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We’ve detailed three quick and uncomplicated ways you can increase your productivity during your work week as the new year gets into full swing.
Simlindile Mbongwa
The beginning of a new year always has people excited to start new habits and routines. However, we all know how quickly that momentum can fizzle out during the year, leading to a vicious cycle of guilt where you beat yourself up for not keeping your New Year’s resolutions and swearing up and down that you’re going to do better next year.
Although no one is perfect and not meeting our intended goals is a perfectly normal part of our lives we shouldn’t be ashamed of. There are some simple changes you can apply to your routine that could go a long way towards helping you be more productive and efficient with your time.
1 Organise Your Thoughts/Plan Out Your Week
There are several ways you can do this but writing a ‘To Do List’ is probably the easiest solution. Write down all the things you would like to complete during the week and then organise them in order of priority. This will help you plan your days accordingly and will also reduce the pressure we sometimes feel when tasks are not completed in time. Be sure to keep track of your progress so that you can move on to the next task.
2 Clean Up Your Workspace
Some people don’t do well with clutter around them and having a tidy and neat working space could do wonders for your productivity. With millions of us around the world being forced to work from home due to the pandemic, separating work and leisure time has become increasingly difficult. That is why minimising your distractions is crucial to keeping your focus and momentum when studying or working. Although our bodies and brains are different – there’s evidence that stimulating our senses can help our brain capacity. So, making sure your work space is visually pleasing and smells great could be great way to keep you focused.
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3 Time Management
Good time management can make a huge difference to your daily routine and help you finish your daily/weekly tasks efficiently. The key to thinking about productivity in a positive way is realising that you do not have to spend all your time working to increase your productivity – even during the week.
Therefore, when setting out your day, think about when you’re most alert and focused. You can also use time management systems such as the Pomodoro Technique – which requires you to use a timer to breakdown your day into intervals of work and rest. Under the technique, your day is broken into 25 minute ‘Pomodoro’s’ where you focus on work for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break.
After repeating the process four times (25 minutes of work then 5 minutes of break-time) you can then take a 15-20 minute break. Mapping out a system like this could help you maximise your concentration and process work more adeptly so you can have more time to relax – which is very important and should be your ultimate goal.