10 Habits of a Productive Person
Productivity, the word that drives us all. Am I being productive? Was my morning productive? Could I be more productive? In a world where high performance is everything, we thought it best to put together 10 habits to have you performing at your best.
1. SLEEP, Let’s start with the basics. The BBC recently published an article proclaiming the arrogance of modern society that takes living in a city that never sleeps literally. You need 6-8 hours a night so get your jammies on boys.
2. START YOUR DAY RIGHT, Don’t attempt to read your emails with your eyes blurred from sleep. Schedule some me time and take the time to eat breakfast, have a coffee and read the paper. Your start time will be a lot faster for it.
3. DRINK WATER, Coffee is great, but too much caffeine over time will increase stress levels and dehydrate you. Having that pick me up can severely damage your productivity so lay off the espresso.
4. COMPLETE MAJOR TASKS BEFORE LUNCH, This is when your brain is working at its best so utilise those hours before midday to get the important stuff done.
5. IN ORDER TO KNOW WHAT YOUR MAJOR TASKS ARE, CUT YOUR ‘TO DO LIST’ IN HALF, You will find that that other half can wait for another day and you will feel a lot better having actually completed your tasks for the day.
6. USE THE PAUSE BUTTON, You can only focus properly for a while before your glucose levels run low so a quick walk and a breathe of fresh air will do wonders for your productivity level.
7. ALLOCATE EMAIL TIME, Emails can be the ultimate killer of productivity. They create the illusion of working but actually eat away at achievement. Quell the compulsive urge to check emails and dedicate time to clearing your inbox in the afternoon- it will be a huge time saver.
8. REDUCE MEETINGS, Sometimes meetings are entirely necessary for progressing with projects at work. However, the sad truth is that we often engage in ones that materialise as a pointless waste of our time. So if a colleague can take notes for you, owe them one for attending. If you desperately need a meeting, keep it short and sweet and don’t over run.
9. STOP MULTI-TASKING, We know it makes you feel efficient to be juggling 5 balls at once but when you drop one, all your tasks will fly everywhere and any productivity will fly out with them.
10. LOOK ON THE SUNNY SIDE, This may seem obvious, but nothing will slow your productivity down more than having negative thoughts about work. There is a reason Monday feels like your worst work day and it’s because you make it so. Approach all tasks with a sense of purpose and happiness and it will get done ten times quicker.
By Rio West
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