With so many distractions, such as the environment you’re working in, your smartphone device, or even sometimes your own household, being able to work productively has become a rising issue.
Whether your phone makes a sound or the screen lights up, or perhaps your kids or partner walk into your ‘office’ while you are in the middle of completing a task, or with your kitchen cabinets full, it’s easy to get up, grab a snack and get back to the same task; these are all distractions in our day-to-day lives.
The above examples are just some of the distractions that cause us to lose valuable time. We’ve taken action to identify 3 tips on how to cut down interruptions, and in return increase your productivity.
Tip #1: Using the ‘Do Not Disturb’ feature
As most smartphones have this feature – we highly encourage you to turn your phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode.
By simply doing this, you will increase your productivity by at least 10x as all your notifications will be silent while your phone is locked.
When it’s time for a meeting, an important task that needs to get done, or perhaps even when it’s time to rest, quickly put your phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ and see your productivity increase immediately.
Tip #2: Create a schedule and stick to it
I can’t stress how important this is. It is super crucial to have a schedule made the night before that outlines the tasks for the next day.
There is flexibility when it comes to creating your schedule. You can add your tasks on your calendar or even write them down in your notebook.
Whether you decide to use a calendar or write it down in your notebook – it is important to establish a method in identifying which tasks should be completed first.
Tasks should be prioritized based on their importance and level of urgency. This will assist you in identifying which order you plan on tackling your tasks.
For example if a task is a must, I will put the letter ‘A’ beside the task. If I have another task with an ‘A’, I will put a number beside the letter (A.1, or A.2) to prioritize which ‘must’ tasks to complete first. I will put the letter ‘B’ for a task that I should do, ‘C’ for a task that is nice to do, ‘D’ for a task I can delegate and ‘E’ for a task I can eliminate.
The most important thing is to complete your most important tasks first. Thanks to Brian Tracey, this is something that the team has applied.
Tip #3: Finish a task before moving on to the next one
There are so many people that will complete a task halfway and then come back to it.
According to Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California, it takes an average of 25 minutes to return back to a task after being interrupted.
Imagine being interrupted 5 times a day and losing 25 minutes each time. That’s over 2 hours each day you could utilize elsewhere.
It’s a perception that those who multitask, are more productive. Unfortunately, in most cases, it’s actually the opposite.
There will be some times or even days where you’ll have to ‘block out’ everyone until you’ve accomplished your tasks.
Although there are a lot more ways on how to be more productive – start with these 3 tips mentioned above and you’ll be off in the right direction to 10x your productivity.
