How to be more productive – 10 top tips to help you get things done
We all want to be productive and achieve our goals but knowing how to best manage our time and workload, while also prioritising our wellbeing, can be an obstacle to our productivity.
James Clear, Author of Atomic Habits reminds us:
“You do not rise to the level of your goals.
You fall to the level of your systems.“
This highlights the importance of:
- Having reliable systems and processes to manage your time and tasks
- Building productive habits
- Transforming goals into actionable daily steps
- Tracking your progress
Here are my 10 top productivity tips to help you be more productive and get things done:
1. Build a ‘second brain‘
Keeping all your projects, tasks, and to-dos in one space acts as your ‘second brain’.
Digital project management and to-do lists tools such as Todoist, Microsoft Todo or Trello are examples of a ‘second brain’ and will help to capture, organise, and keep track of all your projects and tasks in one, central place.
They sync across your devices and integrate with other tools, helping you stay organised and up-to-date any time, any place, anywhere.
2. Break down tasks into subtasks
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by a multitude of projects or tasks.
Break projects or tasks down into smaller, manageable subtasks.
Give each of these a deadline date and put them in your calendar or to-do list.
3. Identify your Power Hours
Your ‘Power Hours’ are when your attention, focus and energy are at their highest.
Use these peak times of productivity for your most important tasks.
Use your less productive times to tackle easy or quick-to-complete tasks.
4. Use a weekly planner
Identifying all your meetings, appointments and deadlines creates an overview of your week and visibility of the time you have available.
Remember to schedule breaks and lunch times as well as any hobbies or personal commitments.
5. Prioritise your tasks
Being productive isn’t just about getting everything on your to-do list done.
It’s about prioritising the things that are important to you and focusing on these first.
A simple way to prioritise your tasks is by using the Eisenhower Matrix.
This method helps you evaluate each of your tasks and categorise them as urgent/not urgent and important/not important.
6. Work in time blocks
Time blocking helps you be intentional about what you are going to do, when you are going to do it and for how long.
You can colour-code these blocks of time for certain tasks such as content creation, finances and email on your calendar or weekly planner.
7. Practise solotasking
Solotasking, also known as monotasking, involves tackling one task at a time, rather than flitting between tasks or trying to do more than one task at a time (multitasking).
This will help you to ‘stay in the zone’ and maximise your attention and focus.
8. Reduce distractions
We are living in an increasingly distracting world, with an abundance of things competing for our time, attention and energy.
Try turning off email and phone notifications, putting your phone out of sight or using noise-cancelling headphones.
Freedom can turn off your internet or elements of it, while Forest app helps to create time away from your phone.
Schedule time for your distractions or use your distractions as rewards.
9. Take regular breaks
Breaks help to:
- Restore focus and motivation
- Consolidate memory and learning
- Boost creativity and productivity
- Reduce stress and fatigue
Schedule a mixture of micro, moving, nature, and social breaks into your day.
Make sure that you have lunch away from your desk and try and get outside during your breaks to help re-energise and refocus.
10. Schedule a weekly review of your goals
A weekly review is an opportunity to review your progress, plan, and prioritise your next steps.
Ask yourself:
- What have I achieved?
- What do I need to change or do next?
- What am I grateful for?
This is also an opportunity to check in with your well-being and review your sleep, diet, exercise, stress, hobbies, rest, and relaxation.
I hope my ten top productivity tips will help you be more productive, feel more in control of your time and workload and achieve your goals.
How I can help boost your productivity:
Time management and productivity coaching
1-1 coaching to help you learn how to manage your time and workload effectively, boost your productivity and achieve your goals
Time management and productivity training
Group/team training to help your team or organisation manage their time and workload more effectively and boost their productivity.
The 4 Pillars of Productivity keynote
Ideal for events, conferences, lunch & learns, team development or Away Days, this interactive and inspiring keynote will help to strengthen the 4 pillars of productivity in your personal and professional life
