11 simple rules for a productive work day

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

We often have to complete many different tasks and meet short deadlines. At the same time, freelancers and full-time employees working remotely, on a flexible schedule or using the ROWE system combine their working day with personal affairs, hobbies and leisure. How to make your working day productive? Here are 11 easy rules to help you do just that.

1. Unsubscribe from all mailings that are not critical to you. The fewer letters that fall to your inbox, the less effort you will spend on filtering your mail and the less distracted you will be by letters, 80% of which will not be useful to you at all.

2. If the email does not require a specific response or action, just delete it. The zero inbox rule (empty inbox during the day) is one of the best motivators to work. Your email should be like a to-do list, not a dumping ground for unnecessary or irrelevant information.

3. In the course of work, use one program, and not several at once. Don't you use social networks in your work? Close your browser with Facebook and other social networks. Have you finished answering emails? Close the mail client or the window with the web interface. Close your browser when you are finished working with sites. Close the text editor by adding a commercial offer. Let a dozen windows not hang in the background. The pursuit of multitasking only distracts you and ultimately prevents you from completing any of the tasks you have begun.

4. Turn off all notifications. These pop-up tips from calendars, planners, mail, social networks, chats only distract you from your business. Work at least a couple of hours in digital silence, and then respond to comments and likes.

5. Break your work day into smaller chunks. The optimal work interval is 35–40 minutes. Between these intervals, pause, move, drink coffee, read, sleep, drink water, look out the window - do whatever. Do this for 10-15 minutes and get back to work.

6. If you're stuck and your work isn't moving, walk away from the office or your workspace for your laptop. Get out for a walk, get some air, grab a snack, meditate, just listen to music and see the city. Return to work only with a fresh mind.

7. Turn off your TV, ditch cable, or set an auto-off timer for your TV to turn off an hour after watching. There are dozens of useful and interesting activities that you give up just by staring at a set of advertising and information pictures on the big screen.

8. Try to write down briefly what you ate during the day and how you felt afterwards. You may not be aware, but certain foods and meals can make you sleepy, energetic, nervous, depressed, joyful, or completely impair your ability to concentrate. Identify foods that make you lethargic, sleepy, or lethargic and avoid consuming them. Also, reconsider the ratio of fresh fruits and vegetables to other foods in your daily diet.

9. Reduce the number of friends and followings on social networks. Remove from your friends people who value communication with whom is questionable or incomprehensible to you. This is not personal, but you should focus on connecting only with those who have personal and professional value to you, and not chase the number of friends and followings.

10. Try to do the main work in a relatively short time, when you feel that you are at the peak of opportunities and inspiration. For everyone, this state happens at different times of the day, but it exists, and it must be used. During peak activity, turn off phones, do not reply to emails and messages, cancel meetings and negotiations, and just work.

11. Disable all notifications from all social networks. Is it really so important for you to know who and when subscribed to you or how many comments left on your photos? These notifications not only distract, but also clutter your inbox.

And remember, being busy and feeling like a squirrel in a wheel is not at all the same as being productive. You can chug and stay up late at work and still not be able to keep up with anything. Or you can do less, but better and more efficiently. Even simple rules, if followed, can give a significant increase in productivity in just a few working days in this mode.