7 Ways to Stay Productive Longer

You know the feeling. You get to work early, ready to tackle that big project on your to-do list. But then you get distracted by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Before you know it, it’s lunchtime and there’s no way you’ll get that project done before the end of the day.

You’re not alone: 28% of the average office worker’s day is spent focused on unnecessary distractions. That includes an average of five hours each week surfing websites not related to work.

It’s important to remember that productivity isn’t just about getting more things done; it’s also about being happier and less stressed in your workday.

Luckily, with a few easy changes to your daily routine, you can focus and get things done and feel productive at work. Here are some tips for how to be more productive at work:

1. Eat breakfast

Among these Essential Habits to start your perfect day, your first meal is crucial. A good breakfast will give you energy and help keep you from crashing mid-morning. It’s also important to eat foods with low glycemic carbohydrates to provide sustained energy throughout the day. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are great for this! For instance, eggs with fruit or blueberries can help boost memory and counteract stress.

2. Emails come later

Don’t check your email right when you sit down at your desk. When you start your day in the chaos of your inbox, it’s easy to get distracted by reading, replying to emails, and organizing them all day long. This will steal precious time from creative thinking and planning—time that could be spent doing something more valuable than sorting through emails that aren’t urgent anyway.

If possible, set aside five to ten minutes when you get ready for work to check your email for any urgent items that need immediate attention or follow-up on—but after that? Shut it down! Your productivity will thank you later!

3. Develop small habits

We are the creation of our own habits. Your small habits are actions toward big results over time. Here are a few examples:

• Check your email at the same time every day (just after lunch and right before dinner are good options) so that your brain associates checking email with that time of day.

• Make sure it only takes 15 minutes—any longer than that and your brain will be too tired and distracted to focus on anything else.

• If something comes up that requires more than 15 minutes of attention, write down what needs to be done and schedule a time when you can come back to it later in the day (or week).

The best part is: Forming small habits takes little effort. They’re just simple habits that you do without thinking about them. Once they become second nature, these little habits will help you save hours every week! You can start by developing these 4 Powerful Mini-habits HERE.

4. Prioritize

It may sound simple, but it’s actually a lot more difficult than you think. You need to figure out what needs to get done, and then prioritize those tasks based on their importance, so that you can start with the most important ones and move down the list.

The easiest way to do this is by separating your tasks into different priority levels: urgent, important, and unimportant. Then take what you’ve got and put it in order of importance from top down.

This will help you avoid picking up small tasks that might not need as much attention as something else on your list. It will also keep you focused on the things that truly matter in order for them to get done quickly and efficiently!

5. Identify distraction

Taking an honest look at your habits and routines can help you identify what distracts you from getting things done. Maybe it’s checking social media during work hours, or maybe it’s spending too much time browsing the internet. The key is to figure out what’s causing these distractions so that you can create a plan for eliminating them from your daily routine.

Once you’ve identified what causes distractions, take a week to track how much time you spend on each task and where those tasks fall within your day. At the end of the week, set aside some time to evaluate how well this worked for you. Look for cause-and-effect trends: if I check my email first thing in the morning, does that increase my productivity for the rest of the day? Or does looking at my phone cause me to lose focus on what I’m doing?

6. The Pomodoro Technique

Experts have found that working in 90-minute intervals maximizes productivity. In fact, the human mind can only work for 90 to 120 minutes before it begs for a break. Using your prioritized to-do list, pick your most important task and focus on it solely for 90 minutes, then reward yourself with a break.

If repeating 90-minute work sessions isn’t the right fit for your work style, test out the Pomodoro Technique. Work on one task for 25 minutes, then take a five-minute break before returning back to work again. Repeat this process three more times, then take a 15-minute break!

7. Time-blocking

If you use a daily calendar like Google Calendar, set up time blocks at the start of your day for specific tasks. This ensures you know which tasks you’re prioritizing and when. Additionally, working remotely limits the visibility your manager(s) have into your work. By putting these working blocks on a shared calendar, they’ll be able to know what you’re working on – just be sure to deliver on those expectations if you’re asked about progress!

You can also try using a tool like Trello or Asana to organize your tasks and keep track of them throughout the day. You can set notifications so that when certain tasks are marked as done, it will notify you via email or text message so you don’t forget about it! Do not mulititask, and here is why.

Over to you

When you’re trying to get more done in a day, you’ll want to take things slow. It’s not something that happens overnight, but with a little reflection and foresight, you can certainly make a significant change in the way you work.

About the Author

Christine Cheung has received over 200 hours of life coach-specific training. Christine is known for inspiring, empowering, and supporting people in developing skills and strategies to get “unstuck” from their current situation so they can reach their desired outcome using the framework and techniques drawn from Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Habit Change theory, the Law of Attraction, and art therapy.

Aside from coaching, Christine Cheung is a public speaker, a group facilitator, and an online course instructor. She is also the creator of the Life Re-Design System.

Looking for a deeper conversation, book a FREE Discovery Call with her, or email christine.cheung@outlook.com

Follow her on Instagram or visit the website for more personal development tips.

If you like this article, share it! To make 2023 the BEST YEAR of your life, you may want to download “The Ultimate 12-Month Self-care Routine” E-book.  This E-book will show you how to build new self-care habits, one month at a time so you are not overwhelmed (because I know you are).