Ten Top Tips for Productivity

Having just completed a Masters in Business Psychology while working full-time, I  wanted to share some practical tips for productivity and time management which you might find useful too.

• Reflect on how you are really spending your time. Are you spending enough time on the things you consider to be a priority?
• Break up difficult projects into manageable pieces and schedule them in your diary. This can really help prevent you feeling overwhelmed.
• Use the 5-minute rule to overcome procrastination - Starting something is often the most difficult part. Just plan to do 5 mins to start with. Often you find you get into the flow of it and work a bit longer.
• Work out when you are most alert in the day or week and plan your most intellectually challenging activities in accordingly. There is no point trying to write a presentation in the afternoon if you always feel sleepy.
• Take proper breaks. Plan what to do in your short and longer breaks so that you make the most of them. Either get some useful tasks done or do something you really enjoy, don’t just scroll through social media.
• Don’t try to multi-task. Do one thing at a time and focus on it fully for a set period of time.
• Use a to-do list and a calendar. Review both regularly and tick things off – it’s so satisfying.
• Remove distractions – delete time-wasting apps from your phone, unsubscribe from email newsletters and put your phone away for most of the day. You may also need to tell people not to disturb you for a while.
• Aim for completion rather than perfection – Be strategic about your tasks, most things just need completion at a satisfactory standard.
• Maximise your time – doctors’ waiting rooms and train journeys are great for getting things done. Waiting for a nice expanse of uninterrupted time to start a project is a mistake. If it is important, start today even if its just 20mins.