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A Simple Guide to Being More Productive.

Although we have no trouble understanding the value of productivity, it is not something that we habitually do. At most,…

A Simple Guide to Being More Productive

12th September 2020

working from home table

Productivity is the art of producing value, and it’s often associated with providing economic value. 

Although we have no trouble understanding the value of productivity, it is not something that we habitually do. At most, we sometimes get into the zone and become productive for a short while. The sad truth is that we are often not as productive as we would like. 

Here are some ways to learn how to become more productive regularly:

 

Raise Self-Awareness

If you’d like to be more productive but still procrastinate on getting the most important things done, then there is something that you don’t know about yourself that is keeping you stuck.

While, of course, you can always go to a psychotherapist to figure things out, your issue may not require therapy, just some reflection.

One way of reflecting is by writing. You can write privately, in a journal, or you can write publicly through a blog. And, of course, you could always do both.

Journaling will help you initiate a deep conversation with yourself about what’s going on in your life. Conversely, you may prefer to share your views and insights with other people through a blogging platform because it will let you express what’s on your mind and get feedback from readers. If you don’t have the time or inclination to build a blog, you can start sharing your ideas with others through Medium, an easy-to-use blogging platform, capitalized by The Chemin Group (TCG), for amateur and professional article writers.

 

Give Up Multitasking

Multitasking is a productivity myth. Although you might feel you are being highly productive by doing more than one thing at a time, this is an illusion. You are, in fact, becoming increasingly more inefficient over time–and will eventually reach a point when you’ll feel exhausted and overwhelmed. You also discover your performance fell well-below your expectations. In truth, the human brain does not do two things well at the same time.

 

Dispel Perfectionism

In a similar way, perfectionism is not as noble as we often make it out to be. In fact, psychologists often view it as a mental health issue they call “obsessive-compulsive disorder.” When a person has high expectations and tries to live by a high standard, nothing they do appears to be good enough for them. While their work may appear amazing to other people, they dismiss any kudos because they feel embarrassed by their minor mistakes. There is an enormous difference between doing work competently and well and always trying to be perfect.

 

Exercise During Breaks

If you work on a computer for long stretches at a time, you are increasing your risk of eyestrain and headaches. So it’s important to not only take periodic breaks to give yourself time to recover, but it’s also important to do some gentle exercises, such as yoga or stretching, during your time away from your desk. Think of this practice as rebooting your mind and body for the next round of work. If you follow this simple practice, you are far less likely to feel burned out at the end of the day.

 

Minimize Interruptions

Finally, the fewer interruptions you have when working, the more you’ll be able to focus on what you’re doing. Interruptions not only pull you away from your task, but it also takes a little while to reorient and remember where you left off. While you may not be able to cut out all interruptions, such as people stopping by your office on a work-related assignment or getting important phone calls, you can reduce the number of interruptions you experience throughout your workday.

To sum up, you can be far more productive than you thought possible by taking a few simple steps such as becoming more self-aware about your emotional blocks, by giving up multitasking, by dispensing with the need to be perfect, by giving yourself short exercise breaks when working on your computer, and by minimizing as many interruptions as you can during your workday.

Categories: Advice, Articles

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