Do you know how to be as productive as you possibly could?
It’s been a year since I published “7 Habits To Adapt In 2022 To Increase Productivity”.
My point of view on productivity has changed a little. Not because of the methods, but because of the importance of productivity.
You don’t always have to be productive.
But when you do, use these 5 forgotten productivity tips and hacks to get more productive in 2023.
Getting Rid of Multitasking — You’re Not a Computer
There are so many misconceptions about multitasking.
- Are you able to do more than one thing at a time?
- Can you easily switch between tasks without losing focus?
You often think you can. But let me break it for you: you can’t.
Computers have the ability to separate processes by creating multiple threads. As far as I know, humans can’t do that yet. We’re only able to run one process at a time.
When we think we’re “multitasking”, we’re actually switching really quickly between tasks.
That’s the thing that ruins your productivity.
You might end up doing more things, but not better. You’re sharing your focus among those tasks and you can’t run them in a parallel way.
Use The “30/5-Method” To Optimise Energy Use
In school, we’re being taught to focus but not how to use our energy.
When I explain this “30/5-Method”, I always compare our bodies to telephones.
When your phone’s battery level is at 100%, you’re full of energy and can do anything you want without feeling it costs you energy. Once you start dropping energy, it takes a little more effort.
If you want to recharge your phone from 20% to 100%, you don’t need to wait for the number of hours that you spent on your phone. You just charge it for an hour or so.
This works the same with your body.
If you need to charge yourself for 30 minutes of work, you don’t need to rest for 30 minutes as well.
Only do 5 and then continue work.
Often, when we take longer breaks we feel like we’re losing more energy than we gain.
Create a Planning to Don’t Get Overwhelmed
You’ll need planning.
You might think you can manage it all without writing all tasks down, but you can’t.
If you’re doing big tasks, split up the tasks to avoid getting overwhelmed.
Every time you split a big task and complete a smaller part of it, you feel euphoric. Instead of feeling overwhelmed that you still haven’t finished “the big task”.
Being overwhelmed is killing your productivity.
In most cases, you don’t get any more work done when you’re trying to do everything at once without proper structuring.
Make Sure To Have Enough Sleep
Sleep is underrated.
Getting enough good quality sleep is essential if you want to be productive during the day.
It’s not tough to don’t sleep. I’m talking to all of you students that think that getting little sleep is cool or something.
You need sleep.
But don’t get too much. Getting too much sleep on a daily basis isn’t good either.
- Get to bed at the same time every day (as much as possible).
- Sleep between 6.5 & 8 hours each night.
- Wake up straight away, and drink a cold glass of water to get hydrated.
- Read a book or meditate before everybody else has woken up.
If you realize that you’re up before anybody else, you have a couple of hours extra to get your things done.
Clean Up Your Working Environment
Nothing is as counterproductive as a filthy and messy working space.
When I’m working in a messy workspace I can’t get any work done. It just doesn’t work.
It doesn’t have to be a museum and obviously, it has to work for you, but you can’t get properly started when you don’t have an organized desk.
- Get a good chair that’s ergonomically approved.
- Make sure to don’t have food around your desk and equipment.
- Manage your cables.
Healthy environment = healthy mind = much productivity.
Final Thoughts & Takeaways
Being productive during the week is important, but getting rest and mindfulness on the weekends is even more.
Don’t do the things you aren’t supposed to do on the weekends.
If you want to get your business or side hustle to another level, do it with your passion and make sure you aren’t doing it solely for the money, that’s going to kill your motivation.
Allow yourself some rest.
And if you are getting started:
- Get enough quality sleep.
- Don’t try multitasking.
- Efficiently use your energy.
- Clean up your desk.
And take good care of your mind and body.