We all want more time, it’s something that most of us share. Time is one of the most valuable resources we have and when we can learn how to get the most out of it and how to make time work for us, we can experience life differently.
Learning how to improve time management is one of the best gifts we can give ourselves. It’s a game changer in our personal as well as professional life. Not wasting time and not being frazzled makes all the difference in having a productive day and one that feels annoyingly not so. And the difference isn’t just in getting more done, it’s about how we feel.
As we start 2019, many of us focus on what we can do better and feeling more satisfied and fulfilled in work as well as our personal life is on top of many’s priority list. This means we have to find ways to become more productive and get the most out of life.
Here are our TOP 10 productivity hacks to make 2019 your best year ever.
#1 Wake Up at 4:30AM & Master Your Morning
You may not want to hear it, but getting up early could be the most important way to be more productive. Getting up at 4:30am allows you to get your most important work done before other people get up and request your time for their needs. While it may take a little bit of self-discipline to get up that early, it will lead to incredible results, which is the definition of a productivity hack. And if you can’t stomach getting up at 4:30am, slowly work your way up to it by choosing 7am and then every week get up 15 minutes earlier.
#2 Ditch Your To-Do List
Don’t fill up your to-do list, instead, schedule everything you need to do on your calendar and work directly from there. To-do lists are simply ineffective and only work against your productivity. They are usually never-ending lists of things to do that only leave you feeling overwhelmed. However, if you schedule your to-dos directly into your calendar at the time you want to tackle them, you commit to it and are much more likely to actually get them done.
#3 Forget Motivation
We all struggle with motivation from time to time, which makes it impossible to get things done when we wait for motivation to show up before we start doing something. Instead of only relying on motivation, balance motivation with discipline and do what needs to be done whether your motivation shows up or not. Keep in mind, there will always be some sort of resistance on the way to achieve what we want, but we don’t actually need motivation to complete a task. All we need is the discipline to keep doing what we need to do in order to get the results we want. Don’t make the decision on whether or not to take action depended on how you feel, but rather based on the results you are after.
#4 Schedule According to Your Energy
We all go through energy cycles throughout the day, so plan your most important tasks around the time when your energy levels are high. There is no point in scheduling something at a time when you know your energy is low. Instead, schedule the projects that require focus or concentration for the time when you know that you feel the best and identify your filler tasks like answering emails for times when your energy usually drops. Just be honest and realistic about scheduling yourself and with that set yourself up for wins.
#5 Work Backwards
If you want to hack your productivity, focus on those activities that will take you to the next level. Look at your goals and then plan backwards, identifying the tasks that you need to complete to support those goals. Then take it one step further and break those tasks down into weekly and daily actions. Don’t just plan the tasks that show up or those you think or feel you should be doing. Commit to your long-term objectives and make sure that your day is scheduled around at least one big activity that directly supports your goal.
#6 Restrict Social Media Usage
We’ve all been there. We just wanted to check one super interesting Facebook post and before we know it, we are immersed in our friends’ statuses, tweets or instagram feed and watched YouTube for hours. Sure, social media can be great, but it is also a tremendous time waster. Use an app to block social media sites from your mobile devices and computer and set a limit for yourself to be more productive with the extra hours in your day.
#7 Only Read Each Email Once
When it’s time to check your emails – and you want to set one specific time a day for this task – open the email and decide what you want to do with it. Either reply to it, forward it, delete it or archive it. The only thing you can’t do is leave it for later because that’s how your inbox becomes a monster that will haunt you. Sure, it’s not an easy habit to develop, but once you get used to it, your world is a little bit more awesome and you are so much more productive.
#8 Listen to Music and Sing in the Shower
Let’s be real, we’ve all sung in the shower at some point, even if singing isn’t our greatest quality. Well, it turns out that science now reveals that singing in the shower comes with a host of mental and physical benefits. Physically, singing leads to higher immune function, which means you are less likely to catch bugs. You also lower the levels of cortisol in your system, which means less stress and better hearts. On top of that, singing helps to reduce anxiety, depression and sadness and has even been linked to less chronic pain.
#9 Work Near Natural Light
A simple, yet highly effective productivity hack is to work near natural light more often. Research shows that exposure to sun light during the day improves sleep at night, which in turn improves our overall well-being and makes us more productive during the day. If at all possible, sit near a window – if you can open it, even better – and benefit from much improved productivity and better sleep.
#10 Do Nothing
This may sound weird to you, but doing nothing for a short period of time can actually boost your productivity. When you focus on doing nothing, you give your mind a break for a little while and with that it can recharge itself, which allows you to refocus your energies later on. Plus, when your conscious mind takes a break, your subconscious mind can solve pre-existing problems and issues that may hold you back from progressing further.
If you want to get ahead in life, you need to learn how to be more productive. This doesn’t just mean that you squeeze more time out of your day, but also be more effective with the limited time that is available to you. It’s amazing how much time we waste in an average day by scrolling through our social media feed or reading up on today’s news. Start today and change your habits because anyone can pull it off if you have the right level of conviction.
CONQUER THE NEW YEAR
Joschi & Monika
#BoldNaked
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