Do you have a really long to do list? Are you overwhelmed with everything you have to do? Here are some tips for you to be more productive!
- Set the stage – Have a morning routine. Do two to four activities that you can do daily to make you feel good. Maybe it’s going for a walk in nature, listening to motivational talks while driving to work or listening to music! This should get your creative juices flowing.
- Make a list – List out everything that you have to do. Set aside 10 minutes and just write down everything that needs to be done – without editing.
- Segregate – Make two columns: “Fun Activities” and “Other Activities”. Pull out the activities from your list and put them in both of these columns.
- Where do you begin? Start with something that is most fun for you. It doesn’t really matter if it is low priority. Just do something that is fun for you. This will get your creative juices flowing and will add joy and verve to whatever you do.
- Now go through the rest of the list. Ask, what is the most important thing I need to do today? Take that one thing and do it. Repeat this process for the rest of the tasks.
- Take short breaks – Do the tasks one at a time. Once you start feeling fatigued, stop. A short break will refresh you.
- Are you distracted? What are you doing that is neither on your fun list nor on your other activity list? Catch yourself in your distractions and choose to do something different.
- Do something creative – Interspersing your day with activities that are fun and creative for you gets you doing much more.
- Procrastination – As you go through your list, you may find that there are some things that you just don’t want to do. Trying to force something will just not work. Sometimes you just have to wait for the right time to do some tasks.
- Confusion – Confusion always comes from lack of information. What information do I need? Where can I get it? Who can I talk to? Keep asking till you get all the information you require.
- What is missing? – Sometimes you are missing an important task that is key at that point of time. Putting your attention here will allow you to catch it from slipping through the cracks.
- What else can you add here that you have not even considered? Something that is missing will stop you in your tracks. Something that you can add is like the icing on the cake. It is an upgrade; and it will enhance and make your project shine.
By Nilofer Safdar
