How much do you really do in a day? According to a research shows that the average worker (in England) only spends three out of eight hours actually working. And actually not even three hours, but only two hours and 53 minutes... What do we spend the rest of our time on? Chatting with colleagues, social media, eating, smoking, looking for a new job and reading news. And let's face it: we all do this sometimes, right?
And that's not crazy at all. After all, there are more and more distractions all around you. Co-workers want a cup of coffee, you get another message on your phone or an email you want to answer. Did you know that on average we get 65.3 notifications a day on our phone? Not surprisingly, you get distracted. As a result, productivity is much lower. But how do you prevent this? With a little effort, you can increase your productivity tremendously. Perhaps the tips below will help you.
1. Your way of working
What is your ideal way of working? How do you know what to do each day? Whether you make a checklist of what to do each day, have everything stored in your head, or work from minute to minute, it doesn't really matter. As long as you know what works for you. You'll find that making a checklist will help you work much more productively. An additional advantage: Checking off a checklist is enormously satisfying, so you will also experience more job satisfaction. Tip: Share your way of working with your colleagues. That way they know where they stand and how they can best cooperate with you. This way you can work a lot more productively together.
2. Pomodoro technique
A looooooong time ago, Italian Francesco Cirillo was suffering from the fact that he couldn't get anything done. He was totally unproductive and everyone kept nagging at him. Re-education was what was needed. Re-education of himself and others. He went looking for a timer (coincidentally in the shape of a tomato ('pomodoro' in Italian)) and set it to 25 minutes. This was the ideal length of time to get a task done and then take a break This way everyone knew when he was busy working and did not want to be disturbed. This worked not only for him, but also for millions of others around the world. The pomodoro technique was born. People started working a lot more productively because of this technique.
So: Choose a task that needs to be done, set the timer to 25 minutes and get to work. After these 5 minutes, you may take a 3-5 minute break and get back to work for another 25 minutes. After 4 pomodoros (4x 25 minutes) you may take a longer break. This way you can work super productively.
3. Start with boring things
Do you sometimes catch yourself leaving your most boring chores until last, or sometimes not doing them at all? Try starting with these chores from now on. At the beginning of the day you often have the most energy and focus and you will finish this boring task faster. After all, doesn't it feel great to be able to cross these tasks off your to-do list?
4. What distracts you the most?
Is this your phone, your e-mail, your colleagues, your thoughts or something completely different? Write down for an entire day what all distracts you and how often. When you know this you can create an action plan. Are you most distracted by your phone? Then put your phone on airplane mode, even if only for a few hours. Are you mostly distracted by your colleagues? Then let them know when you don't want to be distracted, such as by putting a card on your desk. Or just sit somewhere else for a while. You'll notice what this does for your productivity. So this brings us immediately to the next tip.
5. Workplace
Make sure that you facilitate your workspace so that you can concentrate and perform optimally and work as productively as possible. If you don't need the Internet for a while, shut it off. If you don't need social media, block it on your computer. If you are more inspired somewhere else, sit down somewhere else once in a while. After all, a nice workplace is more important than you might think for your productivity. Even things like lighting or the color of the walls can have a huge impact on your productivity. For example, it's best to use blue, green, orange, yellow or pink. Blue is the color of concentration. It gives a calming effect. With green you bring the outside in, orange stands for positivity and creativity, yellow for joy and pink for harmony. Colors to avoid are brown and red. For lighting, it is best to choose dimmed light.
6. Say "no
A lesson many people can learn from: saying no. Do you also know that every day colleagues come up to you with questions like; "Can you do this for a minute?" "Do you have a moment for me?" "Would you mind reading over this?" It can be very difficult to answer "no" then; after all, you want to help the other person too. But often it is at the expense of your own productivity. If you find it really difficult to say no, ask if it can be done later. For example: "I don't have time right now, but you can put an appointment in my calendar for tomorrow and we'll look at it together. This way you help the other person and you know where you stand.
7. Lifehacks that help you with productivity
10 little 'hacks' that can help you increase your productivity:
- Eat healthier
- Sleep more
- Be more active
- Take a power nap when you need it for a while
- Visualize your end goal
- Schedule times in your day when you read and answer your mail.
- Prioritize your to-do's
- Order food to save time (but healthy food!)
- Turn off the news; this prevents distractions
- Insert a quiet day (1 day each week that you work from home, for example, and don't want to be disturbed)
Hopefully these tips will help you become a little more productive each time. And now are you an executive and want to know how to make your team more productive? Then keep following us, we'll write about this later. Good luck!