15 Productivity Hacks Everyone Should Know

In the 21st century, having good time management is challenging for most people. After all, how many times have you seen someone running down the street because they were probably late for something?  

As much as this type of scene is expected, some strategies can help you manage your routine better. 

The question of how to organize your time is directly related to productivity. The more you plan your respective activities, the greater the result and efficiency of actions. 

Each day has 24 hours for everyone, so why are there still more productive people than others? One of the many possible answers to explain this is the intelligent use of time. 

Productive people learn that they need to distribute tasks judiciously throughout the day. Otherwise, they may do nothing or earn less than they should. 

What many people want is to increase day-to-day productivity in the face of their tasks. With this, we can define productivity as how you become efficient in a given act, which reflects on the final result of what is expected. 

So, for this to happen, it is necessary to define the value of your goal and outline a method to achieve it; in this article, we are going to display ways you could give a try to achieve productivity.

15 Productivity Hacks

1. Understand how you are spending your time

Having a list of priorities is fundamental; usually, we’re on our cell phones, on social networks, listening to podcasts, and when you see, time passed. And you did not study or do what a priority was. This is turning a snowball, especially when you start the non-mandatory stage.

Therefore, use a planner, schedule, or app to organize and list each day’s tasks. Also, measure everything you do — it’s even worth timing. That way, you’ll understand how much time you can spend on each task.

2. Two-minute rule 

This hack consists of doing everything that takes two minutes or less to do right away or as soon as possible. Even some productivity books cite this hack! 

The first step is to separate those tasks that take little time to be performed. 

For example, leaving work clothes separate for the next day, washing dishes that have just been dirty, separating books to study the next day, answering emails, etc. 

If you put off these simple tasks, they will accumulate, and you will be overwhelmed. In other words, don’t leave for later what can be done now. 

Another tip is to use the timeboxing technique to manage your time.

3. Create a rewards system 

Undoubtedly having a reward after finishing that study chapter is a great way to liven things up, isn’t it? 

In this way, seek to establish small rewards as your goals are completed. This way, you will give greater importance to each one of them. 

An excellent way to do this is to do an activity you enjoy with plenty of time at the end of the day, such as playing video games, meeting friends, walking outdoors, etc. 

On weekends, you can go to the movies, eat chocolate or go out with someone special. 

If bigger goals are achieved, take a trip or buy something significant to you.

4. Sleep well 

It may seem “silly,” but sleep is a great way to increase productivity. When you sleep well, your body rests and renews itself to face the next day. 

Not having a good night’s sleep can considerably impair your learning, as in this way, the brain wakes up tired and cannot perform its function well. 

A great tip is to take a nap after lunch to have more energy in the second part of the day. Also, don’t forget to have a good breakfast when you wake up. 

After all, if even the richest man in the world, the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, can sleep eight hours a day, it is a sign that no one needs to stop being human to thrive.

5. Make time for yourself 

One of the issues with doing multiple things in the day is feeling like you don’t have time for your favorite activities or hobbies. The experience, in this case, ends up being frustrating — not least because everyone needs a little time to be idle, watching series, reading books, playing with pets, etc. 

So, organize your activities by including a little free time between them so you feel like you’re not putting your happiness on the back burner. 

It’s even worth putting it on your calendar: meeting friends, Netflix. So, it’s even fun to fulfill obligations.

6. Use the Pomodoro technique 

The Pomodoro is a concentration technique that consists of doing 25-minute periods of intense activity so that after those 25 minutes, you have 5 minutes of rest. 

Note that this technique is linked to our item 2, as you stay focused for 25 minutes and then get 5 minutes of reward. 

Uses promofocus to manage your pomodoro.  During its use, stay away from social networks. 

This technique can be combined with online courses or online college classes. 

For example, if you are the project manager of your company and you want to take a course on MS Project to become more professional, use the Pomodoro during the period; you will undoubtedly absorb more of the content and be tireless.

7. Do a weekly review 

Reviewing what you did during the week is one of the best time and productivity management habits you can learn. 

The “Weekly Review” is a concept created by David Allen, author of the classic productivity book “GTD – Getting Things Done.” 

Here’s how you can do this weekly review in 3 steps: 

Step 1

• Make an analysis of your calendar for last week and the current week.
• Identify what needs more attention, meetings, appointments, and problem-solving. 

Step 2 

• Clean your e-mailbox (personal and work accounts) by transforming each email into a task manager task or event on your calendar. 

Step 3 

• Look at your goals for the year and see how you can evolve with them next week. 
• As a suggestion, do this review always on Sundays to start the week with speed and focus.

8. Focus on one task at a time 

Multitasking has nothing to do with productivity; on the contrary, doing several things simultaneously shows a lack of focus. 

You’ll get more done in less time if you focus on one task at a time. Set your priority and do whatever it takes to focus on that for 30m or 1h, for example. 

If you need to warn people around you, put your phone in airplane mode and turn off social media. Do that and work with a focus on what matters. 

After completing that task, you will feel more productive.

9. Set Very Specific goals 

To maintain high productivity, it is essential to have goals and, most importantly, to respect them. However, it is useless to set goals that are super difficult to meet, and the important thing is to define those with a real chance of completion. 

A tool to help you have more outstanding visual management of your goals is to use a checklist. Whenever you complete one, you’ll feel more motivated to keep going.

10. Set aside urgent tasks from other tasks 

It makes no sense for you to spend your morning hours, in which you are still rested and likely to have more focus and attention, with those less important tasks like updating an application on your computer. 

Leave the tasks you don’t need to think about, the uncreative ones, for you to do at the end of the day or between meetings. 

Don’t leave your most important tasks, those that need creativity and attention, to do at times when you’re not a hundred percent energy. 

It has already become clear that focusing on the most critical tasks in the morning is one of the most effective productivity hacks in practice.

11. Establish deadlines

Setting deadlines for all your tasks is a practical and functional way to avoid delays and delivery problems. Right? Tasks with no set deadlines are indeed a waste of time, and this is something no one here wants to happen. 

If you need to deliver something on Monday, tell yourself the Friday deadline. So you schedule and don’t leave everything to the last minute. And you still have the weekend to review and improve the result of the task. 

This is a guarantee of more quality in what you deliver and also avoids unnecessary worries.

12. Book time to rest 

Those looking to be more productive often fall into the tale that they can’t stop for anything and end up working too much without taking time for rest. And this is not good. 

Keeping appointments in your schedule unrelated to your work or business can significantly help your income. Enjoyable activities help prepare your mind and body for the next productivity journey. 

How about booking next Saturday afternoon to go bowling with friends, read a good book in the park or walk with the family?

13. Take breaks during the day 

Sitting around doing nothing for 5 or 10 minutes between one task and another is one of the productivity hacks that people find most strange. However, these breaks help prepare for the next task. 

To maintain health and focus – essential attributes for good time management – be sure to take these breaks, whether to go out and walk or simply drink a glass of water and stretch for a few minutes.

14. Make time for “mental silence.” 

To be productive, sometimes we need a quiet time to be in silence, even from our thoughts. 

I understand it can be pretty demanding to ask you to meditate when there are a million tasks you should be doing, but 15 minutes a day of “mind-clearing” helps a lot, including withstanding the pressure.

15. Rethink the use of the cell phone  

If you are going to work with the phone on the side, leave it in mute or airplane mode. Otherwise, the temptation is giant to check each notification. Also, avoid using WhatsApp web and social networks on your computer because your concentration will go away with each message.

LEARN MORE ABOUT PRODUCTIVITY

Conclusion 

The productivity hacks are excellent practices amid busy routines. Time seems to be an increasingly scarce resource, highlighting the importance of knowing how to manage it wisely. 

However, although these techniques aim to increase individual productive capacity, the purpose of their application is not to transform the person into a working machine.

Reference and Further Reading

19 Productivity Hacks to Get More Done in 2022. Venture Harbour.

15 Best Productivity Hacks for Procrastinators. Life Hack.

How Strong Interpersonal Communication Boost Productivity? AcethePresentation.