3 Easy Ways to Increase Productivity and Lower Stress
Do you ever feel like you spend your days running in circles and the really important stuff never gets done? Does your stress level go up as the day goes on and the to-do list gets longer instead of shorter?
Here are three quick tips to increase productivity while lowering your stress level.
Choose Your Priorities
Before you start on that to-do list, take a good look at it. What really NEEDS to be today? Make your top priority your top job. Don’t spend your time on all the little, unimportant tasks just so you can check off lots of things on your list. Prioritize the to-do’s. If it doesn’t really belong on the list, and you really feel you must do it, relegate it to a day with no big jobs.
Need some help getting into the prioritizing habit? Check out these posts.
Ditch Time Management to Increase Productivity
Organize yourself
Before you sit down to work, make sure you have what you need close at hand and what you don’t need is out of your way. Do you need supplies for your project? Gather them or get them before you start. Every time you have to jump up and go hunt something down, that’s time lost. You run the risk of getting distracted by someone or something while you’re wandering around trying to remember what it was you needed. If you are prepared for the project, you’ll be able to focus on getting it done.
Figuring out how to organize yourself can be a challenge? I’ve learned this one thing is the key.
Limit your Interruptions
Voice mail was invented for a reason. Set aside a block of time for that priority project and eliminate the distractions. Turn off the TV, close the e-mail notification window and send your calls to voice mail. Unless you are the leader of the free world, the world will probably not come to an end if you don’t respond immediately to every request for your attention. If it makes you crazy, schedule an e-mail/phone break every so often (and that doesn’t mean every 15 minutes). Multi-tasking is a myth. Being able to focus on what you need to get done will get it done faster and better.
To get you started, here are five easy tricks I have used to increase productivity.
What has worked for you? What do you need to change to achieve the productivity and success you are seeking? Do you need some help? Let’s talk. Contact me here to learn how I can help you increase productivity and be less stressed.
