This fast-moving world always tells us to be more productive while demanding the most of our time. We are also looking for blogs from Forbes, Entrepreneur or heck! even Cosmopolitan to see the quickest way to win productivity in our work & life.
Luckily, there are tons of ways we can use to adapt better time management & tools we can utilize to be the better version of ourselves. Here’s 5 productivity hack from my routine & experience that you can follow.
1. Be really good at saying NO
Saying yes to opportunities are great. Who doesn’t want to grab the opportunity when it’s in front of them. Especially, when you are a business development guy like me who likes to CLOSE opportunities after a long line of prospecting them.
However, after working for multiple tech companies in both frontline & management position, later moving into the agency business, one of the most important attributes I learned is to say NO and Goodbye.
Because saying yes to an opportunity or experience that will drain your capacity is as disastrous and getting no business for your team. Saying “No” doesn’t always mean neglecting experiences that will lead you to success. But it also means you should be able to deselect toxic environments, that keeping with it is not actually worth it.
 2. Do the Major Task First
In this crazy world of multitasking, we often fail to prioritize our task properly. Setting some goals for the day and week while chucking the important work first means getting things done on time. Since this way, we are focused on the stuff that really matters.
Define your objective > Breaking the task down > Focus on top priorities = Productivity
3. Optimize your Work System
You understand what works for you. Keep fine-tuning it or follow some of the proven rules. If you keep practicing it, you are actually working to fulfill your true potential. Remember the 80/20 rule.
Only 20 percent of what you do each day will produce 80 percent of your results.
So do the right things & pay attention to your work-life.
This may mean waking at 6 PM every day (for me, It’s still far away, but I’m trying). For other’s, it may not work in the same way. learn how to eliminate the stuff that doesn’t matter on your workday (like checking food delivery sites or e-commerce category for supplements & wasting hours) and not stress over minor issues are important.
Taking more breaks and learning stress management can definitely energize you. Getting out of your comfort zone is also important to for extra energy, even minor alteration to your daily routine (taking a different route to the office) can give you an extra energy boost. Then you can A/B test & growth-hack a better system that works for you.
4. Refrain from Obsessive Checking
The age of micro-interruption & instant gratification is a killing our focus & time both at once. Checking emails one-two at specific times of the day can help, then refreshing it in every 20 minutes. You should also need less notification from your email inbox. You can use this tool to let go of your useless subscriptions.
You should not do one thing for too long, that will hamper your focus as well. You do not need to obsessively check your phone when working. Keep it on silent and useless notification from your social networking sites.
You do not need to reply to everyone for every silly query. You do not need to be anti-social as well. But be it, while taking a break and meeting other colleagues (not browsing in social media of course!).
Also do not obsess over repetitive communication tools like WhatsApp, Slack & Email even if it’s your work tool. Use proper boundary & use an alternative project management tool like Trello. We manage our internal workflows at HYPE Dhaka by using to keep the email communication minimum every day.
5. Practise Mindfulness, Exercise, Quality Sleep or All at Once
Many professionals are praising the methods of mindfulness practices & big numbers are also using apps to make it their daily routine.
There’s no alternative to good exercise. While I may look chubby, I still practice small exercise routine for 15 minutes a day and keeps me energized for the whole day. I use a mobile app to do my daily exercise while ditching GYM routine.
Getting more quality sleep is also very important and it will enable you to be the best version of yourself to get more done in a shorter span of time. I follow 8 hours of total sleep each day. Just make sure, you don’t come in contact with blue lights (smartphone / TV display before moving to sleep.
Together, mindfulness, exercise & good sleep can shape your body to be the best machine for your mind & professional goals. When we are young, we believe we’ll just be like this with our usual food habit or routine.
That is actually not the case. The benefit of better nutrition, being active & good medication can influence our motivation & emotion in ways that scale over time. That’s why investing time for them if worth both personally & professionally.
Here are a couple of things, those are worthy to consider for your productivity hack:
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Do you wake up early enough to reach your full productivity level in evening?
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Do you take enough mini-breaks to work to maximize your focus on objectives?
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Do over-check email, phone & social media apps between your tasks?
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Are you getting enough sleep, good food (not junk ones) for your body & wireless time to be the best version of yourself (Body & Mind)?
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Are you trying to work harder before prioritizing your big vision rather than working smarter to achieve than on shorter time (80/20 rule)?
If these tips were some use of you, I’d be happy to know. Let me know if you have any better tips that you use to boost your productivity at work? I am always eager to learn & try.
