Being busy and being productive are two completely different states. Being busy just means filling your day with as many tasks as you can. However, being productive means optimizing your time to complete the most important tasks and generate better results. Below you will find 4 tips that will help you increase your productivity.
1. Eliminate distractions.
This step is one of the most important considering the large number of distractions that modern technology has placed within our reach. Email, instant messaging, social media and all attacking us from our personal computers and mobile phones. When you’re in the middle of an important task, a simple distraction like a call or answering a message can make you lose up to 20 minutes, the time you need to refocus. If this happens to you several times you could lose hours in which you could be productive.
2. Schedule breaks throughout the day.
Our brain needs constant breaks in order to stay focused and focused on specific tasks. Studies have shown that working in blocks of about 52 minutes and taking 17-minute breaks will greatly maximize your productivity. The idea of this strategy is to work with a purpose. If within your schedule you know that you have about an hour to do as much work as possible, you will take advantage of the time you have without wasting it on unimportant activities.
It is not necessary to strictly follow this 52/17 rule, some people can stay focused for longer periods of time and need less rest to regain energy and focus. Programming alarms that tell you when to rest and start working again will be of great help.
3. Make a to-do list.
If you don’t know precisely what you should do during the day, how can you think of having a productive day? More important still is to make a real to-do list. Many times we make lists of tasks that are unlikely to be completed, since we do not take into account the time that each task requires.
4. Prioritize your tasks.
Carefully choose which tasks are most important by your own parameters. It can be the impact that this task generates in your business, the difficulty or the time you need to complete it. For many people it is important to do the tasks that take up the most time first. Choose the two or three most important tasks and focus your day on them, if you do not manage to cover the entire list you will not feel that your day was not productive, because you did the most important thing.
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