6 Steps to Your Most Productive Day Ever!

The biggest difficulty most people have with being productive is that there are only 24 hours in a day. Unfortunately, there is not much we can change about that. But the encouraging thing is that when it comes to productivity, sometimes the little things make all the difference.

Here are 6 steps to help your 24 hours seem a lot longer.

1. Mess is Stress

Clean out the clutter in your office or workspace. Have a place and a system for everything. Not only will that help create an efficient workspace, it will also create a calm space. Have things that you use frequently in easily accessible areas such as pens, sticky notes, etc. Tuck away anything you use less often so it’s not in your way but still accessible.

2. Wake up!

Having a morning routine can significantly change your life. Wake up early, and start your morning with water, a healthy breakfast and light exercise. Nurture your mind with meditation or prayer, inspirational reading, or journaling to get things going. This habit alone will increase your willpower and create a routine for efficiency.

3. Ditch the Midday Coffee

Instead opt for some light physical exercise and stretching, which will energize you far better than a cup of Joe. Exercise is one of the greatest productivity tools in the world. Also make sure you are drinking lots of water and eating light healthy meals. Dehydration and heavy meals can make you cloudy and sluggish.

4. Maintain a Calendar and To-Do List

Having all the tasks you need to get done written in a clear fashion will help put everything in perspective. You can arrange priorities and see what tasks you can delegate to others. Check off each task when they are completed. Place these tasks in an actual calendar so you can see what you will be doing when, and this will prevent you from double booking. Try to tackle the things you least want to do first, because once those are out of the way everything else will seem simple and it will be out of your mind. A great scheduling tip is to have themed days. “Meeting Mondays” or “Financial Fridays” (doesn’t have to be an alliteration!) where all of your meetings are scheduled for Mondays or you go through all of your finances on Friday.

5. Ditch the Distractions

Whether it’s television, friends, Reddit, or Snapchat; ditch it. There are endless opportunities available to distract you. Even if it’s just a minute here and a minute there, it will add up. Also, the most productive people aren’t so easily accessible, meaning they aren’t on standby to respond to every email, text or phone call at any moment. Make a schedule to check your email only a few times a day, and don’t run after every vibration, notification, or “ding”.

6. One Thing at a Time

It’s a common misconception that multitasking can make you more productive. In reality, we can only really do one thing at a time. When we try to multitask, going back and forth between different projects, we are losing the time it takes to refocus on each project. Keep a notebook around, and if some “thing I HAVE to do” pops into your head, write it down. Come back to it when you have completed the project that you are working on.

Additionally, only touch things once. Have you ever opened a bill and then put it down only to deal with it again later? Have you ever read an email, then closed it and left it in your inbox to deal with later? Change that. When opening mail, be prepared to deal with whatever it is right away. You will be more efficient because you won’t have to re-read or evaluate the item again in the future and you’ll also eliminate the stress of remembering to deal with it.

Even the best ideas are worthless until they’re executed. So go out there and be the most productive you that you can be!

Submitted by Zehava