Everyone has 24 hours in a day. Yet, only a few people manage to get the results that most people dream about. What’s the difference between these few people and the majority? They know how to increase their output effectively. They not only work hard but also smart.I don’t know how productive you are at the moment. But I am sure that you want to boost your personal productivity so that you can double or triple your income and have enough time to spend with your loved ones.
As you are going to see, boosting your productivity is not as difficult as it seems. The majority of people around you have managed to improve their productivity and performance consistently over the years. This is proof that you can do it too. Today, we are going to discuss fifteen proven ways to boost your personal productivity and performance. Let’s get started!
1: Plan your day
As the popular saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail. Planning your day is the foundation of your productivity. Starting your day with no plan is like driving a car with no steering wheel. You’ll find yourself drifting throughout the day. You’ll spend most of your time on less important things and end up accomplishing very little. The best time to plan your day is the night before.
Before watching your favorite Netflix show, grab a piece of paper and a pen write down everything that needs to get done the following day. Next, arrange your activities in order of priority. If you can’t do this exercise the night before, it should be the first thing you do in the morning.
You cannot afford to waste your precious time if you want to get to the top. As simple as it sounds, only 10% of the people across the world manage to do this exercise. This exercise takes five to ten minutes. However, it will completely change your life.
2: Arise with the sun
As the popular saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail. Planning your day is the foundation of your productivity. Starting your day with no plan is like driving a car with no steering wheel. You’ll find yourself drifting throughout the day. You’ll spend most of your time on less important things and end up accomplishing very little. The best time to plan your day is the night before.
Before watching your favorite Netflix show, grab a piece of paper and a pen write down everything that needs to get done the following day. Next, arrange your activities in order of priority. If you can’t do this exercise the night before, it should be the first thing you do in the morning.
You cannot afford to waste your precious time if you want to get to the top. As simple as it sounds, only 10% of the people across the world manage to do this exercise. This exercise takes five to ten minutes. However, it will completely change your life.
3: Become a serious person for your personal productivity
Does your productivity and performance matter to you? You have to become a serious person to succeed in everything you do. This means that you should work every time you work. What do I mean? When it’s working time, don’t start checking and responding to emails.
Put your phone away from you. Avoid chatting with your co-workers. If you’ll be using the internet to work, make use of apps that block distracting sites such as social media. You cannot improve your productivity if you can’t discipline yourself to do what needs to be done.
As assignment writing help reports, a higher percentage of work time is wasted by most employees in gossip, online shopping, chatting with friends, long coffee and lunch breaks and personal business. If you become a serious person, you can improve your productivity by as much as 50%.
4: Take short breaks
When you are working on an urgent or exciting task, it might be difficult to take short breaks regularly. However, studies show that people who take short breaks after working for ninety minutes maintain their level of productivity and performance.
Working on tasks continuously leads to a decline in productivity and performance in the long run. During your break, you should indulge in an exciting activity such as taking a walk, drinking a glass of water, meditating or playing to name a few. After the break, you’ll be mentally active and happy.
5: Stop multitasking
While most people tend to think that multitasking a crucial skill that will boost your productivity and performance, the opposite is the truth. The human brain cannot focus on two things at the same time with the same level of intensity.
For instance, you cannot read essays on the best paper writing service reviews and watch TV at the same time. When you are reading essays, you’ll not be keenly watching and listening to your favorite show and vice versa. The worst thing is nothing gets done well because your focus will keep shifting between these two activities.
To avoid multitasking, start developing the habit of working on one task at a time. When you complete it, move to the next one. Multitasking is one of the biggest productivity lies in the world today.
6: Focus on progress, not perfection
It’s common for most people to spend a lot of time creating perfect results. The truth is, there will always be room for improvement in everything you do. As online assignment help reports, perfection is an illusion. People who strive for perfection usually have low self-esteem.
To feel worthy and accepted by the people around them, they spend a lot of time perfecting their work forgetting that they have other tasks to work on. Instead of focusing on perfection, focus on progress.
The more you progress, the better you’ll become at what you do and the faster you’ll accomplish your goals. It’s better to complete several tasks and revise them later than fail to complete any task.
7: Say no to meetings
In any office, meetings are one of the biggest time-suckers in the world today. However, most managers and employees continue scheduling and attending them unquestioningly. A research conducted by assignment writing services found out that employees spend an average of 31 hours in meetings every month. If the meeting does not help you achieve your goals or productivity, don’t attend it.
If you have to have a meeting, hold a standing meeting. In most cases, standing meetings take less than ten minutes since people tend to focus on the most important points. Also, don’t wait for latecomers to arrive to start the meeting.
If the meeting is supposed to start at 8 AM, start it with those who have arrived on time. By doing this, you’ll end up spending less time in meetings and teaching your employees the importance of managing their time effectively.
8: Get enough sleep
A research conducted by writers from top essay writing services found out that seventy percent of top managers sleep on the job because to complete all important tasks on time. Not to forget the early commutes and responsibilities at home. Most managers and employees are not getting enough sleep.
We know that an adult needs eight hours of sleep every night to perform at optimum levels. Lack of sleep impacts your concentration, reasoning, and memory negatively. Lack of sleep makes your body extremely vulnerable to diseases because it lowers your immune strength. Plus, it can lead to death.
You do not have to sacrifice your sleep to improve your productivity and stay on top of things in the office. All you need to do is manage your time properly and work on high priority tasks only. Getting enough rest every day will improve your physical and mental health. And this will boost your productivity and performance.
9: Complete everything you start
If you can’t complete what you started, then there is no reason to start working on it in the first place. Completing tasks is a habit and so is stopping short. If you can quit working on a particular task, what will prevent you from quitting in the future?
You’ll achieve your essay writer goals and become successful the day you start completing every task you work on. The fact that you’ve knocked out a big task makes it easier for you to knock out others in the future. Stay on the task until its completion even if it takes longer than expected.
As human beings, our minds tend to resonate with other peoples’ minds. For instance, when your colleague calls it a day and rushes through the front door, it’s easier for you to stop working and do the same than continue working. Do not fall into this trap. With the right motivation, you can achieve a lot more. When you find yourself distracted or thinking of quitting, say to yourself “Back to work!”, “Back to work!”
10: Focus on what you are good at
How do you feel when you are working on something that does not ignite your interest? You feel bored, frustrated and unhappy. According to Edubirdie review, you cannot boost your productivity and performance if you are bored and unhappy most of the time.
Therefore, if you don’t like your job, get out of it the way you’d get out of a burning house. Remember, the more you seek security, the lesser the opportunities will knock on your door. On the other hand, the more you look for opportunities, the more secure you’ll be in the long run.
Majority of people cannot improve their productivity and performance simply because they are doing something that they don’t love.
If you are doing something that you are passionate about, you’ll naturally want to be good at it. As Steve Job said, if you haven’t found your passion, keep searching and don’t quit. To succeed in life, you have to discover your passion and look for a way to earn a living from it.
11: Surround yourself with productive people
The relationships you hold determine as much as 85% of your success. It’s important to surround yourself with positive, productive and goal-oriented individuals. By doing this, you’ll have the opportunity to discuss and share tips that will boost your productivity and performance in the long run. Plus, you’ll also learn from them what doesn’t work and this will save you a lot of time and energy.
You cannot expect to be productive while most of your friends are underachievers. As we said earlier, your mind tends to resonate with other minds around it. If your friends are sloppy at work, you’ll also be sloppy. If they don’t manage their time effectively, you’ll also stop managing your time.
Do not think that you are immune to their influences. The best thing you can do for them and yourself is walk away. Start associating with people who are currently at the place where you’d like to be in the future. Do what they do and you’ll get the results they have.
12: Delegate effectively
You cannot work on every task on your desk. Remember, there is never enough time to do everything but there is always enough time for the most important things. To improve your productivity, you’ll have to delegate low priority tasks.
When you learn how to delegate effectively, you’ll be amazed by how quickly and easily you knocked out high priority tasks. When you delegate tasks, focus on the strengths of your employees or co-workers. The last thing you want is to micromanage them.
If you are a control freak, it will take a while before you get used to delegating. But when you delegate properly, you’ll be amazed by how productive you’ll be. If you don’t have staff that you can delegate low priority tasks, you can always outsource.
13: Be an optimistic person
In general, happy people are productive people. According to a study conducted by the University of Warwick, optimistic participants were 12% more productive than those who were not. If you are a naturally optimistic person, you have an edge over the majority of the negative people around you. On the other hand, if you tend to focus on the negative most of the time, you can cultivate positivity.
Remember, you cannot give what you don’t have. You cannot encourage and inspire your family and friends if you focus on the negative side most of the time. Negativity manifests itself through anger, jealousy, fear, and doubt. These are symptoms of low self-esteem.
To become a positive cheerful person, set clear goals. Successful people define happiness as the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. Next, surround yourself with positive and happy people. Whenever you feel angry or upset say to yourself, “I am responsible!”
14: Reward yourself
When you achieve a goal or complete a project successfully, do not take it for granted. Reward yourself. Rewarding yourself conditions your mind to perceive the completion of tasks as pleasure.
If you have employees, remember to reward them too. You can go for a vacation, spend more time with loved ones or watch your favorite TV show.
15: Improve yourself every day
If you are not moving ahead, you are falling behind. To become a successful and productive person, you have to improve yourself daily. This means allocating time to read books, listening to audiobooks, journaling and most importantly practicing what you learn. Your world will only change when you change.
Conclusion
Your level of productivity and performance depends on the habits you choose to cultivate. As you’ve seen, boosting your productivity is not that difficult. Don’t be in a rush to become productive. Everything worthwhile takes time. Start working on yourself and most importantly, practice what you learn. Get rid of bad habits. Be nice to yourself and your loved ones. You’ll be amazed by the results you’ll get.
Author bio: Tiffany Harper is a talented writer from New York, an extremely active woman, and a real leader. She began her career as a journalist and later proceeded as an educational writer and editor. Now she works as the subject matter expert with personal statement writing service, mostly in technology digital marketing areas. Please do not hesitate to contact her on Twitter.