10 Productivity Hacks That Will Make You More Efficient
Trying to be more productive at work or at home can be difficult. It’s not everyday that you’ll hear someone say, “I want to be more productive”. It’s usually something like, “I have so much to do and I don’t know how I will get it all done on time”. Raise your hand up (or not) if you have been in this situation especially after the holidays. The key response to the statement above is learning how to be more productive with a limited amount of time.
I’ve not heard anyone say that they have enough time or too much time. We always have problems with deadlines, endless meetings that could have been an email, to do lists that keep getting longer and only so much time in a day. The following hacks are going to be key in getting more done in less time which essentially means you will be more efficient. They are the best ways to be more productive.
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Table of Contents
How to Be More Productive: 10 Productivity Hacks That Will Make You More Efficient
Make a Checklist
I am a firm believer in checklists. Checklists are the best way to keep track of things that need to get done. If you have a routine for doing things, why not create a checklist for it. This will ensure that you know exactly what needs to get done and when. I use checklists for my work and at home.
To create a checklist start with things that you do all the time. If it’s a weekly checklist you can start by listing out things you do daily, twice a week or once a week and so on. Modify this list as you add or remove things over time. The idea is to have a base of things that need to get done and in what order. Think of your checklist as a flowchart for things that need to get done to accomplish a target or goal. It will ultimately increase your productivity because your processes will be organized.
Use a bullet journal for your checklists.
Delegate
Whenever possible I try to delegate work either in my house or at work. If you are in a position to train someone who has free time to work you can delegate work to them. The idea is to create space in your schedule to do more difficult tasks or time consuming work. People struggle with giving up work but it’s a detrimental trait to professional and personal growth.
To be more productive you should focus on the things you do best. If delegating a simple task frees up more of your time for that then do it. In my home I have delegated certain tasks that I either don’t enjoy or are beyond my limited house keeping skills. If your partner does laundry better then delegate that to them and don’t feel guilty about it.
Declutter Your Space
Decluttering is one of the most important things you can do to impact your productivity. That’s because the content and nature of your space matters. It sets up your frame of mind. Picture a desk that’s filled with paper and other mundane things that don’t need to be there. Finding things is difficult and it looks untidy and unkempt.
Alternatively picture a clean desk, organized paperwork in folders, pens set in their spot and everything where it should be. This creates a space that is perfect for creativity and productivity. It’s a better environment to work in. Space matters and how you keep your space is often a reflection of your mind and how you work.
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Color Code Things
I color code things by importance. For example I have different colors for emails by importance or relevance. If it’s an email whose subject matter will be relevant 6 months from now I will color code it yellow because I know for now it’s not important. If it’s an email from my boss asking for something asap it will probably have a red color.
This helps me to not only cluster the emails by importance it also makes it easy to identify what needs to get done by priority. You can color code binders to quickly identify different things. For example green can be school stuff, red would be money stuff and blue would be house stuff. In those binders you’ll only add things that you are relevant. Just this simple hack will increase your productivity. Another way to use color codes is in spreadsheets. I use colors to segregate things and to call out important stuff on sight.
Set Reminders
With calendar apps it’s easy to set reminders for things that need to get done. If you don’t have to physically track things down you increase productivity just by eliminating that task. Automate your reminders by using your phone calendar, google calendar and such.
Having a meeting scheduled 3 months from now is not the same as setting a reminder for one month to two weeks prior to that meeting to make sure you prepare yourself. There’s nothing worse than a meeting springing up on you and not being ready for it.
Flag Emails
If you have Microsoft office for emails or google emails then you have the ability to flag emails and even search based on those flags. I use this feature to mark things that I know for sure based on past experience I will need to get back to.
This has increased my productivity in the sense that I don’t have to keep paper copies to follow up and I decreased the time I spend searching for things. Try this feature to find information that you need quickly and also to ensure that if anyone else needs your input on something you are ready.
Create Time Blocks
Block time for things that you do throughout the day or week. This is your opportunity to create a ‘me’ time block. In a 24 hour day I like to have an hour just for myself to do things that I want. Usually I’ll run, go to the gym, have lunch with a friend, do yoga and anything that brings me pleasure. Time blocks are great because they allow people to respect time you have allocated to certain things.
You can also create time blocks to do things. Early morning hours when you are most alert can be time to work on complex issues at work. There can be time blocks for working on your blog or side hustles. Then create another time block for meetings and such. Finally you can have a time block for family activities that cannot be interfered with.
This ensures that you don’t spread yourself too thin and that you always give each activity your best effort.
Prioritize
Setting priorities increases productivity by ensuring that you do things with a plan in mind. Mindlessly doing things without a sense of what the important stuff is can lead to missed opportunities. Imagine spending so much of your time on a job that can be done at any future date and forgetting to work on a job that you are contractually obligated to do.
This will impact the quality of your work and your reputation. I usually set priorities on my checklists and I even color code them to ensure I know what needs my attention and whether I need to put more resources into it.
Follow Up
Always try to follow up on things that you delegate or have asked for collaboration on. If you need information from someone set yourself a reminder to follow up on them to ensure that you are able to complete your own work. There is nothing worse than expecting information or a deliverable from someone and not getting it because they forgot.
A follow up email or conversation is important to ensure that you stay on track and your productivity is not impacted. It doesn’t have to be a difficult conversation a simple quest about how things are going should suffice.
Create Milestones
Milestones are especially important when you have a big project or a long term goal. When I started blogging I set milestones for myself to ensure that my productivity did not decline as the blog progressed. I found out quickly that it’s easy to stop doing things when there aren’t milestones to be checked off.
If you have a big project or goal, split it into milestones to make it more manageable. Set timelines for these milestones to ensure that you work efficiently to achieve those milestones. This will impact how productive you are and how you approach your work and family life.
Try and apply these hacks in your life over the coming weeks and see how you can be more productive.
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