10 Ways To Bolster Your Daily Productivity And Efficiency

Introduction

All of us have 24 hrs in a day. But what matters the most is how we utilize those hours. The most successful people in the world know how to use them wisely by improving their work efficiency and effectiveness. There are several productivity improvement techniques that help a person to become more productive in their daily lives.

10 Ways to Bolster Your Daily Productivity And Efficiency

1. Wake Up Early: Do Not Procrastinate, and Set Time Limit for Tasks:
The first and the most important one, of the various productivity improvement techniques, is starting your day a little early by waking up during the early hours of the day. It gives you some extra time as compared to others who wake up late. All the tasks must be given a set time limit. You should meet these timelines and must not procrastinate. Whatever is supposed to be done today must be done today only. There are very few people who can accurately estimate the passage of time especially the wastage of time done on social media, emails, and apps, etc.
2. Build Task Pyramids: The “Building pyramids” tactic is one rewarding Productivity Improvement Technique that involves starting your day with an easy task. When you work on that easy task, you’re warmed up and in working mode. Then, you can easily move towards your main goal of the day. After doing that you can then, end your day on a high note by doing tasks like organizing your workspace or evaluating your whole day especially your to-do list. It improves your work efficiency and effectiveness.
3. Take regular breaks: Your mind works better if you get regular breaks. These scheduled breaks help in improving your concentration and maintain a constant high level of performance. But on the contrary, if you do not take a break, it lowers down your concentration level thus leading to a huge decline in your performance. You can even take exercise breaks. Build-in set times for taking a walk, playing a sport, or going to the gym during the weekdays. When your blood pump in, it clears your head and get your focus back which in turn boosts your work efficiency and effectiveness.
4.Steve Olenski’s "two-minute rule": Entrepreneur Steve Olenski’s two-minute rule is another very important Productivity improvement technique in which you make use of small windows of time that you have at work. According to this rule, If you think there is a task or action that can be done in two minutes or less, you should do it immediately in that small window of time. Olenski opines that if you complete a task right away, it takes less time as compared to the amount of time it takes if we do it later.
5. Quit multitasking and Focus on One Thing at a time: It’s a very common assumption that Multi-Tasking increases productivity but in reality, it decreases concentration level and thus, degrades both efficiency and productivity. If you make a habit of committing to one single goal/task at a time and then move on to the next, it helps you concentrate better and accomplish more thus, improving your work efficiency and effectiveness. Hence, focus on one project at a time and if it’s too big, then break it into small targets that are more manageable, realistic, and achievable.

6. Don’t get stuck by the idea of perfection: A relevant Productivity Improvement Technique is to focus on finishing the task first by doing the best you can. Most people get hung up on attempting to perfect a task. But in reality, nothing is ever perfect. Instead of wasting time by chasing after the idea of Perfection, bring out your task to the best of your ability and then, just move on. It's always more important and in fact, better to complete the task first and move on. If needed, you can come back and improve it later.
7. Be proactive, not reactive: You must be Proactive in whatever you do. But if you allow the incoming phone calls and emails to decide the course of your day, then you might be able to put those issues in line and solve them but it won’t allow you to accomplish the goals that you have decided for yourself. You must have a plan at the start of every day, and you should try your best to stick to it. During work hours, turn off your email, voicemail, or text notifications and instead, allot sometime separately check those email and messages.
8. Time Blocking Technique: Another very significant Productivity Improvement Technique is the Time Blocking Technique. It is used by most successful entrepreneurs including Elon Musk. In this technique, you are supposed to make small blocks of time that are allotted to different tasks that you do during your day. A study conducted by Florida State University says that Elite performers such as athletes, chess players, musicians, etc. who work in intervals of a maximum of 90 minutes are more productive than those who work for more than 90 minutes.
9. Work on Your Skill-Set every single day: In this highly competitive world, you need to keep yourself updated with the latest developments of your work field and constantly acquire knowledge to be a pro in whatever you do. For that, you need to consistently improve your skill set, learn new information, try new things, and be constantly in touch with recent developments. That way you can perform better in your work field and always be prepared to handle the next crisis.
10. Frame a “shutdown” ritual: “Shutdown” rituals include the tasks that can help you transition from work mode to personal time. Steps to end your day and prepare for the next day are:
• Close the work loops, such as respond to an important email or text message regarding your work.
• Reflect on what all tasks have you accomplished during the day or if at all there is anything left.
• Evaluate and decide the targets/tasks that are to be done on the next workday.
• Praise and motivate yourself by recognizing your accomplishments of the day and pay attention to the lessons learned during the day.

Summary

Different Productivity Improvement Techniques mentioned above are very helpful for each one of us who wants to improve their work efficiency and effectiveness in their respective work fields and in fact in all areas of life. Using these techniques, one can become many times more productive, efficient, and effective in both, their personal as well as professional lives.