5 Tricks To Improve Your Productivity In Daily Life

Improving your productivity levels will help you achieve your most important life goals.

However, becoming a very productive person can be difficult.

There are many distractions to avoid during the work day and most of us have bad habits that get in the way of productivity.

To help you overcome these barriers to productivity, this article will share 5 essential tricks for improving productivity in daily life.

These simple tricks will help you get much more done each day, helping you achieve those major life goals.

Trick #1 — Stop multitasking

It’s easy to understand why people feel more productive while multitasking.

There are a lot of things going on simultaneously, which gives you the impression that you are busy and working at high speed.

Unfortunately, researchers have discovered that the human brain is terrible at multitasking.

They have found that multitasking can reduce productivity by as much as 40% and increases mental stress.

Multitasking can even negatively impact your mood and motivation levels.

Multitasking doesn’t work because the human brain cannot focus on multiple intellectual tasks at the same time.

Try thinking of two memories simultaneously — the brain can’t do it.

Additionally, when you switch your attention between tasks, there is a lag period before you can fully concentrate on the next task.

This lag period means that you will never be using your full mental capacity on each task when multitasking.

We all know this.

For example when did you ever walks behind someone who was playing on their smartphone and walking at normal place?

Never, even walking and doing something else confuses the brain.

When you do focus on a single task, you can devote all of your brainpower to it — ensuring that you are working as efficiently as possible.

Trick #2 — Take regular breaks

Although it is somewhat counter-intuitive, taking regular breaks can lead to dramatic improvement in productivity.

Researchers have discovered that the human brain begins to suffer from a decline in performance after being focussed on a task for too long.

To avoid this decline in performance, you can take regular scheduled breaks.

The most effective work session duration is still being debated by productivity experts.

However, many experts suggest that the perfect productivity routine is 52 minutes of work, followed by a 17 minute break.

During this break period, you should talk to other people, make a cup of coffee, walk around, exercise, or simply relax.

Once the break is over, you will feel re-energised and ready to focus on your next task.

The best way to ensure you use scheduled breaks effectively is to use a timer on your computer or smart phone like Stand Up! The Work Break Timer, Focus 10, or Be Focused.

Trick #3 — Use the two-minute rule

This is a great tip for people who often become inundated with dozens of small tasks.

The concept is simple: if you have a task on your todo list which will take less than two-minutes, do it now.

It will take less time to do it now than it would take to re-schedule it and do it later.

Trick #4 — Use todo lists (the right way)

Todo lists are an essential part of being productive.

They will help you assign time to important tasks and keep track of what you need to do.

However, they must be used the right way:

Create your todo lists in advance

The best time to create a todo list for the day is the night before.

This will help you immediately get to work in the morning, without thinking about where to start.

Use multiple lists

It often helps to keep multiple lists for different kinds of tasks.

Create a list for work tasks, housework, studying, and whatever other projects you are involved with.

This ensures that your list only contains related tasks that can be performed in quick succession.

Use software

There are dozens of powerful todo list software applications available.

Many of these apps carry your todo lists and schedules across your smart phone, tablet and desktop computer — which ensures you always know what you need to do.

Automate as much as possible

Use automated reminders and schedules to tell you when a task must be done, or if it is a major task requiring preparation, a week or so before.

And don’t wait until you are back at the office to do this, as soon as a time or date is agreed, enter it.

These reminders will help you avoid idle time.

Have a separate list of new todo items

If you think of a new task that you need to do during the day, jot it down on a piece of paper or add it to your todo list app for processing later on.

Don’t drop everything to do a task you have just thought of unless it will take less than two-minutes.

Highlight your most important tasks

When writing lists, highlight any important tasks that “must” be completed.

Include tasks that have close deadlines or which are causing you a lot of stress.

Break up big projects into smaller tasks

It can be quite daunting to deal with a large project.

The best plan of attack is to split the project into groups of tasks.

You may also find it easier to create separate todo lists for each group of tasks, then reference that task list in your main todo list.

Be specific

Each task on your todo lists should be actions that can be completed in a single session.

Start on easier tasks to get momentum

If you struggle to get going first thing in the morning, start with some simple tasks.

Completing these tasks will help you gain some momentum and have a productive day.

Put realistic time estimates next to your todo list items

Add an estimated completion time next to your to-do list items.

If an item runs over that time, don’t feel compelled to keep working at it — you can always add it to tomorrow’s to-do list.

Trick #5 — Say no to unnecessary meetings, phone calls and emails

If you are working through your todo list rapidly and are “in the zone” the last thing you need to deal with is an unnecessary meeting, phone call, or email.

Avoid these distractions as much as possible by turning off your work phone or directing calls to voicemail.

Tell people that you are only available for calls and meetings at certain times of the day.

Use autoresponders for emails, which tell people that you will be answering emails at a certain time of day.

Removing these persistent distractions from your work day can dramatically boost your productivity.

I hope you enjoyed reading 5 Tricks To Improve Your Productivity In Daily Life.

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