Our modern lives have so many perks because everything seems to be within our reach with just one click. But the downside is every day seems to be a deadline for something.
Given this scenario, is “working hard” enough? Here are some productivity tools to help us work smarter when working harder won’t work anymore:
PRODUCTIVITY TOOL #1: SELF EMPOWERMENT
Take care of your overall health condition. Make sure you eat healthy meals on time, have a healthy lifestyle, and take some time to go on a workout like jogging, running, dancing, or hitting the gym.
Every morning, take some time to look at yourself in front of the mirror.
Look at all your flaws and accept it. Reflect on your personal flaws. Have you ever been a hindrance in other person’s productivity? Or are you the hindrance to your own productivity?
PRODUCTIVITY TOOL # 2: PRIORITIZE
Every day poses different challenges and different tasks. It is easy to get lost among the harsh flow of life and find yourself unable to accomplish anything in the end.
In order to ensure that you accomplish something every day, you need to set priorities. You need to sort out which task is urgent, and which one can be delayed for a while.
You can also consider activities which may be redundant and wastes your time without accomplishing the important tasks.
PRODUCTIVITY TOOL #3: FOCUS
Even if you have set your priorities, distractions can hinder you from being productive. So you need to work on how to stay focused on your tasks and goals.
You can start by sorting things that you do every day and see which tasks can be done simultaneously, and which tasks can be grouped together and be achieved in one sitting.
An example is setting a time for reading and answering emails, another time for marketing a product, another time for encoding and sending reports.
PRODUCTIVITY TOOL # 4: MINIRETIREMENT
Here lies the irony. You need some rest for you to be more productive. And not just some rest. If your work schedule permits it, (or sometimes you’ve just got to push it) you need to have a long vacation, go another place, and meet other people. Traveling while you are still physically able is a great way to change your point of view in life and be refreshed when you go back to work.
PRODUCTIVITY TOOL # 5: LOW INFORMATION DIET
Tim Ferris, discusses this in his book, The 4 Hour Work Week. Admit it or not, watching or reading the every day’s news and your social media newsfeed takes too much of our time.
Make it a habit to avoid meddling with information which is of no use to your immediate task. Allow a separate “social media and trivia time” after you have finished a task.
Indeed, there are many noises and distractions that hinder our productivity.
But the modern life also gives us the opportunity to make or lives more productive. Here are some apps that you can try to work smarter, not harder.
