Create a Game Plan
Start your day off on the right foot by knowing what you need to do. An exhaustive list of everything that you need to do can be a good thing to have in general but mostly looking at a list with a thousand tasks on it is overwhelming. Your game plan for the day needs to be something achievable so you feel accomplished when you are actually able to complete everything on it in a day. That’s why you shouldn’t put more than 3-5 things on it per day depending on the size of those tasks. When you’re able to cross off everything on your list you will feel on top of the world and it will provide you with the motivation to keep up that type of progress everyday. Overtime you will also become more aware of realistically how long something takes you do do so you can get better and better at estimating your time.
Also, decide if you are a paper planner or a digital planner. Whichever route you pay attention to the most is what you should do. I love the feeling of physically crossing something off in a fun pen color that I have chosen for the day; it really is the little things people. But it can be equally satisfying to click a checkbox and see it disappear.
45 Minutes On
There are a bunch of articles out in the web that say you can focus for up to 2 hours. Personally I start to spin my wheels after about 45 and start feeling like I need to switch gears for a second. Setting a timer for 45 minutes knowing that it’s your goal to stay focused and on task for that entire time is going to help you get more work done in a shorter amount of time.
5 Minutes Off
After the 45 minutes on a quick break can surprisingly help your productivity. Get a refill on your water bottle or stretch your legs with a little lap around the office then head back to your desk to crack down for another 45 of pure productivity.
The desktop app EyeLeo is a helpful reminder to reduce eyestrain at your desk, it reminds you at intervals you can predetermine to blink, look out a window and get up to walk around. It can be annoying if you’re showing something on your screen to a co-worker but you can click through it if you need to. When I actually stick to it the results are surprising. You can download the app here if you’re interested, please note that this is not an affiliate link, or a sponsor. Just a product I use and like.
Get Off Socials, Duh!
The allure of the ping of your phone can be hard to resist, turning off the notification alerts is a good place to start. Likely you get alerts because it is an app you frequently use so it’s probably safe to say that you are going to check it later without the disruption of the alerts throughout your day. Setting your phone to a Do Not Disturb setting could also work if that’s easier for you.
Don’t even open your social media apps. It is super hard at first to quit mindlessly checking but once you realize how much time you were devoting to something that doesn’t benefit your day or your productivity, it might become a little easier.
Organize your Workstation
A cluttered surrounding = a cluttered mind. Or at least it does for me. There is something satisfying about having a fresh, clear workstation when everything else is overwhelming around you. The whole wold could be burning down around you but you can find everything you need when you need it.
This goes for your digital work station as well. Emails and desktops are notorious for becoming a giant disaster. There is nothing worse than being in a meeting and needing to reference an email from a consultant or an attachment and not being able to find it. I have yet to run into an email interface that can’t be categorized. My preference is to only have emails that are still need attention sitting in my inbox. Everything else gets filed away in to it’s respective folder. Labeled folders on your desktop are a convenient way to keep things in check too. Label them with a project number or name and anything that pertains to that topic lives in there.
I dont have a desk job, but I do use a list everyday, and you are correct. When I get to the end of the day and everything has been crossed off, it’s like damm. I did it!! Feels good. Love your page!!