Many of us wonder how to improve productivity for a successful life. Learn the latest techniques and apps for optimal focus in and out of the workplace.

How to improve my productivity

Productivity is vital to a successful life and critical for profit and long-term success in the business world. Unfortunately, staying on task can be challenging at times.

Several factors can hinder your productivity, from social media distractions to struggling with a complex task to burnout.

Fortunately, there are several ways to increase productivity. Keep reading to learn some highly effective productivity hacks.

General advice for productivity

Productivity is essential for getting things done. As a productive person, you’ll find you’ll always have enough time to at least complete your most important tasks.

Next are some productivity tips you can incorporate for increased employee productivity. Even entrepreneurs can benefit from these tips to help limit procrastination and boost their time management skills.

Focus on your biggest tasks first

To help you stay more focused, work on your most challenging and time-consuming tasks before your other smaller assignments. Consider creating a to-do list. Several apps are available to help you organize your notes, including the note-taking app Evernote.

Order your tasks starting from the most demanding or urgent for better time management. Dedicate your morning or the best time of the day when you feel the most energized and alert, and work on your lighter tasks at the end of the day.

Avoid multitasking

While you can get through your to-do list quicker when you juggle tasks, focusing on one at a time may increase productivity. When concentrating on more than one task simultaneously, you’ll use more time transitioning between them. This can result in an incomplete job or completion with lower quality.

Focusing on one task or project will help you achieve it quickly and motivate you to complete the next one.

Take regular breaks

It may be tempting to power through a task until completion without a break. However, when you don’t stop for a time out, it can negatively impact your productivity and cause tiredness or burnout.

If you get to this stage, you may not have the motivation to continue progressing. Regular breaks help with concentration and help to boost your mood.

Consider planning several short breaks throughout your workday. In general, workplaces make five to 10-minute breaks mandatory. If you do remote work, ensure you’re allowing yourself regular breaks to recharge.

Pomodoro technique

The Pomodoro method can help you manage the amount of time you have set aside for day-to-day tasks more efficiently. Using the Pomodoro technique, you time yourself for 30-45 minutes as you work on a project. Once the timer goes off, you’ll take a five-minute break.

This technique can be effective for focused and uninterrupted workflow with regular breaks.

Use the “two-minute rule”

Avoid wasting time by completing tasks achievable in two minutes. Filling in your free time windows (not breaks) with jobs you can complete in under two minutes can help you save time. It’s impossible to complete all assignments in two minutes, but you can use this time to start new goals to get you on your way to reaching milestones.

Solving particular productivity issues

Distractions come in many forms, either when working in the office or at home, and these distractions can considerably impact your performance. Customizing productivity tips for personality and work style can help address productivity issues. Consider the following to help minimize standard office and remote work distractions.

• Block phone calls and notifications. Consider putting your phone on “Do Not Disturb” during work time, and sign out of your social media apps.
• Don’t entertain chats with co-workers. If possible, discourage team members from randomly stopping at your desk by wearing headphones. You don’t need to be listening to anything. With headphones, people are less likely to disturb you. If you notice someone wanting a chat, offer to schedule another time when you’re both free.
• Distractions when working in an open plan office. Magnified sounds like talking to your co-workers on the phone, typing and mouse clicks, and general movement are often worse in open office environments. If possible, find a quieter place to work. Book a meeting room to be alone for an hour or two, or move to a quieter area of the office.
• Remote tool message notifications. When using a communication tool like Slack, you can either set yourself as away or temporarily turn off notifications. You can deal with your messages when free.

Procrastination

Procrastination is another primary way that workers waste time. Research shows that procrastination at work is a symptom of emotional discomfort. Your brain tells you, you need more to complete a task, and these discomforts subconsciously prevent you from starting a task or even lead to avoiding it altogether.

Perfectionism and fear are the real reasons for procrastination. To deal with the fears that are causing procrastination:

• Identify, question, and address your fears
• Consider the negative impact and the potential advantages of overcoming them
• Prepare for success

Use Speechify to boost productivity

By implementing specific methods to boost your time management, you’ll likely discover that you can get more tasks crossed off your to-do list in less time.

The text to speech app Speechify can help with home and workplace productivity by improving your focus and attention span, as well as improving your ability to multitask. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to convert text into audio and optical character recognition (OCR) technology to convert an image of text into audio.

Try Speechify today by installing the Chrome browser extension for browser text or desktop and mobile apps.

FAQ

What are 3 ways to increase productivity?

Here are three ways you can increase your productivity:

1. Goal setting
2. Avoid multitasking
3. Limiting distractions, especially social media

How does a lack of sleep affect productivity?

Research shows that a lack of sleep can compromise memory, decision-making, problem-solving, and alertness. All are integral for optimal productivity.

What are the 5 most common causes of low productivity?

These are five common reasons for low employee productivity:

1. Lack of training
2. Lack of recognition
3. Poor supervision
4. Inadequate technologies
5. Multitasking

What are the benefits of improving productivity?

Being productive allows you to control your time and accomplish more in less time. It can reduce stress and boost mental health through a sense of achievement.