We all love the end of a productive day, right? The fact that you managed to close a sale, complete a script, or finally fix that bug in your code makes you feel useful and important. It’s days like this that make you love your job and think all your effort is worth it.
Sadly, not all days can be like this. In fact, some days in the office can be frustrating and unfulfilling. On the other hand, some days just pass by you and you live the office trying to figure out just what important thing you accomplished.
So, how do we make it work? How do we get the wheel spinning until the next great, productive day? Well, everyone has their tricks, and that helps improve productivity just a little bit with each day. This way, before you know it, things start moving smoother, and your efforts will have more impact.
We had a chat with several successful employees and entrepreneurs and made a list of the top three productivity tips everyone swears by.
Use of All the Tools at your Disposal
We have access to a world of information (freely available) and tools, but we seem to forget about it quite often.
Younger generations (aka millennials) know that Google holds most of the answers. As such, when they can’t figure something out, they start a search quest that will eventually provide some helpful advice.
The same goes for various office tasks that can be solved in just a minute with free tools available online.
For instance, you can combine PDFs online (for free) without raising any privacy risks. You don’t have to call the IT department for this. The same goes for other tasks like saving your PPT presentation in PDF format or sending a large file to a customer.
There are lots of tools available online that can shorten the time spent with technical office tasks. You just need to search for them!
Know your Productivity Cycle
During the day, our mental focus and motivation go through several ups and downs.
For instance, almost anyone we know has a down period right after lunch, between 2 and 4 pm. During this time period, your brain is barely moving and you feel like taking a nap right under your desk!
However, you still have to work, but there’s no way you can come up with something creative, insightful, or original. So, why not do some of those menial tasks (like answering emails, checking the calendar, filing the new project, and more)? This way, when you hit a productivity peak, you can work on a more complex and important task.
The secret here is introspection. Observe your behavior on the timespan of one week and identify your productivity cycle.
The To-Do List
Make sure that you end the day with tomorrow’s To-Do list and try to have everyone in the office do the same. This way, when the new day starts, everyone will know what tasks to tackle and in what order.
However, the To-Do list must contain some specifics as to the time that should be dedicated to a task, the level of priority, and more. Luckily, we don’t have to use post-it notes or any kind of paper to put this list together. There is a wide range of apps (for mobile and desktop) easily available online.
In addition, if you use a mobile app, you can add to the list and make changes even after you’ve left the office.
In Conclusion
In the end, there is no one miracle solution for better productivity. It’s important to keep an open mind and try various solutions until you find the right ones for you.