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Top 10 Productivity Tips to Achieve More and Create Peace of Mind
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Uncompleted commitments take up psychic energy, each one making you just the tiniest bit more tired, more distracted, and therefore less productive.
The first step to managing your life and time is getting every commitment, large and small, out of your head and into a trusted system.
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Get a Head Start
Before leaving your workspace, or before going to bed, take 10 minutes to look over the next day’s commitments.
Decide what you’ll do first. Look at that to-do list and decide whether any tasks on it can be delegated to someone else or crossed off the list altogether.
Do Your Most Dreaded Task First
Every one of us has one or more tasks on our to-do list that we dread doing.
Do it first thing. Writer Michael Hyatt talks about slaying your dragons before breakfast—there’s nothing more motivating for the rest of your day than crossing that monster off your list first thing in the morning.
Turn off Distractions
One of the major productivity killers is the distraction of constant interruptions: emails, phone calls, people appearing at your door…
Schedule a block of time to focus on that commitment, turn off all outside communications and give yourself the necessary luxury of undisturbed time to really focus on the matter at hand.
Take Breaks
There’s a limit to how long anybody can devote deep focus to a task.
After a certain amount of time, the law of diminishing returns kicks in, and fatigue—physical and/or mental—starts to impair your effectiveness.
Schedule breaks periodically even during the busiest days.
Batch Process
If the demands of your day include routine tasks, try to group similar tasks and schedule certain times during the day to knock them out.
By batching similar tasks, you save the time lost to ramping up multiple times a day and reap the benefits of momentum.
Eat a Healthy Breakfast
There are countless studies confirming the importance of breakfast for maintaining our health.
Healthy people are more productive. No matter how busy you are, eat a decent breakfast. It’ll fuel you for a terrific start to your day.
Get Some Exercise
Exercise makes you healthier, so be sure to get some exercise every day.
You don’t need to spend hours at the gym to get the benefit of this; take a walk around the block, or do some isometrics at your desk.
Delegate
Evaluate that to-do list carefully. What tasks could someone else do, thereby freeing you up to focus on the things only you can do?
An important key to productivity is doing only those things that only you can do, and giving somebody else the opportunity to contribute by doing those other tasks.
Say No
When someone calls or appears at your door with a request for your participation in some activity, take a breath and consider whether it fits into your own priorities
If the answer is no, then just say no. Practice it ahead of time: “Thank you for inviting me, but no.” “Thank you for thinking of me, but no.”
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Focus on what matters
- Write down the end goal.
- Divide the goal into specific actions you need to take to get there. Think in terms of systems: focussed, routine actions that you can do daily.
- List a...
Steve Jobs
“Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. It’s true for companies, and it’s true for products."
Seek Simplicity
- Find out if the problem really exists, and why. This will open a path to alternative ways of solving it.
- Some problems, which seem complex, often have simple solutions.
- What is the surest thing in that complex problem? That becomes your First Principle, your starting point.
- List out the possible solutions
- Focus on one good solution while removing the rest.
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Creativity
- Engage in art therapy: paint or start a journal.
- Create a peace collage. Include images that make you feel relaxed and at ease.
- Take a walk with the sole intention of pho...
Solitude
- Schedule a date with yourself, a time when you don’t need to meet anyone else’s requests, and do something that feeds your mind and spirit.
- Sit in nature and let yourself simply be.
- Be your own best friend.
- Repeat some positive affirmations that help you feel present, peaceful, and empowered.
Connection
- Tell the truth in your relationships.
- Catch critical, blaming, or self-victimizing thoughts.
- Have fun with someone you love. Forget about everything that feels like a problem and do something silly and childlike.
- Ask a friend to join a yoga studio with you, or invite them to jog with you on the beach.
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Share your agenda
Don't assume people will automatically respect the fact that while you're working from home, you're still working.
Be proactive, share your schedule and explain when y...
Spend money where it counts most
Invest in a good computer, a good phone, and the most comfortable and ergonomically correct chair you can find.
Working from home means you spend a lot of time sitting. When you're uncomfortable, it's hard to stay focused and productive. See these things as investments, not expenses.
Split your work day into chunks
Instead of thinking an 8-, 6-, or 10-hour workday, split your day into four or five 90-minute windows.
That way, you will have on average 4 tasks you will get done a lot more efficiently. Take breaks between tasks to recharge.
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