Seven simple habits that will boost your productivity
Have you ever wondered how you can improve the quality of your day to be more productive? Since the arrival of the first wave of the global pandemic, we have started to work more from home, and everyone is fighting battles with themselves.
Probably most people like to have a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, which immediately puts you back on your feet. Then comes time for a gentle shower and a light breakfast. With a full belly we go to sit down in front of the computer to start checking the inbox and then it starts… yes, that’s right, this moment is actually crucial, distractions hit us with redoubled force, leaving out the fact that a courier is about to arrive, your phone starts ringing and your wristwatch starts vibrating. What was previously at the forefront of your mind suddenly drops to the bottom of the list of tasks that need to be done. Productivity plummets and work, friends and other obligations have no mercy.
However, there are ways to help win the daily battle, and the best news is that you can take complete control of it. Making another coffee or taking a cool shower won’t be required. Here are 7 simple habits that will increase your productivity and dramatically improve your quality of life.
Put your phone away from your desk or put it on aeroplane mode
If you’re sitting at your desk and your phone starts vibrating, your attention will immediately shift to it. Once you’ve looked at it, you won’t hold back to see why it’s vibrating. Maybe it’s an important text message from a friend, or perhaps a message confirming the arrival of a courier? All people love that little jolt of dopamine that comes when you receive a notification.
At the office, you don’t have the luxury to leave your phone in the other room or to switch it off completely. However, during a pandemic, working from home allows you to do far more. To avoid constant interruptions, simply leave your device in your bedroom or have it with you but with aeroplane mode on. It sounds incredibly easy, but you’d be surprised what results it can have. Your one-stop-shopping will become more efficient as you will be able to maintain focus on your task until it is completed.
Take headphones with you
Having headphones can serve you in two ways. Firstly, you can use a set period of time to listen to audiobooks or listen to relaxing music if your surroundings become too distracting. Music has been shown to put us in the right mood depending on what is currently echoing from the headphones. Even while eating a meal, you can progress by listening to themed audiobooks. Most audiobooks on the market are about:
- Personal development;
- Raising children;
- Credit financing;
- Books;
- Popular science topics.
The second way can be even better – headphones can prove to be a secret weapon against your work colleagues. We all know people in the office who like to waste time having short meaningless conversations. And even though we realise that the conversation doesn’t lead to any conclusions, it’s hard to say no when you don’t have a good reason. You know what can then save your productivity? The headphones you’ll have on your ears. You don’t necessarily have to listen to something, just have them on your head.
Come to work early
At this point you don’t yet realise that this can increase your productivity. On the other hand, it has been scientifically proven that many people do their best work first thing in the morning. Your mind is then free of most distractions and is able to assimilate large amounts of information quickly. By turning up at work earlier, you will be better able to concentrate on the work at hand, and there will be no need to sting your colleagues because they will still be in bed.
If you look at it from the camera’s perspective, you will quickly notice that when you turn up at work at 10am, most of your colleagues are already sitting at their desks, and some were just waiting to talk to you and steal some time from you at the same time. This is detrimental to your efficiency.
Don’t go straight to the mailbox
When you first sit down at your computer, you may find that you have accumulated quite a few unopened messages in your inbox. Try to refrain from opening them straight away when you start your day. Checking your mail first thing in the morning is not a good thing, because it is in the morning that your mind is at top speed and an extra dozen messages about a backlog or bills that need to be paid will effectively disrupt your work and your productivity will drop dramatically.
When you’re feeling the afternoon quiet or you’ve completed all the tasks you’ve planned for today, then that’s the perfect time to open your emails. Becoming better at focusing is like a game of understanding when you are most productive and then cutting that time off from the rest of your day, because that’s when you should be focusing on your work.
Relax
Once you’ve done some pressing tasks, it’s important to make sure you get enough rest and reset your mind. Strategy games can help with this, as they tend to have low hardware requirements, so you can run them on your office equipment. If you like more excitement and total unplugging then you can take advantage of an online casino, where there is additionally the possibility of winning money. A brand that offers some of the best games on the market is certainly Stay Casino, you can find it at this link: https://stay-casinoonline.com/. There are plenty of games available on the site, which have been produced by top developers ie:
- Wazdan;
- Play’n Go;
- Microgaming;
- Betsoft;
- Blueprint Gaming;
- Schedule a meeting for the afternoon
As with checking your mail in the morning, try to schedule meetings for the afternoon. Corporate environments are notorious for having lots of meetings anyway, so, rather than going to them at different intervals, postpone them until they become necessary. Ideally, they can take place at similar times so that you don’t have to waste time in between. If the meeting does not require you to be creative or seriously mentally challenged then by far the best idea is to hold it in the afternoon.
More automation
While you may not be a fan of robots and the automation of certain processes, it’s worth knowing that it makes our world look the way it does now. Don’t waste time paying every bill manually or sending notifications to customers several times a week. If these are recurring payments, you can schedule everything and the various tools available online will do everything for you.
Trust in automation and don’t be afraid to hand over responsibility for billing to the automated system offered by your bank. This will save you a lot of valuable time that you can use for something else. Below in the table are the most popular programmes for automating tasks on your computer:
| Name | Manufacturer |
| RoboTask | NeoWise Software |
| AutoHotkey | Autohotkey |
| WinAutomation | Softomotive Ltd |
| Macro Express 5 | Insight Software Solutions |
| Reginald | Giosali |
Summary
Productivity these days is key if you want to achieve great results. This article has outlined the best methods that are sure to work. Whether your key to success is one-armed bandits for free or wearing headphones most of the time during the day, any way to improve productivity will work, the key is that all the time you are in control of how you use the hour. By prioritising specific activities, you can change the quality of your life and your schedule will finally start to work. Good luck!
