You know how you sit down all ready to be productive and stuff….but then social media happens, and discussing which Chris is hottest with your co-workers seems super important at the time (Hemsworth, obvi), and your inbox is just crazy full so why even bother getting started. Yeah, same. And it doesn’t even matter if it’s work, study or personal admin, procrastination gets you! But we can be better! I believe in us.
And the more productive you are the less time you have to spend being productive, probably.
Plan To Plan
Wacky, I know, but if you’re a weirdo like me you already understand the pure pleasure of having a solid plan for literally anything. It might be crazy, but it’s also science.
Productivity expert and author Dermot Crowley reckons all we need is 10 minutes at the start of our day to set a plan and boom, welcome to increased focus and productivity for the rest of the day.
“When we’re busy, our natural reaction is to plough into the work and try to get as much done as fast as possible. If we take time out to plan we will get more done, in less time, and are more likely to make time for the more important work.”
Keep Your Inbox Empty, No Really
You’ve planned your day, now plan your inbox. No matter how many new ones you get a day, a proper folder system and a way to prioritise is going to do wonders for your chi.
While you’re at it, unsubscribe to that store you just wanted the discount code for that one time, and filter out the spam.
Don’t Waste Anyone Else’s Time Either
Don’t be starting something that doesn’t even matter. It sucks when you get CC’d on an email chain you’re not even involved with so don’t do it to anyone else.
“Write clear, succinct emails and think about who really needs to know,” says Crowley, “The productivity boost for you will be that other people are more likely to action your emails if you make it easy for them.”
While you’re at it, check your meetings. If you’re setting them, make sure there’s a plan and a reason for every single person you invite to be there. If you’re invited and don’t really have a say in the matter…well sucks to be you. Maybe just be extra productive the rest of your day to make up for it?
Get Rid Of Those Little Red Notifications, They Are Literally The Worst
Earl Miller, a professor of neuroscience, spoke to Time about all those little interruptions that pop up. Turns out all those distractions are making our thoughts “superficial“.
“People think that they can multitask and check these things without losing their focus, but we have lots of studies showing that task-switching leads to mistakes and back-tracking and that it wastes a lot of time…You’re not getting as far down that path to where new ideas emerge.”
Turn off the notifications and put your phone away guys, at least until your task is done. Then have at it because let’s be real, we don’t know how to live without connecting to the outside world.
