Written by: Laura Kingston, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Productivity is a bit like exercise. You know it’s good for you. You know you’ll feel better afterwards. But for some reason it’s so easy to put off and find excuses not to do it.
Similar to exercise, one of the reasons can be that we don’t quite know where to start. ‘Productive’ is like ‘fit’. It’s the desirable result ‒ but getting there can be a mystery for many.
For the last four weeks, I’ve been trialling different productivity hacks. Like many, I started from scratch. I’d wake up most days with a long to-do list and go to bed with an even longer one. I was tired from working all day but lay in bed feeling like I hadn’t really achieved anything.
Let me tell you – productivity hacking changed this for me within days. Here’s how to get started.
1. Re-organise your lists
Do you have one long to-do list with everything in a random order? ‘Pick up dry cleaning’ just above ‘Corporate values presentation for Friday’? It’s time to overhaul:
Go through your list and assign each task to one of the following categories:
Under 2 minutes
Under 20 minutes
20-120 minutes (large projects, research or preparation)
Personal
Now split the categories up into brand new sections in your notebook (or whatever you use for your to-do list). So, you’ll have four lists which look like the below examples:
Under 2 minutes
RSVP to the event next week
Email meeting agenda to the team
Under 20 minutes
Check website analytics from the weekend
Design Facebook advert for product launch
Prepare for 1:1 with Rosie
2. Prioritise your lists
Hopefully, by breaking them down in this way, you’re already starting to feel more organised. The next step is to prioritise each item. This is so you don’t end up getting through all the easy jobs every day and neglect the project work that’s due on Friday.
Use a numbering system to work across all of your lists as one. Try to stick to a rule that you cannot move on to task 2, until task 1 is complete (or you’ve at least made some progress), and so on. This will help you keep more accountability to yourself.
It might look something like this:
Blitz Under 2 minutes list (Under 2 minutes list)
Read Board pack (20-120 minutes list)
Walk the dog (under 20 minutes list)
3. Time-block your calendar
Now that you’ve broken everything down into manageable lists and prioritised everything, you should be clear on what tasks need to be done, in what order.
You might feel really on top of everything already, but trust me, don’t be tempted to skip this time-blocking step.
For me, it was a critical to keep me feeling that I had achieved so much every day, and also helped me understand how long tasks actually take me, rather than how long I expect them to take.
Divide every hour that you plan to work into task-specific blocks. Here are a few tips I’ve learned:
I like to colour-code tasks using a different colour for each type of list.
Remember to plan in personal tasks too, as well as admin tasks like responding to emails and breaks.
You can schedule the ‘Under 2 minutes’ list into one half-hour block and blast through them all at once.
The first week will be trial and error so don’t beat yourself up if you overrun and don’t get around to the next task. Knowledge is power and time-blocking is a brilliant way to help you understand how long you take to do things and leave enough time to get it done.
4. Focus on the task in hand
If you’ve done time blocking correctly, you’ll have factored in time during the day to answer emails, make calls, walk the dog etc. So, when you’re in a time block, focus on that task and only that task.
Close your emails. Also, unsubscribe from any irrelevant emails or mailing lists you don’t find useful anymore. You’ll be surprised how much better you feel.
Put your phone on Do Not Disturb mode if you can – I like to use a free app called Forest which helps avoid the temptation of using your phone for 25-minute intervals.
Listen to some focus music – there are plenty of playlists on Spotify or YouTube.
5. At the end of the day, prepare for the next
As I said earlier, don’t feel disheartened if you reach the end of the day and have missed a task or two. Use the end of your day to time-block the following day, so you hit the ground running as soon as you open your laptop.
Move across any tasks that you didn’t manage to finish – you’ll feel a great sense of satisfaction at the end of the working day when you know you’ve made great progress, everything is planned out for tomorrow, and every hour you’ve spent working has been focussed and productive.
Now it’s time to switch off – you’ve earned it.
Did these tips work for you? Send me a message on Instagram and let me know.
Check out my digital magazine, High Life North.
Laura Kingston, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Laura Kingston is an expert in disruptive digital marketing, online publishing, trend analysis and leadership. Her expertise is in identifying key trends and implementing them into businesses to keep them ahead of the game. Laura specialises in building effective teams to ensure high-growth, high-energy businesses. She is Managing Editor of High Life North magazine which is disrupting the Northern publishing industry in the UK, providing an online platform to empower women and champion independent businesses.
