating some fruit)
I make sure my day is scheduled out on my calendar (to double-check what I planned at the end of my workday)
All four of those tasks are easy to prep for and helps make my morning routine easier. I don't have to spend any time and decision-making ability on small things and can instead start my workday with more focus.
What things take you time and effort in the morning that could be easily planned and prepped for the night before?
Don't give the most effective part of your day to small things you can do at other times.
4. Spend time with Jesus in the morning
I'm not a morning person, though having young kids has slowly trained me in getting up earlier. So you can do this too!
If you are a follower of Christ, you know spending time with God is vital to your spiritual health. While you can do this at any point during the day, starting your day with Jesus gives you the focus, clarity, and reminder we need that loving God and loving others is the most important thing we can do.
Work can be hard, life can be hard, and many things often don't go your way. Starting your day of remembering everything is God's, that he can be trusted, and that he cares for you gives you the strength to face whatever will come that day.
As a non-morning person who likes to start my day off "getting things done," I can tell you from personal experience that this is one of the best decisions you could make.
5. Set a hard end time to your workday
What happens whenever you have a vacation coming up or you know you're going to be taking a few days out of your normal work routine? Your productivity somehow triples and you more done in a day than you often do in three days.
Why is that? Because you have a hard break coming and need to make sure certain things are taken care of beforehand.
But why reserve that focus and productivity to only random times throughout the year?
Answer: you shouldn't.
As part of your routine when you schedule out your next day, give yourself a hard end time. Even though it is likely artificial and you don't have to stop working at that time, by committing to an end time you'll cut the fluff and hit your goal.
Try it for three days in a row and see your focus and productivity improve. After that, you won't have to try it anymore, you'll never plan your day without it.
Productivity isn't magical, it's strategic
As with most things in life, small consistencies over long periods of time produce big results.
These five tips are things I apply to my own life and have seen how much of a difference they have made and I trust will make a difference for you as well.
Happy productivity.