10 Productivity Hacks To Kick-Start Your Day
Clear your desktop, light a lemon-scented candle, and get ready for a more productive day with these tips.
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Some days, focus comes naturally. You can sit at your desk, abandon your smartphone, and work straight through the morning without the temptation of social media or office chatter.
Unfortunately, not all days run quite so smoothly. Sometimes we're dealing with overflowing inboxes, incessantly ringing phones, and the inevitable distraction of the Internet. We could probably agree these days happen more often than we'd like them to.
While you can't eliminate the chaos from a busy day, you can make it easier to manage. There are several digital and non-digital means of prepping your mind for a productive day -- even when it seems the universe is working against you.
Some productive pros rely on digital tools to get things done. Virtual assistants, messaging apps, note-taking wizards, and email services are all indispensable for modern professionals who need to work on the go.
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While electronic devices have undoubtedly changed the way we work, there are a few productivity hacks that don't involve downloading an app or saving a URL. Simple habits can make a tremendous difference in how effectively you work each day.
The important thing to keep in mind is that everyone works differently. A trick that helps your colleague demolish her to-do list may not necessarily work for you. By trying different strategies, you'll eventually find the perfect blend of productivity tricks to become daily habits.
Here, we dig into a few productivity hacks that could positively affect your workdays. From delayed email checks to mid-day exercise, these are simple but effective ways to boost focus and help you get more done.
What are some of the things you do to boost your productivity each day? Would you give any of these suggestions a try? We'd like to hear your ideas.
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Otherwise, light a candle, invest in an electric diffuser, or squeeze a few drops of scented oil onto a cotton ball. Smell is a powerful sense, and inhaling certain scents can boost productivity, focus, and mood.
Your scent of choice could depend on personal preference or the project at hand. Lemon boosts concentration and may help calm you down if you're feeling anxious or stressed. Jasmine also has calming properties and has been known to boost energy and confidence. Peppermint could be a good pick for your next brainstorming session. It promotes clear thinking and revitalizes the brain.
If you work in a home or private office, an electric diffuser or a spray bottle can spread energy-boosting smells. Open offices are trickier. You don't want to spray unwanted scents into anyone's personal space, but you can reap the same benefits with scented lotion or a hand sanitizer, or by dropping oils onto a cotton ball for an occasional whiff.
At the start of your day, take a close look at the meetings on your calendar. How many of them are longer than 30 minutes? More importantly, how many of them actually need to happen?
While intended to be productive, meetings can be a huge time drain for you and employees. Many are longer than necessary, or could be done over email or on a group call, which would save everyone the time of traveling and taking time away from their desks.
Your time is valuable. Why spend half your day in meetings that you don't truly need to attend? Next time an invitation pops up on your calendar, consider the value you'll bring to the meeting and the value you'll take away. If it's not worth the time, don't feel bad about hitting "decline."
If you do attend or hold a meeting, take steps to ensure you're minimizing time and maximizing output. Establish and stick to clear start and finish times, form an agenda, and share the focus with attendees beforehand so they can prepare.
Chilly corporate offices are not just bad for the company energy bill -- they may also cost hours of productivity. Studies indicate employees work more effectively when they're physically warm, reports the Association for Psychological Science.
Temperature affects more than individual productivity. It can also influence social relationships and the overall office dynamic. Warm environments facilitate closer, friendlier relationships. Lowering the temperature changes how people interact with one another. They become more distant and less personable.
Unfortunately for women, most office temperatures are set based on men's body temperature. For a productivity boost, consider wearing layers until you can successfully campaign for a temperature change.
Many workers tackle their inboxes first thing in the morning. It seems sensible to read missed messages from the night before, but starting the day with email can put you on a slippery slope towards distraction.
An hour or two could easily fly by while you weed through your inbox. It's a shame, because those early hours are often the best for giving your day a productive start. Focusing on email makes you concentrate on responding to others' messages instead of acting on your own ideas.
Instead of prioritizing emails first thing in the morning, use that get-up-and-go motivation for something more: working toward long-term goals or brainstorming new projects. After a strong start to the day, you'll be ready for a break -- and your inbox will be sitting there waiting.
If it's crucial you check email first thing in the morning, set a time limit. Spending a predetermined amount of time answering messages will keep you organized, focused, and aware of how you're spending your day.
Why do we often procrastinate regarding tasks that take so little out of the day? It's easy to put off a few emails, a trip to the post office, or a follow-up phone call because taking care of these items seems so menial. "I'll do it later, when I have more time," you think.
The problem is that later never comes at the perfect time. There will always be more pressing responsibilities at hand, and those smaller tasks will continue to accumulate throughout the day. Once-minor errands become a source of stress as they sit on your to-do list.
Do yourself a favor and clear your schedule of all two-minute tasks as they roll in throughout the day. It's an easy way to eliminate unnecessary stress, especially because these simple tasks will take up so little time.
It's both ambitious and easy to write five or six big-ticket items on your daily to-do list in the morning. It's harder to actually accomplish them all during a normal workday. An intimidating to-do list may actually have the opposite of its intended effect -- leaving you overwhelmed and less productive.
Instead, pick three must-do tasks for the day and scribble them on a post-it note. The idea of completing three major tasks is more comprehensible than finishing ten of them. A three-goal day still leaves room for all the inevitable tasks that pop up: answering calls, checking in with colleagues, sending emails. It's also tough to keep adding major projects to a tiny post-it.
Stick the post-it on your monitor or on top of your desk -- as long as it's in your field of vision. It'll serve as a visual reminder of your tasks for the day. Once those are done, tossing the post-it will give a sense of accomplishment and motivation for the following day.
Chances are good you've read at least one article on the best time to exercise. Early birds tout the benefits of sunrise workouts, while the level of the 6 p.m. gym crowd suggests exercise may be a good way to end a long day.
The truth: Fitness is important no matter when you squeeze it into the day. You can, however, optimize productivity by exercising when it's time for a mental break. For those of us who start our mornings focused and ready to work, it seems counterproductive to use those early hours for exercise.
Think about when your productivity starts to drag. It could be late morning, after a couple of working hours have gone by, or right after lunch, when digestion naturally causes some minor drowsiness. Those times, when you're ready for a mental break, and productivity is at its lowest, might be the best windows for exercise.
Evan Williams, the founder of Twitter, Blogger, and blogging platform Medium, swapped his early exercise routine for midday workouts after realizing he was more productive at work in the morning. While exercising during the day was strange at first, he claims the new habit has boosted focus throughout the day.
When you start each day staring at a messy desktop, it doesn't bode well for clear thinking and productivity. It's important to keep your physical desk space tidy. Your digital desktop is no less important.
Clear out your digital desktop so you can actually see the background -- maybe even choose a nice peaceful one, if you're so inclined. This will eliminate distractions from the moment you turn on the computer and will let you start the day with a clear mind.
The same principle applies to your non-digital desktop. An organized workspace marks a clear path to productivity, though experts suggest a splash of color may also do some good -- green, in particular. Research has shown the presence of plants in the workplace could boost memory retention and employee engagement. If you're not sure about caring for a plant, a photograph or other colorful object could have the same effect.
There seems to be a strict divide between those who are more productive when music is playing, and those who prefer to work in silence. As it turns out, music can boost focus, but it depends on the people and the type of work they're doing.
A growing pool of research has found people perform better when working in silence than when music is playing. While listening to favorite tunes can be relaxing and can make it easier to focus, it can interfere with your attention capacity when reading or writing, explains cognitive neuroscientist Daniel Levitin to Business Insider. Listening to music before work can put you in a productive mindset, but you might want to pause when it's time to tackle a project that requires great focus.
There is an exception for monotonous tasks: data entry, driving, or other repetitive actions likely to cause boredom. For these situations, you may be more productive with music in the background because it helps you focus.
If you have common distractors during the workday, make them more difficult to access. For example, those who have a habit of snacking at their desks should keep their treats in the kitchen.
A similar principle applies to online distractions. If you frequently find yourself on Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, or Reddit, download a blocking tool like SelfControl or Cold Turkey. You can set the amount of time you don't want access to specific websites, and the app blocks the page so you can stay focused.
Smartphone addicts would be wise to start their day by silencing their phone or sticking it in a desk drawer. Alerts can be hugely distracting and can eat up minutes of time when they pop up. Out of sight, out of mind.
If you have common distractors during the workday, make them more difficult to access. For example, those who have a habit of snacking at their desks should keep their treats in the kitchen.
A similar principle applies to online distractions. If you frequently find yourself on Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, or Reddit, download a blocking tool like SelfControl or Cold Turkey. You can set the amount of time you don't want access to specific websites, and the app blocks the page so you can stay focused.
Smartphone addicts would be wise to start their day by silencing their phone or sticking it in a desk drawer. Alerts can be hugely distracting and can eat up minutes of time when they pop up. Out of sight, out of mind.
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