7 ways to increase your productivity

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

All of us very often lack the motivation to complete an important task. Often we ourselves deliberately delay the completion of this or that task simply because we do not want to do it. As a result, our efficiency and productivity are reduced. We will tell you how to deal with this in this article.

In 1915, Albert Einstein presented his brilliant and revolutionary theory of relativity. During the three years preceding this, he devoted himself entirely to the creation of this theory, without being distracted by anything else.

I am not encouraging you to spend three years creating one project, but this method of focusing is really effective.

It was a small excursion into the past, and now let's turn to modern realities: today the tendency to "do less" has become quite popular. As the name suggests, this area encompasses techniques that can be used to achieve greater results with less effort.

Today I want to share with you some of these techniques. Hope they help you achieve the best results in the shortest possible time.

1. Pareto's law, or the 20/80 principle

In general terms, this principle is formulated as follows: 20% of the efforts give 80% of the result, and the remaining 80% of the efforts - only 20% of the result. Law 20/80 is applicable in almost all areas of life. For example, according to this law, 20% of criminals commit 80% of crimes.

Knowing how to use Pareto Law properly will help you not only in your professional life, but also in your daily life. This is a handy little trick that can help you predict the outcome. For example, if you are an outgoing person, then you most likely have many friends. Think about which of these people will come to your aid in a difficult situation. Probably, there will be few of them, just something around the notorious 20%. It is worth taking note of this and trying to keep in touch with these 20%, instead of wasting time with virtual friends.

How it works

According to Pareto's Law, you should do all unimportant tasks when your productivity is low. For example, many people, as soon as they come to work in the morning, cannot immediately get involved in the work process. They need to chat with colleagues, have a cup of coffee, or do something else that will help them get in the mood for work.

Only then will they be able to work productively. It is important to prioritize work tasks. Try to complete important tasks at a time of the day when your performance is at a high level.

2. Three important tasks

Many people make a to-do list to help keep their workflow organized. Of course, in the 21st century we have already moved away from writing the upcoming affairs on paper, for this we have smartphones and computers.

I suggest you follow one simple rule: every morning, spend five minutes writing down your three most important tasks for the day. Then focus all your efforts on completing this short list.

It's a great alternative to those endlessly long to-do lists that we usually love to write. Who are we kidding, because even a week will not be enough for them, let alone one day. Focus on these three main tasks, and if you get them done ahead of time, you can start doing something else.

This simple yet powerful habit can actually increase your productivity.

3. Do less philosophy

The Do Less philosophy is very popular in modern life. Different authors suggest different approaches. For example, Mark Lesser wrote Achieve More With Less, based on Zen Buddhism.

His “do less” manifesto begins by rebutting the claim that reducing workload makes employees lazy and negatively impacts their productivity. When we do fewer tasks, we can enjoy our accomplishments.

Mark Lesser recommends taking a few minutes during your workday to meditate. This evens out your breathing, you will come to your senses, relieve stress and be able to better concentrate on the task at hand.

Don't forget to prioritize. Perform important tasks first, and then move on to low-priority ones. Do not overload yourself with a lot of tasks: it is better to do less, but with high quality and with pleasure, than more, but without enthusiasm.

4. Tomato technique

The tomato technique was suggested by Francesco Cirillo. The technique is called tomato because its author originally used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer to measure time.

The technique is based on the principle of working for 25 minutes on a specific task without interruption, but after that it is imperative to take a break.

How it works

1. Look at your task list and select the highest priority tasks from it.
2. Then set the timer for 25 minutes and start working without distraction until you hear the timer beep. Each 25 minute time period is called a "tomato".
3. Then take a five minute break and turn on the timer again.
4. After four "tomatoes" (that is, every two hours) take a longer break of 15-20 minutes.
5. If your task takes more than five "tomatoes", it can be divided into several parts.

This technique helps you work on higher-priority tasks, improves focus, and helps you concentrate better.

5. The myth of multitasking

Multitasking doesn't make us more productive at all, it's a myth. In fact, when we concentrate on many tasks at the same time, it has a negative impact on our productivity and concentration.

No matter how well you get used to multitasking, your productivity will be much less than if you chose to focus from start to finish on a single task.

David Meyer, professor at the University of Michigan

It is only possible to efficiently perform multiple tasks simultaneously in some special cases. Let's say when you do something automatically, for example, you walk and talk at the same time. Walking is an automatic activity and does not require you to focus on it. A well-known parable illustrates this well:

Once an ant met a centipede on a forest path, which merrily and serenely ran towards him. The ant asked the centipede: “How do you move all your 40 legs so deftly? How do you manage to move around so easily and quickly? The centipede thought for a minute and … could no longer budge!

If you want to accomplish tasks more productively, it is better to focus on one task, complete it from start to finish, and only then move on to others.

6. Informational diet

Nowadays, overloading your brain with information is as easy as getting heatstroke in the Sahara Desert. And even the symptoms are similar: sleep disturbance, distracted attention and delayed reaction. Our brain is overloaded with information noise. In the modern world, people are constantly looking for news, although they already surround us everywhere.

In this case, Timothy Ferris, author of the book How to Work Four Hours a Week and At the same time not hang around in the office "from call to call", to live anywhere and get rich "advises people to" go on an information diet. " Think all the emails, blogs, newspapers and magazines you read are really important to you? Do you really need to spend so much time on social media and TV?

Try to get as little information completely unnecessary for you as possible at least for a week and see how this affects your productivity.

7. Live on schedule

Ask any successful person when he or she wakes up, and you will most likely hear that person gets up early. It's pretty straightforward: there aren't many distractions in the morning, so we can focus on our priorities.

Remember that there is time to rest and there is time to work. Draw clear boundaries between the one and the other. Start by stopping doing business as soon as you feel the need to rest.

It is better to live with a plan than without it

Parkinson's Law states that "work fills the time allotted for it." This means that if you, for example, decide that you will write a report in a week, you will be writing it all week. Parkinson's Law is especially applicable to things that we don't like and which we have no desire to do. Many of us tend to stretch cases as long as possible. But if you put each task in a rigid box, it will allow you to deal with cases much more efficiently. When you have deadlines, you try to get everything done on time, so this is a great motivation.