Increasing productivity with simple yet powerful principles
Being more productive can be quite challenging. However, some methods can make a huge difference in your productivity.
Almost everyone wants to increase their productivity. There are many ways to it, yet these principles can be useful for nearly anyone. Implementing the following strategies isn’t difficult either, it just requires a bit of effort.
However, before I get going, I want to clarify what productivity, in my eyes, is. For me, it is simply getting more done in the same amount of time or requiring less time for the same task. For the following principles, it doesn’t matter if your goal is to increase your output or to have more spare time, they work for either one of the cases.
Reduce friction
The most powerful method to increase productivity is reducing the thing I call “friction.” “Friction” is the part in-between you wanting to do something and doing it.
Think about it that way: When you want to practice an instrument, and it is sitting right beside you, there is almost no friction to start exercising. More friction would mean the instrument is a different room, and you would have to go there to start practising.
Reducing this “friction” will boost your productivity immediately. There are so many places where you can reduce friction that it often makes sense to start with the most obvious ones. Instead of cramming all the tools you need for work in that one drawer, place them somewhere on your desk, where they are always within reach. Consider rearranging your home screen or organising your desktop so that the programs you need to access all the time are just one click away.
Be aware of the opportunities to reduce friction and take advantage of them, and you’ll notice an improvement almost instantly.
Work focused
This seems like kind of a no-brainer. Of course, when you want to be productive, you work focused on your task. Concentrate on the task at hand, lets you work on it much more efficiently. However, it is not always as easy. Everyone has days when they struggle to find said focus or maintain it.
What I found really helpful to work focused is the Pomodoro technique. The technique gets its unusual name from small kitchen timers, it’s inventor, Francesco Cirillo, used for his first tests of the method.
Cirillo’s Pomodoro technique is a time management concept, which relies on the principles that taking short breaks will often lead to increased productivity.
Traditionally there are intervals of 25 minutes in which you focus on your task, followed by 5-minute breaks. After four such intervals, there is an extended break of about 20 minutes.
However, this is just the core concept, be sure to adapt the technique to your needs and your workflow to get the most out of it. For example, instead of doing 25-minute intervals, do 30-minute ones because they fit better into your environment.
The technique really helps to work focused and maintain that focus because it doesn’t require you to pay attention for a long time at once. Instead, you concentrate fully for 25 minutes and then relax for five. That way, you stay focused throughout the day, which leads to being more productive.
Another benefit of the Pomodoro technique is that you start your task more focused. Instead of worrying about the enormous assignment in front of you, you know that after 25 minutes of work, you get a break from it. This is something which helps many people to get started, even with bigger tasks that would otherwise be deterring them.
Use the right tools
Would you eat a bowl of soup with a knife or a spoon? I guess you’d say you would use the spoon. That’s natural because, in order to be efficient and hence more productive, we use the right tools to do the task at hand.
However, a lot of times, especially in the digital space, we use the wrong tools. As a quick example: Writing a long text on the phone isn’t at all efficient. It is way better to use a device with a proper keyboard. Still, everyone has once written a whole novel as a WhatsApp text on their phones.
Knowing what tools and devices you have at your disposal and when to use them is a simple yet powerful productivity-boosting principle. And with tools, I mean everything. Programs, devices, and even a coffee can be tools.
Using your tools correctly boosts your productivity because it helps you focus on what you want to do, rather than how you can do it.
The tricky thing in implementing this principle is filtering out, where you use the wrong tools. To find these areas, the first thing to do is to ask yourself, how can I do this thing more efficiently? Most of the time, this is how you’ll see where you can implement a better tool.
Sometimes, however, the even better question is how can I do this more conveniently? It may sound odd, but if you think about it, it makes total sense. Using the right tools is so much more convenient.
Think back to the spoon and knife example at the beginning. Isn’t it more convenient to eat a bowl of soup with a spoon than a knife? It is. That’s the case for a lot of things. Look for the opportunities to use the right tools, and once you’ve found the ones that work for you, there will be a visible increase in productivity.
Just remember to ask yourself from time to time if you are still using the right tools.
Have a plan
Sometimes it is hard to keep track of all the things you have to get done, so it is crucial to have a plan. Organising and prioritising the tasks you want to get done increases your productivity drastically.
This all boils down to the simple principle, that to be productive, you have to know what you have to do. You can’t work on something efficiently when you don’t know what to work on.
When you keep track of the tasks you need to get done, it is a lot easier to get these done. You won’t be amid one task just to remember another more important one.
Keeping track of your tasks isn’t that difficult either. The easiest way is to make a list. You write down the things you want to get done, and then you prioritise them. This way, you have a clear overview and know what is important. The best thing about having such a list is that once you’re done, you can cross out or tick the finished task, which is so satisfying.
When creating such a list, don’t get tangled up in the details. You don’t have to write down every small action you have to do, focus on the bigger ones. Not only will it lead to a more simplified list, but it also makes the whole list less daunting.
Chill out
Everybody needs to relax at some point. Rather than thinking about all the things you still have to do, while watching your favourite Netflix show, embrace these chill times.
If you are consistently thinking you should do something while trying to relax, you won’t enjoy your downtime, and you’ll be less focused while trying to get work done because you couldn’t relax properly.
It’s a vicious cycle, and to break it, you have to embrace the times when you relax.
It doesn’t matter how you relax, some people go to the gym to get their head off things, other people binge-watch breaking bad, just be aware that it is your time to relax and get the most out of it.
This way, once you take on your work again, you don’t feel stressed or tired, instead of being refreshed and focused.
Increasing your productivity isn’t as easy as it seems. However, if you take the time and look around what you can do to boost your efficiency, a lot can be done. It is simple things like reorganising workflows and giving yourself small breaks that can have a considerable impact.
It is also essential to have a balance. Being focused and productive requires equilibrium. Taking the time to relax isn’t only nice, it also is beneficial for your productivity in the long run.
I hope that these principles help you the same way they helped me to become more productive.
Stay safe, stay kind and stay healthy out there
Raffael
