13 tips to boost your productivity

Boost your productivity and save some time with these 13 tips.

1. Make 3 lists – make one master list for projects you want to pursue in the future, make one to-do list for time-sensitive items, make one checklist to aid you in recurring tasks such as weekly cleaning, routine business tasks, packing, etc. When you write things down, you free your brain from trying to constantly remember all your tasks and ideas.

2. Clear the Clutter – Trash what you don’t need. Get rid of the duplicates of the duplicates. And quickly delete those e-mails or attachments from your mother or your best friend that you just have to forward.

3. Dedicate a Workspace for Yourself –If possible do not share your workspace. People need a sense of ownership in their tools. They need to know that the tool that they need that minute is available and not being used by someone else.

4. Take the First Step –It’s always easier to procrastinate and “give it some thought,” but you will have no success until you begin.

5. Concentrate on the MOST Important Tasks – I for one don’t always accomplish everything I’ve ever needed to do in one day but as long as the MOST important tasks are accomplished, everything else will fall into place.

6. If you Fail to Plan, you Plan to Fail – The most strategic time to think about the actions you need to take is not when you need to perform them, but beforehand, when you have perspective. This allows you to act rather than react, and your menu of options is much easier to prioritize.

7. FOCUS – I am suggesting, from personal experience, that having one primary focus and diving into it completely will give you a higher chance at success. However, you are free to work on multiple goals at the same time, some people can pull it off without stress, most cannot!

8. Do it Right the First Time –Why start a project and “waste your time” if you are just going to have to redo it later because you didn’t do it right the first time?

9. Only Spend Time on Things you CAN Control – Our impulsive thoughts always tend to waste our life-energy by focusing on things that we cannot control… Dwell more on what you can do rather than what you cannot.

10. Set Time Limits – One of the simplest things I do to increase my productivity is to use a timer throughout the day. For 30 minutes, I work like this, racing the clock and challenging myself to have it all done before the buzzer goes off. By the end, I am exhilarated, accomplished, and feel relaxed because I am no longer looking at what was an overwhelming mess 30 minutes earlier.

11. Reduce your Commitments – Learn to say NO to things that you aren’t passionate about and you will significantly reduce your stress and increase the amount of time you have to put towards a more productive activity.

12. Motivate Others: Inject Energy into your Environment – When a dance floor is empty at a party, most people simply won’t be the first people to start dancing, even if they want to. It often takes somebody who is confident and who is doing what they want to do to dance before others. This is then a trigger to others that allows them to start dancing as it seems normal. If you manage a house hold or an office, it is your job to inject it with energy…which will ultimately increase activity.

13. Stay Healthy – If you are not healthy, you will not be productive. Boost your immunity by reducing stress, exercising and eating right. You will be amazed at the effect is has on your productivity.