It's that time of year where we all evaluate what went well in the previous year and we make resolutions of what we want to happen for the year to come. It may be cliche but who doesn't want to be more productive?
In the interest of saving you time, we’ve done the dirty work and summarized this list from our favorite influencers on the web to help you get started.
FOCUS ON ONE BIG TASK AT A TIME
“It's all too easy to get distracted by ‘work’ that takes up a lot of time and energy but isn't ultimately changing your trajectory,” says David Rusenko, CEO of Weebly. “We see this all the time--entrepreneurs focus on the minutiae instead of just getting started, and getting something out there.”
WRITE A 'TO DO' LISTS BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE OFFICE
No one finishes everything in one day but if you can walk into the office and know exactly where you left off from the previous day or week and what you want to accomplish it will definitely make your day more productive. Besides, research shows that being able to make these types of lists allows you to leave your work at work and enjoy your personal time to recharge rather than continue to let all those to do's consume constant brain power while you aren't at work.
Sometimes the simplest methods are the best. “Every day, I write down the various tasks I want to accomplish and check them off as I go through them and complete them,” said Francesca Gino, a professor at Harvard Business School, and author of Sidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed and How We Can Stick to the Plan.
“Seeing the progress makes me feel good and, research says, more productive. It also helps me be a bit more realistic in understanding what I can accomplish every day, and which tasks are top priority,” she says.
ORGANIZE YOUR DAY INTO TIME BLOCKS
Some people are early risers, some are night owls, while others hit their stride mid-day. Ekaterina Walter, CMO at Branderati, and author of Think Like Zuck, advises to figure out when during the day you are most productive then establish blocks of time get more focused work done. Refreshing your email 100 times an hour isn't going to magically intercept better emails. Try setting 2 hour blocks of time to read and respond to emails or if you are like me and like to check emails first thing in the morning, try reading them without responding then take time to think them over on your drive into work and spend the first hour in the office crafting a comrehensive response. It is a courtesy to respond to emails within 24 hours but if it sits there for 3 don't feel like you have let anyone down.
DO THINGS YOU DON’T WANT TO DO
“Remember this sentence, tape it to your monitor, tattoo it on your wrist: You don't have to 'feel like' doing something in order to do it,” says Oliver Burkeman, author ofThe Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking.
“When I manage to remember that, I'm no longer sidetracked by trying to get into the right frame of mind for daunting projects. Don't beat yourself up for procrastinatory feelings. Just feel them, and simultaneously direct your limbs to do the work.”
DON’T GET PARALYZED BY PERFECTION
“A career contribution isn't made in a single ideal moment,” says psychologist and author Art Markman. “It is a collection of good and great moments that add up over time.”
The best project is a completed project he says. “It’s easy to get paralyzed by perfection, but it’s better to get something out the door than to hold onto it for a long time hoping to remove every flaw.”
STAY IN THE MOMENT
If you feel overwhelmed (like pretty much everyone), it might not be because you have so much to do, but rather that you are trying to do too much at the same time, says Douglas Merrill founder of ZestFinance (formerly VP of Engineering at Google).
“If you're talking to your daughter, talk to her; don't think about email. You can't do two things at once--it's physically impossible for your brain to multi-task,” he says. “Even if you don't lower your workload, doing one thing at a time will help you do better and, equally importantly, feel better.”
PUT YOUR BRAIN ON AUTOPILOT FOR THE SMALL STUFF
Some super productive people don’t waste their time on the small daily decisions that take up much of our brain space. Prerna Gupta, chief product officer of social music app Smule says she’s able to tackle big picture problems by eating the exact same thing for breakfast and lunch every day. She calls it “reducing decision fatigue.”
GET AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER
“The promises we make to ourselves are easy to break,” says Laura Vanderkam, frequent contributor and author What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast. “It's much harder to call a friend on Friday and inform her that ‘I failed.’” She set up weekly check-ins and which kept her motivated to complete the first draft of a novel in 2013.
DON’T CHECK FACEBOOK
Drake Baer spent most of 2013 writing about productivity, and when he needed a break he says the thing that kept him going wasn’t checking social media or email. Instead, he says he goes for a walk, gets a snack to stave off hunger, or sneaks into a conference room for a brief bit of meditation. Social media has it's purpose but if you find your self checking in regularly on auto-pilot it's time to make a change.
DEAL WITH IT ONLY ONCE
Leo Widrich co-founder of social media sharing app Buffer, says Zen Habits’ author Leo Babauta taught him the following productivity tip that has transformed the way he works:
“Deal with something only once. Do it now. Then it’s off your mind, and you can fully focus on the next matter.”
He says the “deal with it only once” policy works for three of the most nagging aspects of everyone’s day: email, meetings, and requests for help. Answer all as soon as they come up and get them out of the way. If you have the opportunity to do it right the first time then you won't have to do it a second.
ESCAPE INTO SINGLE-TASKING
Author and entrepreneur Faisal Hoque has mastered the art of doing one thing at a time. In fact he’s so good at “single-tasking,” that he can lose himself mundane task like vacuuming and help ground his focus for his work. “Being in the moment allows us to escape from adversity, conserve our inner energy, and be more consciously productive,” he says.
ALLOW OTHERS TO DO WHAT THEY DO BEST
Don't feel like you have to do everything. If there is something that someone else does better then let them handle that responsibility. Think of everyting you do as a team effort. Focus on what your strengths are and recognize when you need to ask for help. Together you will accomplish more.
