Some strategies to get more done in less time
Actionable Ways You Can Get More Done And Feel Better About Your Day
Decide what you will tackle first: the easy stuff or the hard stuff
How to increase your productivity
A surefire way to increase your productivity is to make sure you set aside enough time in your schedule to work on one task at a time, and do not multi-task! In other words, time that is not associated with meetings, conference calls, or any other activity that does not encourage thinking, planning. Remember, you cannot allocate more time per day than is available. You are just one person, so keep this in mind as much as possible when planning what you want to do. [Sources: 7, 12]
If you have too many tasks planned for the day and you know you will not achieve them all, you are setting yourself up for failure. On the other hand, with fewer tasks, you are more likely to complete them every day. [Sources: 11]
How to feel better
The more you complete all of your tasks, the better you will feel about your to-do lists in general. Always prioritize what you MUST do first. You will feel more and more productive at the end of the day if you can do at least those things. [Sources: 7, 11]
So keep on your to-do list a shortlist of things you can do at the start of the day, and perhaps take the first half-hour to get as much done as possible. Starting the day with a few tasks leaves you with less work that day. The more tasks you can turn into a routine, the more energy you have left for larger tasks. [Sources: 7, 10, 17]
You should develop the habit of organizing your activities in the order you want. Don’t be bothered by “the little things”, and don’t let them ruin your day by spending too much time on the ones that you “must attend to”. Get enough sleep, a good diet, exercise. We know that everything we need to do will really affect our energy levels and thus our work efficiency throughout the day. [Sources: 7, 10, 12]
How to feel productive
If you know what you want to achieve every day, you will feel productive. In an ideal world, many of the tasks you complete every day would be to achieve a higher goal. Break big goals into micro-actions, such as taking a yoga class for six abs, or writing a page to finish a dissertation. [Sources: 6, 7, 11]
Having a list of things to do, with your most important projects first, will set you up for success. By doing these important tasks first, you get maximum results every day. [Sources: 1, 17]
Again, in the morning you have more creativity, focus, and mental energy. Devote your best time of the day to your priority activities. Each day after you have identified your most important tasks, complete the task that you did not expect in the first place. [Sources: 1, 6]
This way, you will soon get the priority tasks out of the way and feel super productive to start with. To get things done, you don’t always have to come to the finish line first. If you start doing something, you are more likely to feel motivated to continue. But completing the easiest tasks on your to-do list early in the day is actually better for your overall productivity. [Sources: 5, 6, 7]
Keep a list of everything you do
If you start keeping a list of everything you do during the day, you may be surprised at how much more motivated you are to do important work and stay focused to achieve even more. If you judge yourself based on what you actually do, rather than the time it takes to get something done, you will begin to notice a difference in the way you work. [Sources: 14]
By breaking down big tasks into small efforts and listing them in your journal each day, you can prioritize and avoid procrastination. For example, it can help you plan each day and make sure you focus on the most important tasks each day. Start each day with a review of your list for the day and rate its reasonableness. [Sources: 11, 12, 15]
Break down your goals If your goals are too big to be achieved in one day. By doing this, you will avoid feelings of frustration because otherwise, there is typically no way to cross those big goals off your list quickly enough.
Understand your big life goals — fix smaller things
If you can understand your big life goals, you can fix smaller things like your daily routine, your daily goals, and the best way to organize your day. [Sources: 4, 16]
A handy to-do list will point you in the right direction every day and help you focus on the activities that are most important to you. Whenever you feel lost in an activity or need a break, check your to-do list to find some small and simple activities that you can do at the same time (low-demanding activities, no high concentration).
The itinerary does not have to be one minute per minute, but it should specify the main activity or activities you want to do the next day, and how you want to spend the first few hours of the day. Similarly, take a few minutes at the end of the day to figure out my plans for the next day. Maybe you can take some quick steps to make your morning easier, such as cleaning up the mess, making dinner, or going somewhere. [Sources: 8, 9, 11]
Starting the day deliberately with an easy task also helps inject momentum into the day and means you don’t have to spend time thinking about what you will do first in the morning. Once you get started, you will quickly find your flow and get rid of the task. Even so, there are ways to navigate your activities in order to achieve your goal. [Sources: 12, 13, 16]
Improving Concentration
Depression can reduce your ability to concentrate, making it difficult to get work done. You can find the Pomodoro Technique to help you improve your focus and productivity in times of depression. [Source: 13]
You may want to work on the hardest tasks first on some days
It can be tempting to get rid of all the simple tasks before tackling the complex ones. Typically, I recommend working on the easiest ones first. However, sometimes I work on the hardest ones first- just to get some variety in which tasks I com0plete first.
The Takeaway — The rationale for working on the hardest tasks first
When you start with the difficult ones, you will feel such relief after completing them, and therefore, it will make you even more productive. Make sure you work on them before moving on to less important tasks, and you will find that you will feel much more productive at the end of the day.
Over time, keep track of how many activities you check each day (the best to-do apps keep track of them for you) and you will have an idea of what your accomplishments have been over time. [Sources: 5, 10, 11, 14]
My appreciation to @DrMehmetYildiz for permitting me to post this article on Illumination. Please share your sentiments in the comments section. Thank you!
Thanks for reading! If you liked my article, subscribe to Medium to get more articles that I publish regularly!
Free or $5/month: Check out Medium — a social media platform venue for freelance writers like me
If you want to support me as a writer, consider signing up to become a Medium member. It’s $5/month, giving you unlimited access to stories on Medium. If you sign up using my link, I’ll earn a small commission.
Join Medium with my referral link:
https://medium.com/@PatrickOConnellNM/membership
If you like my article, do remember to clap for me and check my other stories on my Medium Profile page at:
Get an email whenever Patrick OConnell publishes:
You can find me on LinkedIn (ID: azpat0)
I am a freelance writer- available to write YOUR blog posts or articles!
Samples of my work are on my Medium Profile page and also on my website -
Full Disclosure — This link will take you offsite outside of Medium:
I also publish a weekly newsletter on Substack: The Market Algo Newsletter — It forecasts the direction of the S&P 500 market — index for the upcoming week -
Full Disclosure — This link will take you offsite outside of Medium:
Sources
[0]: https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/how-get-more-done-day-7-ideas-that-really-work.html
[1]: https://entrepreneurshandbook.co/how-to-get-more-done-in-3-hours-than-most-do-in-a-week-c5bcdcff801e
[2]: https://hbr.org/2021/02/4-ways-to-get-more-done-in-less-time
[3]: https://blog.rescuetime.com/how-to-get-more-done-in-2-hours-than-most-people-do-in-a-day/
[5]: https://fireworxdigital.com/20-productivity-tips-more-out-of-your-day/
[6]: https://greatist.com/happiness/27-ways-get-more-sht-done
[7]: https://organisemyhouse.com/ways-get-most-out-of-day/
[9]: https://www.livingwellspendingless.com/10-tips-for-getting-more-done-each-day/
[10]: https://facilethings.com/blog/en/7-tips-for-getting-work-done-faster
[11]: https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/10-ways-to-make-better-to-do-lists
[12]: https://snacknation.com/blog/increase-productivity-at-work/
[13]: https://psychcentral.com/depression/how-to-get-stuff-done-with-depression
[14]: https://time.com/60988/increase-productivity/
[16]: https://www.fastcompany.com/90288901/5-ways-to-feel-more-accomplished-at-the-end-of-each-day
[17]: https://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/20-tips-for-getting-more-done-every-day.html
