Summary

To ensure a productive day, experts recommend preparing tasks the night before, getting a good night's rest, focusing on one task at a time, avoiding procrastination, and minimizing distractions.

Abstract

The article emphasizes the importance of planning the night before to reduce decision fatigue and ensure a productive start to the day. It underscores the necessity of adequate sleep for optimal performance and health. The piece advises against multitasking, suggesting that focusing on single tasks in order of priority is more effective. It also encourages tackling the most challenging tasks first to overcome procrastination and streamline productivity. Lastly, the article stresses the need to eliminate distractions to maintain focus and efficiency throughout the day.

Opinions

Britt Joiner advocates for evening planning to conserve willpower and decision-making ability for the next day.
The article cites research from Very Well Mind to assert that multitasking hinders productivity and increases susceptibility to distractions.
The author suggests that completing the most daunting task first can alleviate the tendency to procrastinate and make subsequent tasks seem easier.
The importance of a full night's rest is highlighted as a critical factor in maintaining productivity and preventing health risks associated with sleep deprivation.
The article emphasizes the value of setting boundaries and communicating with others to minimize interruptions and maintain focus on the task at hand.

Experts Say These Are the 5 Things You Should Do to Ensure a Productive Day

Every day can be a productive day. Commit yourself and achieve your goals.

Let’s start with the question of what is an unproductive day. This is when a whole day passes, where you haven’t accomplished anything that can prove to be fulfilling. This does not only pertain to work, however. You can still go through a day at home, relaxed, but still feeling like something good came out of the hours you spent at home. Being unproductive means you feel like you wasted time, and no matter how you try, you can’t get anything done.

On the other hand, having a productive day means that you have made your hours count and done things that you should. Anything that gives you a sense of gratification and a positive result of work from your effort is being productive.

Get yourself ready with what you need to do before going to bed

As a child, you may have learned that cramming is not a very effective way of preparing for a test the next day. You also know that homework must be completed before going to class. This is the same practice you should follow through your adult years, whether at home or work. Get yourself ready for tomorrow by preparing yourself the day before.

Britt Joiner says in The 5 Productive Morning Routines of Highly Effective People:

“Planning the evening before is effective because we have a limited amount of willpower and decision-making ability every day. The thought of making too many decisions in the morning will slow you down and drain your brain for the rest of the day. If you can eliminate decision-making from your mornings, you’ll have more energy and time to have the most productive morning you can!”

Make a list of tasks that need to be accomplished. Prioritize them. Having done that, you will have a reminder of what needs to be achieved the next day without having to worry about what you may have missed. You also have the confidence that you are ready and raring to get things done.

Make sure that you have a good night’s rest

Everyone knows how it feels to wake up disoriented and out-of-sorts from lack of sleep. You can’t expect to be productive when your body is begging for rest. Sleep deprivation not only keeps you from being efficient but can lead to health risks. For obvious reasons, you cannot perform or think clearly if you are sick.

If you have to, make those next-day preparations earlier, so you get more hours of sleep. You will find yourself alert and ready for action if you are well-rested.

Focus on one thing — Multitasking does not make you productive

Most people think that they can be more productive when they multitask and juggle several tasks simultaneously. This cannot be further from the truth. A lot of times, you end up not having completed a single task at all.

From Very Well Mind:

“Research has demonstrated that switching from one task to the next takes a serious toll on productivity. Multitaskers have more trouble tuning out distractions than people who focus on one task at a time.”

Learn how to tackle one task at a time. Avoid moving on to the next without ensuring that the one you left behind is completed. This is the reason why you must prioritize. Deal with the one that immediately needs your attention and move down your to-do list after that is done.

Stop procrastinating

It is so easy to put off for tomorrow what you can do today. The next day comes around, and you’re still in the same rut. Procrastination has a way of doing that. It also keeps you from being productive.

How to deal with it? Get the most challenging job done. Stop avoiding it because it isn’t going away. No amount of delaying tactics is going to keep you from completing that specific job, so you may as well get it over with. After that, the next tasks will be a breeze to handle.

Keep away from distractions

Distractions keep you from being productive. That is a fact. Keep your phone away from you. If you are doing something at home that needs your full attention, let everyone know you will not be disturbed.

Every day can be a productive day. Commit yourself and achieve your goals.

Having a productive day is not something that magically turns up. You need to work on it. It takes planning and a commitment to follow through with whatever plans you have made. There has to be a system you create for yourself to make each hour of your waking time count.