Do you ever feel like you have a countless productivity and number of tasks and no time to do them? And no matter how hard you try, not even one task is completed within its deadline?
Well, you’re not alone. Everyone struggles with focusing on tasks due to many different reasons. One of the most common reasons most people can’t focus is because of how complex we’ve made our lives; there are tons of things going around in our minds, hindering our ability to just focus on a single thing.
Whatever the reason, a person’s inability to focus can seriously impair their productivity, resulting in missed deadlines, incomplete assignments, and increased errors in their work.
Proven Ways To Increase Your Productivity
If you’re one of these people, you’re in for a treat today because here are five tried-and-true methods for improving your focus and productivity.
Remove All Distractions
The very first thing you need to do is remove all distractions around you. Although this might seem difficult, if not impossible, you’ll notice a real difference after you do so.
Starting with moving to a quiet place, turning your phone off, and telling those around you not to disturb you will make quite a difference. Turning off your phone may not always be possible, so the next best thing is to turn off your wifi so you don’t check social media every five minutes.
In addition to social media, there are several apps on your phone and laptop/computer that you should avoid, including Netflix, Spotify, and Youtube.
Use Productivity-Increasing Techniques
Stay focused, they say. You’ll get more work done, they say. But how? Staying focused sounds achievable until you have to actually do it and your mind keeps betraying you by thinking about every possible thing in the universe.
At times like these, you can turn to the many productivity-increasing techniques that are proven to help improve your focus.
One of these methods is the Pomodoro technique; it uses short time breaks to train your brain to focus on certain tasks for a specific amount of time.
You might be aware that humans have a very low attention span, and anything lasting more than 20 minutes becomes automatically uninteresting to them. To tackle this, the Pomodoro technique uses the following steps:
- Set a timer for 25 minutes and get to work.
- After the buzzer sounds, take a 5-minute break.
- Then, set the timer again and repeat.
- After you’ve done this 4 times, you can take a longer break for about 30 minutes.
While many people feel that this technique helps a lot, many others turn towards supplements that enhance cognitive activity such as nootropics. These nootropics (“smart drugs”) are completely safe and healthy and have little to no side effects as they are often made with natural ingredients. This makes them very popular among young people, as well as adults.
Another famous productivity-increasing technique is the two-minute rule. If a task takes less than 2 minutes, do it immediately instead of letting the tasks accumulate over time.
You’d be surprised at how many tasks you’ll get done this way. Plus, you can always divide larger tasks into smaller ones and apply this rule.
Set SMART Goals
If your lack of focus is because of the complexity of a task, you can break the task down into smaller ones and apply a SMART formula for each of them. SMART stands for:
- Specific – what exactly needs to be completed?
- Measurable – Is your progress trackable?
- Achievable – is your task realistic? Can it be done by the deadline?
- Relevant – how does it fit with the bigger goal?
- Timely – When does it need to be completed?
When you break down larger projects into smaller tasks, you can more easily focus and be motivated to complete them.
Make A To-Do List
Making a To-do list sounds like a nerdy thing to do but it actually helps you a lot to be organized when working on important tasks and projects.
When you have a to-do list on the go, every task is right in front of your eyes, waiting to be done. Plus, this way you can prioritize your tasks and get them done in order.
Avoid Multitasking
Multitasking productivity may seem like a very impressive feat to some of you, but professionals know that it’s impossible to successfully multitask. You can either work on one thing or another, it’s practically impossible to work successfully on two things at the same time.
Multitasking not only slows you down but also increases the chances of mistakes and errors in your work. Therefore, it’s best to monotask every project and give it the attention it’s due.
For some, productivity improving your focus can be pretty easy, while for others, no matter what they try, their mind seems to wander. These tips and tricks can definitely make a difference in your productivity levels, but the bottom line is that you have to practice mindfulness in order to control your thoughts and their direction.
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