How To Prioritize Your Tasks for More Results

Productivity can be a challenge for anyone, and one of the keys to productivity is preparation. One of the simplest forms of prep-work prior to a busy day is to develop a to-do list, but there are a few tricks to the creation of a task list. Your goal is to have a list that really works for you.

 

Create and Analyze Your To-Do List

 

The best approach to forming your to-do list is to prepare it as a first draft. In this approach, do not limit yourself initially; just get all of your wants on the list. After your list is done, it will be time for the edit. In this stage, you eliminate the items that are unnecessary, which should include unproductive things or items which are to be completed by someone else.

 

Once your list has been pared down, it is time to prioritize items within your list. The best approach here is to determine the most pressing and important issues you have on your list and move them to the top. You may also find that you have some urgent matters that are not necessarily important. They can be moved down on the list. Important items that are in no hurry should be on your list as well, but they may occupy a lower position on your list.

 

What Is First?

 

Once you have identified those urgent, important matters at the top of your list, it is time to focus on those items. Plan your day around accomplishing just those things to start. You may find that the list is short, and includes only a few items so your next step is to allocate the time you will spend on each item. In practice, you will find that you never allocate enough time, so go ahead and double whatever time you allowed for the task. If you finish early your sense of accomplishment will soar, and you might wind up with some free time at the end of the day!

 

Get to Work!

 

Your next step is to start ticking those items off your list. It is very important to stay focused at this stage, and stay on task. Do not allow the items that are lower on your list to interrupt or distract you. If one of those items that you dropped off your list earlier peeks its little head into the room, you will need to ignore that with extreme prejudice and hold the line.

 

Productivity is relative to the expectations we place on ourselves. Stay realistic, stay focused, and use a task list that works for you.

 

The Best Apps For Productivity

Our lives are marked with lots of work. Rarely will you find enough time, especially during the day to complete your work. Well, this can be attributed to the fact that during the day, people have meetings to attend and a lot of issues to address. But, what about the projects that keeps on accumulating in the office? Undeniably, you need an app that will get your stuff done in the office. Here are some apps that will be of great help to you. With these apps, there will be absolutely no need to work overtime and even on weekends.

 

1. Mailtracker

 

Sometimes, people are reluctant to read mails. And when this happens, mailtracker becomes a handy tool. This iOS app will notify you when people read your mail, and the best part? It will give you detailed notifications of where they read it from. When it comes to memo, you can easily ascertain if a person is telling the truth or not.

 

2. Pushbullet

 

So, you want not to forget anything? Well, this app will be your ultimate solution. It synchronizes with your computer and thus will display notifications from your phone to the screen. Not to forget, it lets you exchange files between different devices, which you can instantly download.

 

3. Focus lock

 

Admittedly, our phones are the greatest form of distractions. As a matter of fact, if you are not keen, you may miss important information just because your concentration is on your phone. This app allows you to choose apps that you want to be locked out of. That done, you will still reads your mails and receive phone calls, but you will be locked out of frequent updates such as sports and weather.

 

4. ETA

 

If you want to be punctual whenever you have meetings, then ETA is your ultimate app. If you will need to drive to your next destination, this app will tell you how long you will take. Amazing! It also facilitates the process of locating where you need to go.

 

5. Evernote

 

This is a multipurpose app that allows you to write to-do lists, notes and other tasks. This app is ideal for making notes during meetings, and the best part? It has a scanning feature that lets you get business cards.

 

In this world full of ups and downs, there is the need to simplify work. Productivity apps will certainly see how achieve this. So, if you have undone work at the office, you have a reason to smile. Gone are the days where a manager had to forego meetings so as to do work at the office. With these apps, you can rest assured that your work will be greatly simplified.

 

Top 10 Tips For Creating A Better Work Environment

Creating a good environment goes a long way in making certain the company achieves its goals. In addition, the employees as well as team leaders are also able to fulfill their personal goals and desires. The following are some ways of creating a good and conducive work environment:

 

1. Encourage Open Communication

 

Removing communication barriers allows employees to communicate directly and more openly. It also encourages them to support each other and work for the common good of the company.

 

2. Remove Cliques

 

Groups, factions or cliques create barriers in the work place. Employees from one clique will tend to keep it to themselves. This erodes the goal of meaningful interaction.

 

3. Show Appreciation

 

No matter how busy you are it is always good to show appreciation for any good deed. It can be as simple as telling your employees thank you for just staying at work for an extra 30 minutes.

 

4. Develop a Culture of Trust

 

Employees will work better if they feel trusted and appreciated. This can be shown by delegating a task to an employee, or agreeing to go with his idea on a particular matter.

 

5. Give Everyone a Chance

 

As a team leader or manager, it is important to listen to all your employees regardless of their work or social status. Listening to your employee boasts his morale and productivity.

 

6. Get to Know Your Employees

 

A simple "hallo" as you enter the escalator, or finding how their weekend was makes employees feel valuable to the company. You can also invite them for a drink after work.

 

7. Meaningful Dialogue

 

Whether you are at a formal or informal setting it is vital to engage in conversations that add value to the company or employee. An employee feels more appreciated if the conversation focuses around his career or life ambition.

 

8. Have a positive Attitude

 

Attitude is infectious. People around you will take-up your attitude and vice versa. Having a positive attitude, no matter the situation, goes a long way in creating a positive work environment.

 

9. Use Incentives

 

As human beings, we love being gifted. Offering your employees bonuses or salary increment when it's due greatly improves the work environment. You should also remind them that good performance is always rewarded.

 

10. Embrace an Open Door Policy

 

Whether you are a CEO, a director or team leader, you should always create an open-door policy. Any employee should feel comfortable to just walk in your office and talk about anything.

 

If you implement the above strategies at work, you will certainly experience better productivity and efficiency. It does not matter if you are a start-up, a small or large corporate. Creating the ideal environment at work is your best shot at growing and sustaining the company.

 

3 Scientifically Proven Ways to Beat Procrastination and Increase Productivity

One of the biggest obstacles we face when trying to reach our goals is our lack of motivation to even get started. Whether we're putting off scheduling an appointment or just avoiding the tedious project with a looming deadline, procrastination is a significant problem. This may be because we put things off until "someday." Because "someday" doesn't appear on the calendar, our good intentions never turn into action unless we create deadlines. The following strategies can help to increase motivation and decrease the tendency to procrastinate. 

 

Break Goals Into Manageable Chunks

 

When you only focus on the big picture, it can be easy to put things off until later. Wishing you could quit your day job to launch a startup, or hoping you could lose 50 pounds fall into the "someday" category. However, if you break down your goals into smaller, more manageable objectives, then you can move them into the present category and start working on the steps to complete the more modest goals.

 

Start Easy

 

Starting on a task or significant project is hard, but if you can get over that initial hump you'll gain some momentum, and your brain will more likely annoy you to keep working on the task. This is due to what is known as the Zeigarnik effect, a psychological phenomenon that says unfinished tasks are more likely to get stuck in your memory. This phenomenon is also why your to-do list continues to pop into your head until you write it down. 

 

Be Mindful

 

Fear of failure and perfectionism are at the root of some procrastination. To beat this particular type of procrastination, science suggests you start by listening to your inner monologue and flag the thinking that is less than favorable. If you catch yourself saying things like, "This will be a catastrophe," or "I need this project to be perfect, " start taming your anxiety with a deceptively simple sounding intervention. An easy way you can do this is by doubting your doubts. This can be accomplished by shaking your head while you are thinking those thoughts. While it may sound simple, recent studies say that it can help with the chronically uncertain.

 

Procrastination is the number one killer of productivity. To increase your productivity and get more done, try these simple ways to beat procrastination, and see how it can change your life. 

4 Effective Time Management Tips to Maximize Productivity

Everybody's been here; you find yourself answering personal phone calls at work, clicking through websites, and talking with your coworkers only to discover that it's already lunchtime and you haven't accomplished anything. If this scenario has become a daily occurrence for you, it's time for you to take action. Here are four useful time management tips that will help you to maximize your productivity. 

 

Determine Your Time-Wasters

 

Start your day off by making a list of all the things that you know tend to waste your time. Keep the list nearby and when you notice that you are wasting time, add that time-waster to the list. Doing this on a daily basis will help to serve as a reminder of those things that you shouldn’t be doing through the course of the day, like watching those cute cat videos when you know you should be responding to emails. 

 

Get Rid of Social Media

 

The average person spends 3.6 hours a day socializing online, according to a study conducted by Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange. To keep yourself from regularly checking your social media pages and wasting time, remove the social media apps from your phone, as well as from the toolbar on your computer. This can help keep you from checking for updates when you should be working on your report.

 

Complete Important Tasks First

 

It's effortless to start your day working on the easy tasks. It makes you feel like you are actually accomplishing something, even when you are avoiding the big projects. However, by the time you've completed the easy tasks, you've wasted your day and are reluctant to start on the work that is a priority. To increase productivity, start work on the most critical tasks at the beginning of your day. This will provide you with some relief and the rest of your day will be smoother.

 

Make Use Of Dead Time

 

When you’re stuck waiting at the doctor’s office or are headed home on the train, make use of that time to accomplish some tasks. Rather than wasting your time staring out the window or flipping through that two-year-old magazine, you could respond to your emails or take notes on your next big work project. Always try to do something productive during your dead time. 

 

If you want to become more productive, then you have to work on your time management skills. Utilizing these four tips can help you better manage the time that you have so you can get more done. 

 

4 Ways You're Sabotaging Your Productivity

For many of us, our productivity is one of the most essential qualities that we can actively improve. Being productive means that you'll be able to get more done, which could lead to a raise or promotion. A common misconception about productivity is that you have to work harder, take fewer breaks, and spend more time at work. However, most of the time, our productivity is ruined by the long-term habits that we hold. Here are some of the most common ways that you are sabotaging your productivity. 

 

Attending Too Many Meetings

 

Meetings are nothing more than team-based productivity killers. They bring in too many people for a conversation that takes way too long, ends up going nowhere, and most likely wasn't even necessary. If you find that you being invited to too many meetings, have an honest conversation about the appropriateness of you being included in the conference. Ask about the nature of the meeting and request an agenda so they can stay on track.

 

Forgetting to Set Priorities

 

It can be easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of responsibilities and tasks. Before you know it you've reached the end of your day, and you still haven't tackled the critical work. Setting and organizing priorities in advance can help you resolve this issue. With a clear priority system, you can determine which tasks demand your attention and which ones you can ignore for the moment.

 

Refusing to Try a New System

 

Many people will sabotage their productivity merely because they are so deeply ingrained in a system that they've always used. You have a set routine, a set system, and you're scared to alter them because it has worked. If you want to increase your productivity, you need to experiment with new routines, processes, and make small tweaks. Eventually, you'll find a better system that will allow you to increase your productivity.

 

Failing to Learn from your Mistakes

 

If you try an approach for a specific task and it results in you spending half your day to accomplish a relatively simple goal, then you need to try a different approach the next time you are faced with the task. Failing to learn from your mistakes will cost you precious time, and you will become doomed to continue to repeat those mistakes.

 

If you find that you are committing one or more of these acts of sabotage, take comfort in the knowledge that you aren't alone. Now that you know how they affect your productivity, you can take steps to eliminate their influence on your life.

 

5 Habits That Are Sabotaging Your Productivity

Whether it’s at your business, your work, or at home, your level of productivity dictates how well you do the things that you want to do. However, no matter how productive you think you are, some things are slowing down your progress and limiting your productivity. Chances are there are some habits that you may not be aware of that could be sabotaging your productivity. Here are five things that you could be doing the will dramatically decrease your productivity.

 

Starting the Day Off in a Rush

 

If you always seem to be starting your day off in a rush, you are more likely going to try and make up time by taking shortcuts, skipping meals, or speeding to get to the office on time. This can leave you feeling flustered, frustrated and can ultimately affect your attitude for the entire day. To break this habit, work to get up on time, if not earlier so you can start your day off in a more calm and relaxed manner. 

 

Not Have a Plan for the Day

 

When you don’t have a plan in place for your day, you become more inclined to work on whatever comes across your desk or comes to mind. If you start your day off checking your email, you are creating the illusion that you are better. To change this habit, use a calendar or productivity tool to plan out your day and week. 

 

Not Taking Regular Breaks

 

When you take regular breaks through the course of the day, you are generally more productive. This especially true as you approach the end of the day. Try taking 30-minute breakS every two hours and notice how much more energy you have at the end of the day. Taking regular breaks is a highly effective way for you to stay productive for longer.

 

Skipping Meals

 

Eating regular meals helps to energize our bodies so that we can be at our best. To sustain your energy levels, it is imperative that you eat the right foods at the right times during the day. Skipping meals will end up draining your energy level and focus.

 

Multitasking

 

The practice of multitasking dramatically decreases our productivity because our brains are constantly switching from one thing to another making it unable to focus on one task. When you focus on one thing at a time, you become much more productive.

 

If you don’t start working to eliminate these five bad habits, you will never be able to increase your productivity. Effectively breaking these habits will increase your productivity and allow you to be at your best. 

 

5 Tips for Increasing Your Productivity

It turns out, productivity is nothing more than a combination of intelligent planning and focused efforts and is something that everyone can improve. Staying productive at home or work can be a challenge. Every time the day ends, the odds are high that you aren't completely satisfied with what you've accomplished. Fortunately, you can continuously improve your productivity. Here are some valuable tips for increasing your productivity so you can get more done.

 

Tip #1 – Seek Help and Delegate Tasks Accordingly

 

Everybody needs help from time to time to complete tasks throughout their day. To get help to accomplish your larger tasks, you need to be able to trust those you are seeking help from to complete the work. To ensure that they take your request seriously, you want to be sure to let them know the deadline for the completion of the task.

 

Tip #2 – Create To-Do Lists

 

You will always have tasks that are simple and ones that are complex. To stay on top of your tasks, create to-do lists and track them using a task app, like Google Tasks. With the larger tasks, break them up into more manageable tasks. You may also want to consider putting a timer on your tasks so that you don't lose your focus in completing other items on your to-do list.

 

Tip #3 – Take Breaks

 

If you spend more than eight to ten hours at a desk, without moving around much, you'll find that you have much less energy. The number of hours you work doesn't measure productivity. It is measured, instead, by how much you get done without sacrificing your health. To keep your productivity levels up throughout the day, take small breaks and clear your mind.

 

Tip #4 – Eliminate Distractions

 

In the U.S. a recent study revealed that over 12.2 billion collective hours are being spent browsing social media every day. If you find that you are falling behind on your tasks, then you should consider getting rid of your social media apps on your smartphone. 

 

Tip #5 – Set Ambitious, Yet Realistic Goals

 

If you can cross everything off your to-do list in one day, then you need to create more ambitious goals. People that set higher goals tend to be more productive and more satisfied, than those with lower expectations. Your goals have to be very specific, and you should write them down to ensure you stay on track.

 

Incorporating these tips into your routine can help you to increase your productivity. When you are more productive throughout the day, you can inevitably get more done.

 

6 Surprising Things Productive People Do Differently

When it comes to productivity, everyone faces the same challenge; there are only 24 hours in a day. However, some people seem to have twice that amount of time and an uncanny ability to get things done. They can reach their goals without fail. Here are six surprising things that highly productive people do differently. 

 

They Never Touch Things Twice

 

People who are highly productive, never put anything in a holding pattern, because touching things more than once is a massive waste of time. Don't save a phone call or email to deal with later. As soon as something grabs your attention you need to either act on it, delegate it, or delete it.

 

They Plan for the Next Day Before They Leave

 

Highly productive people end their day by preparing for the next. This accomplishes two things. First, it helps you to solidify what you've accomplished, and then it ensures you'll have a productive tomorrow. It's the perfect way to end your workday and only takes a few minutes of your time.

 

They Say ‘No’

 

Ultra-productive people aren’t afraid to say ‘no’. When you can say no to a new commitment, you are honoring your existing obligations and giving yourself the opportunity to fulfill them successfully. Learning to say no will reduce stress, decrease burnout, and eliminate depression while increasing your productivity.

 

They Have a Designated Time to Check Email

 

People who are productive don’t allow their email to become a constant interruption. Along with only checking their email on a schedule, they take advantage of features that prioritize their messages by sender. They set alerts for their best customers and most important vendors, and they save the rest until they can reach a stopping point. 

 

They Avoid Multitasking

 

People who tend to multitask have more trouble organizing their thoughts and filtering out information that is irrelevant, making them slower at switching from one task to another. Highly productive people know that multitasking is a productivity killer and avoid doing it at all costs. 

 

They Put Technology to Work for Them

 

While technology catches a lot of flak for being a huge distraction, it can also help you focus. Productive people learn how to put technology to work for them. Along with setting up email filters to sort and prioritize messages, they also use productivity apps to set up alerts on their smartphones. 

 

Implementing these strategies into your daily activities will help you become more productive and find that extra edge in your life.