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In our lives we’re usually being pulled into many different directions, making it hard for us to focus and make the most of our time. So if you are wondering how to get more done in a day, here are a few tips:
1. Get Started! It may sound too simple, but getting started is often the biggest barrier keeping us from being successful. Instead of getting to work our brain visualizes the hardest parts to come and discourages us from even starting.
But once we do get started, it shouldn’t be too hard to finish, thanks to The Zeigarnik effect – if we don’t finish a task we experience discomfort which drives us to finish work even if we don’t want to.
Try the following to get started:
- Dive right in even if you’re not sure where to begin. For example, if you need to write an article, but not sure where to get started, just open up a blank document and start typing.
- Remind yourself why it is important. Your brain may be thinking of excuses why you don’t have to do something, so it is helpful to remind yourself why you do.
- Schedule and set a timer for the amount of time you think you can stay focused for a particular task. Go for shorter periods, so that it doesn’t seem as too much to you.
- Choose the right environment. Work somewhere you won’t be distracted. It is a good idea to get your office organized (and here are 5 Tips How To Do That) to be more productive in general.
2. Time Management Is Important. For example, the best musicians in the world, don’t necessarily practice more, instead they practice more deliberately.
Here’s how to do that:
- Choose the hardest tasks and focus on them.
- Don’t dilute your effort over the whole day, but have sessions of intense work followed by short breaks.
- Rely more on habit and discipline than on willpower or inspiration.
- Give yourself a deadline. And not just in your mind. Write it down, tell people about it and mark it in your calendar.
- Document your progress in something called the accountability chart. Write down the time you spent and the activities you accomplished in that time. This way you will then be able to realistically evaluate your work and not just assume what you’ve done.
- Try the Maximize Your Productivity Using The Pomodoro Technique.
3. Stop Multitasking. Yes, that thing that you often put on your CV and think it is a good ability. In reality, even though it may seem to you like you are accomplishing more, you are actually less productive when you are trying to do several things at the same time.
Here’s how to “unitask”:
Make an action plan (or a to-do list) the evening before. And here are 5 Ways Of Ensuring You Stick To It the next day.- Split up the bigger tasks into smaller ones.
- Have a clear goal in mind.
- Allocate a specific amount of time for each task.
- Choose a work space with fewer distractions. Even turn off your Internet if you don’t need it for a specific task.
