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Abstract

oals-faster-4f5bbbfd967c">a flow state </a>and can work several hours without stopping. While I’m pumping out content, I’m also depleting my energy and tiring my brain. I can tell that I’ve hit bottom because I become irritable and frustrated with everything. It means that I’ve gone too long without a break.</p><p id="e569">After 60 to 90 minutes of focused work, your concentration crashes, and you need to take a break to reboot. When you return to your desk, your focus is back. It only takes about 5 minutes to perk up your energy and your brain. Try easy stretches, walk around the room, go outside if you can, practice deep breathing, have a healthy snack, or drink a glass of cool water.</p><h1 id="0f2a">Discover the value of bundles</h1><p id="8332">Everyone has routine tasks that need to be done but aren’t critical for reaching your goals. Instead of putting them off until you have to do them, set aside blocks of time every day or two to handle them. Good activities to bundle include filing completed documents and email; sending and paying invoices; returning calls, messages, and emails; clearing paper and electronic clutter; and so on. Bundling hones your focus on the task at hand, so it is completed more efficiently.</p><h1 id="5c1b">Keep things organized</h1><p id="398b">Keep your work area clean and uncluttered so everything is within easy reach. You lose time when you must sort through documents you have already read. The goal is to take every document you touch as far as you can before stopping — do it, delegate it, pend it for follow-up, file it, or trash it.</p><p id="573a">Disorganization affects how others perceive you as a professional, can be embarrassing if you need something for someone and can’t find it, and, ultimately, your self-esteem tanks.</p><h1 id="55d9">Color your world</h1><p id="d2ab">Color-coding lets you recognize items instantly and reduces the time you spend looking for the things you need. This helps you recognize a file or folder by color rather than name. Since people recognize color faster than they do text, you will spend less time finding what you need.</p><p id="cb3f">You can specify a color for each client or project, incoming and outgoing invoices, training programs, and so on. I use green for everything related to my business. Make sure you carry this color The key is to keep the colors consistent across all media and devices — paper and electronic — so no matter where you are, you don’t have to think about where to find something.</p><h1 id="f752">Break the multitasking habit</h1><p id="60c5">Contrary to popular opinion, <a href="https://

Options

readmedium.com/want-to-be-more-productive-b279e5b2703d?sk=f52210e9670319fbd177369e42612c04">multitasking is not productive</a>. <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-power-prime/201103/technology-myth-multitasking">Research</a> shows that you aren’t doing several tasks simultaneously; instead, your focus is shifting from one to the other so quickly that you don’t notice the switch, You’re turning your focus on and off, so tasks take longer to complete than if you do them sequentially. This rapid focus switching increases the possibility of errors, which will take more time to remedy. You’’ be surprised how much faster you complete tasks when you do one at a time, finish it, and then start the next one.</p><h1 id="9829">Start small for big rewards</h1><p id="e756">Start introducing one of these habits into your day and commit to reinforcing it until you do it without thinking. For example, during Covid isolation, I established 2 new, daily habits: a 90-minute morning routine and 2, 3-hour sessions to work on my business. It took about 3 months to establish these habits, but now I automatically head to my office for my work sessions, and I get up earlier to have enough time for my morning routine.</p><p id="65cf">If one or more of these habits can help you become more efficient or productive, pick the one that you believe will benefit you the most. As someone who likes systems and processes, having established times for certain activities suits me. You want to do whatever works best for you, make it a habit, and find that your days are more productive, efficient, and satisfying as you make progress toward your important goals.</p><blockquote id="272e"><p>“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” — Michael Altshuler</p></blockquote><p id="ba0a">Thanks for reading,<a href="https://patriciahaddock1.medium.com/"> Patricia</a></p><p id="7cbd">Get my free guide: <i>Make the Most of Your Mobile Devices</i>. <a href="https://1drv.ms/b/s!AhVHDOs9oOh5gapKF0_lnDZusC07uw?e=tZ722D">Immediate download</a>.</p><p id="1257">If you enjoyed this article, consider<a href="https://patriciahaddock1.medium.com/membership"> becoming a member</a> of the Medium community.<a href="https://patriciahaddock1.medium.com/membership"> Membership</a> gives you full access to every story and lets you interact with writers by sharing your comments and responses to their work. It also directly supports me and the other writers you find here. J<a href="https://patriciahaddock1.medium.com/membership">oin</a> now to avoid missing stories that inform and inspire.</p></article></body>

Too Much to Do and Too Little Time to Do It?

These 7 daily habits can improve your efficiency and productivity

Every decision you make about how to use your time either helps you make progress toward your goals or sets you back. I’m lazy. I dislike going over the same territory again and again, so I build systems, processes, and habits that make me more efficient and productive and that eliminate the need to think about what I need to do or how to do it. Here are 7 easy-to-implement daily habits that can improve your ability to be more efficient and productive.

Plan your day the night before

According to Brian Tracy, one minute of planning saves 10 minutes in execution. Other experts claim that you will save three minutes; some say five minutes. Regardless of the exact amount of time saved, if all you do is take five minutes at the end of your workday to plan your activities and goals for the next day, you can save between 15 and 50 minutes in execution.

“He who every morning plans the transactions of that day and follows that plan carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life.” — Victor Hugo

Start your day focused on what’s most important

Take 5 minutes at the start of your day to review your most important tasks for the day. Make sure you have allocated enough time on your calendar solely for those activities in order of their priority. (Need an easy, fast way to prioritize? Check out this article.)

Around mid-day assess your progress, adjust your plan for the day if necessary, and identify your must-do activities before the workday ends. If this happens frequently, you might want to allow more time for each activity, analyse what’s getting in the way of your progress, and implement solutions to plug any areas where you are losing time.

Take regular breaks

When I’m working, I often slip into a flow state and can work several hours without stopping. While I’m pumping out content, I’m also depleting my energy and tiring my brain. I can tell that I’ve hit bottom because I become irritable and frustrated with everything. It means that I’ve gone too long without a break.

After 60 to 90 minutes of focused work, your concentration crashes, and you need to take a break to reboot. When you return to your desk, your focus is back. It only takes about 5 minutes to perk up your energy and your brain. Try easy stretches, walk around the room, go outside if you can, practice deep breathing, have a healthy snack, or drink a glass of cool water.

Discover the value of bundles

Everyone has routine tasks that need to be done but aren’t critical for reaching your goals. Instead of putting them off until you have to do them, set aside blocks of time every day or two to handle them. Good activities to bundle include filing completed documents and email; sending and paying invoices; returning calls, messages, and emails; clearing paper and electronic clutter; and so on. Bundling hones your focus on the task at hand, so it is completed more efficiently.

Keep things organized

Keep your work area clean and uncluttered so everything is within easy reach. You lose time when you must sort through documents you have already read. The goal is to take every document you touch as far as you can before stopping — do it, delegate it, pend it for follow-up, file it, or trash it.

Disorganization affects how others perceive you as a professional, can be embarrassing if you need something for someone and can’t find it, and, ultimately, your self-esteem tanks.

Color your world

Color-coding lets you recognize items instantly and reduces the time you spend looking for the things you need. This helps you recognize a file or folder by color rather than name. Since people recognize color faster than they do text, you will spend less time finding what you need.

You can specify a color for each client or project, incoming and outgoing invoices, training programs, and so on. I use green for everything related to my business. Make sure you carry this color The key is to keep the colors consistent across all media and devices — paper and electronic — so no matter where you are, you don’t have to think about where to find something.

Break the multitasking habit

Contrary to popular opinion, multitasking is not productive. Research shows that you aren’t doing several tasks simultaneously; instead, your focus is shifting from one to the other so quickly that you don’t notice the switch, You’re turning your focus on and off, so tasks take longer to complete than if you do them sequentially. This rapid focus switching increases the possibility of errors, which will take more time to remedy. You’’ be surprised how much faster you complete tasks when you do one at a time, finish it, and then start the next one.

Start small for big rewards

Start introducing one of these habits into your day and commit to reinforcing it until you do it without thinking. For example, during Covid isolation, I established 2 new, daily habits: a 90-minute morning routine and 2, 3-hour sessions to work on my business. It took about 3 months to establish these habits, but now I automatically head to my office for my work sessions, and I get up earlier to have enough time for my morning routine.

If one or more of these habits can help you become more efficient or productive, pick the one that you believe will benefit you the most. As someone who likes systems and processes, having established times for certain activities suits me. You want to do whatever works best for you, make it a habit, and find that your days are more productive, efficient, and satisfying as you make progress toward your important goals.

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” — Michael Altshuler

Thanks for reading, Patricia

Get my free guide: Make the Most of Your Mobile Devices. Immediate download.

If you enjoyed this article, consider becoming a member of the Medium community. Membership gives you full access to every story and lets you interact with writers by sharing your comments and responses to their work. It also directly supports me and the other writers you find here. Join now to avoid missing stories that inform and inspire.