Essential Productivity Habits
Productivity isn’t about cute tricks nor flashy tools. It’s a matter of buckling down and getting your work done. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that help. This is my list of essential productivity habits (and yes, they are automatic) that make me hit peak productivity week in and out.
The 15 Essential Productivity Habits
1. Write It Down
If you don’t write it down, you’ll either forget it, or it will ricochet around in your brain, coming to the forefront at most inopportune times. Write it down in a place you know you will see it later, and you avoid both consequences. I learned the lesson on this when the thought “buy toilet paper” popped into my head in the middle of a client presentation, wiping out what I was saying, and leaving me gaping like a fish as I tried to re-gather my thoughts.
2. Trust The Process
Once you have established a process that works for you, and you’ve made sure that things don’t fall through the cracks, don’t keep rechecking it. This just wastes time and causes unnecessary anxiety. My weekly review has ballooned into a two hour process – a lot of that is making sure nothing is falling through the cracks in my project/task lists.
3. Plan Your Week
By planning your week you have a chance to load-balance your tasks. Have too much to humanly do on Wednesday? Shift some of the work and/or appointments to Thursday when you are less busy. Planning your week also gives you a heads up on anything coming at you so that you can be fully prepared. This saves a lot of last-minute stress as you are trying to find/complete something right before you need it. A recent calendar review showed me I had to provide snacks for a work event, and that allowed me to stop on the way home the night before, rather than scrambling the morning of the event.
4. Timeblock Your Day
Timeblocking your day gives you the opportunity to consider the most efficient way to group your tasks. Doing the three errands together makes more sense than coming home in between each one. Using time blocks means I get more done because I’m not hopping around between items.
5. Limit Your Distractions
Concentration is key to productivity. But everything around us is designed to snag our attention. Limit your distractions by putting on headphones or using full screen programs or even a program blocker. This will help keep you on track, and less likely to get distracted into something less worthwhile. The recent iOS update has helped keep my fiction reading in line and allowed me to work on blogging.
6. Know Your Options
They say that when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Knowing your options – not just with your tools, but also from the perspective of what you can do at the current moment. This gives you more flexibility and ultimately better productivity because you don’t get stuck without the right tool or the right task for the moment. Knowing my options meant that I was able to run an errand on the way home from a friend’s house today when a traffic mess put me on a different route.
7. Schedule Rest and Recreation
There is a big difference from most people from thinking, “I will go to the gym on Tuesday” to putting an appointment on your calendar. Scheduling rest and relaxation is a great way to make sure it happens. I have been more relaxed since I scheduled in reading and crafting time every week.
8. Be Aware of ROI
Return On Investment (ROI) is a powerful concept. Don’t spend your time on things where paying for the solution is less expensive than your time. I recently lost three hours on a weekend trying to get a printer to work better – only to discover that it’s replacement was $30. Sigh.
9. Evaluate Your Commitments
Commitments have a tendency to pile up. I have observed that if you do well in one volunteer commitment, you will be asked to take on more. (I think this is because of a proven track record). From time to time, evaluate if your commitments are the best for you, your family and your time. Evaluating my commitments allowed me to shift my Girl Scout role from troop leader to volunteer working with 3 independently registered girls – allowing me to use my time for the benefit of the girls, rather than on bureaucracy.
10. Have A Rabbit Trail Bypass
Rabbit trails are when you get off your path to look at something, then find yourself in a completely unexpected place two hours later. This is especially dangerous on the internet. Having a way to pull yourself back on track can save a lot of wasted time. I use a sticky note…as soon as I need to look something up on the internet, I write my current task on the note and put it on my monitor. That way it is in my field of vision and I am reminded of what I am supposed to be doing before I lose hours on Pinterest.
11. Use Training Wheels If You Need To
Training wheels allow you to learn to ride a bike without falling over. They guide your balance as you learn to balance yourself. Productivity training wheels are processes or people that can help you maintain your balance as you are learning a new way to do things. My accountability partner inspires me to do more, because I know she is going to ask me every Sunday how I measured up to my stated work over the past week.
12. Use What Works For You
Use the tool or method that works for you, even if others are telling you it’s not the best way. The end result is what matters, and using what works for you makes it more likely you will get there. I still blog on paper when my mind freezes on a blank screen; and I have modified both GTD and Flylady principles to make them work for me, even though both systems are supposed to work as-is for everyone.
13. Let Others Do The Investigation
Being on the bleeding edge of technology or methodology is not fun. You are then making the mistakes as you forge through uncharted territory. It is more productive to let others investigate the new software, technology, or method, and learn from their mistakes. I rarely use brand-new software anymore, preferring to read the articles on tips and tricks before deciding if it is worthy my taking a look at. This sometimes leads me back to an old solution I didn’t think was working…and my blogging ideas are now back in the wiki TrunkNotes, which I had abandoned a few years ago.
14. Be Present
Nothing is more killer to productivity than your head not being where your feet are. You are thinking about what else you have to do, and not paying attention to what is going on in front of you. More often than not this leads to missed details (at best) or mistakes (at worst). Paying attention to what you are doing will avoid this, and lead to more satisfaction because you will be aware of the completion of the task.
15. Make Tasks Enjoyable
Tasks don’t have to be a drag. It doesn’t matter if you are doing something for work, or something for yourself. Make the task as fun as you can. It will get done, maybe not faster, but definitely with a better frame of mind. I hate weeding, but listening to a favorite book on tape as I do so makes it more enjoyable.
Summary
How you approach your tasks is more relevant to your productivity than any quick tip or trick. Give yourself good habits, and your productivity will soar.
Action Item
Make your own list of essential habits. When you are tempted to try the latest trend, refer back to it.
