How to Hack Productivity in 2024

How to Hack Productivity in 2024

By Emma Miller

?

How we utilize our 24 hours in a day defines our productivity. Planning and prioritizing tasks can make a day productive. Allocating time for work, rest, and recreation ensures a balanced and efficient use of the hours. Productivity stems from mindful decision-making in managing time effectively.?

To help us all out with productivity, I’ve done some research on different models and strategies to share among us. We are all different, so it makes sense that we each need different techniques and tips to “hack” our own personal productivity style.?

a)??????????? WOOP Model

To begin the WOOP goal-setting process, determine each of the following areas:

• Wish?- A meaningful, challenging, and feasible wish or goal
• Outcome?- The best result or feeling from accomplishing your wish
• Obstacle?- Something inside of you that prevents you from accomplishing your wish
• Plan?- If [obstacle], then I will [outline action steps]

b)?????????? Kanban Model

Kanban?is a?lean method?to manage and improve work across human?systems. This approach aims to manage work by balancing demands with available capacity, and by improving the handling of system-level?bottlenecks.

Work items are visualized to give participants a view of progress and process, from start to finish—usually via a?kanban board. Work is?pulled?as capacity permits, rather than work being pushed into the process when requested.

c)??????????? Eisenhower Matrix

Try the Eisenhower Matrix if you...

• Find yourself running around putting out fires all day (figuratively speaking)
• Are busy but don’t feel like your work has a high impact
• Have long-term goals but no time or energy to make progress on them
• Have a hard time delegating and/or saying no

d)?????????? 3-3-3 Method

What distinguishes this method from other productivity hacks are those first three hours of deep work. Jumping into the first means you’ll be fresh, focused, and more likely to be able to jump into a task without getting distracted. Keep those three hours free of emails, texts, chit-chat, or other menial duties, to the best of your ability.

Deep work yields major productivity, so you’ll get a lot accomplished if you commit to it, but you can’t stay in that mindset forever. You’ll top out after about three hours, so it’s best to have those three other, smaller tasks lined up and ready to go so you can stay productive even while downshifting into less demanding responsibilities.

Finally, your maintenance tasks give you a chance to get things done while giving your brain a rest. This technique is like “eating the frog”—or doing your hardest task first thing—as you’ll feel the same sense of relief when moving on to lesser tasks. Use your maintenance time to prepare for the following day’s work or put the finishing touches on whatever you were working on during those three hours of intense focus.

e)??????????? S.M.A.R.T. Goals

SMART is an effective tool that provides the clarity, focus and motivation you need to achieve your goals. It can also improve your ability to reach them by encouraging you to define your objectives and set a completion date. SMART goals are also easy to use by anyone, anywhere, without the need for specialist tools or training.

Various interpretations of SMART have meant that it can lose its effectiveness or be misunderstood. Some people believe that SMART doesn't work well for long-term goals because it lacks flexibility, while others suggest that it might stifle creativity.

f)??????????? Pareto Principal

The Pareto Principle helps you realize that most results come from a minority of inputs.

Knowing this, if…

• 20% of workers contribute 80% of results: Focus on rewarding these employees.
• 20% of bugs contribute to 80% of crashes: Focus on fixing these bugs first.
• 20% of customers contribute 80% of revenue: Focus on satisfying these customers.

The examples go on. The point is to realize that you can often focus your effort on the 20% that makes a difference, instead of the 80% that doesn’t add much.

?In economic terms, there is?diminishing marginal benefit. This is related to the law of diminishing returns: each additional hour of effort, each extra worker is adding less “oomph” to the result. By the end, you are spending lots of time on the minor details.

g)?????????? Seinfeld Strategy

The Seinfeld Strategy works because it helps to take the focus off of each performance and puts the emphasis on the process instead.

It’s not about how you feel, how inspired you are, or how brilliant your work is that day. Instead, it’s just about “not breaking the chain.” All you must do to apply this strategy to your own life is pick up a calendar and start your chain.

?There is one caveat with the Seinfeld Strategy. You need to pick a task that is meaningful enough to make a difference, but simple enough that you can get it done.

h)?????????? Eat The Frog

Eat The Frog is perfect for anyone who:

• Struggles with procrastination
• Gets a lot done but isn’t making progress on the important stuff
• Has a hard time sticking to a productivity system
• Has trouble deciding what to work on at any given time
• Feels overwhelmed by their to-do list

Eat The Frog is a simple method anyone can fall back on at any time with very little time or mental resources required. And it’s almost universally applicable. No matter your job, goals, or circumstances, we all must contend with our limited time and energy. Eat The Frog is a simple yet effective way to ensure that you’re making progress on something meaningful every day.

i)???????????? Timeboxing

In agile principles, timeboxing allocates a maximum unit of time to an activity, called a timebox, within which a planned activity takes place. It is used by agile principles-based project management approaches and for personal time management.

Timeboxing simply means that you?open your calendar and enter a block of time that you'll spend on a certain task in the future. Instead of working on the task until it's done, you proactively decide how much time you'll spend on it and when (and even where).

j)???????????? Theory of Constraints

The?theory of constraints?(TOC) views your business as a system with constraints holding you back from reaching peak performance. By identifying and addressing these constraints, you can streamline operations and maximize productivity.

Benefits of TOC

• Increased Efficiency: By focusing on the critical constraints, you can optimize processes and eliminate bottlenecks.
• Enhanced Decision-Making: TOC provides a clear framework for making strategic decisions that align with your business goals.
• Improved Profitability: Unlock hidden opportunities for growth and profitability by leveraging TOC principles.

But Goldratt cautions practitioners about becoming complacent. TOC is an ongoing process, and the inertia that can build up after a change occurs can actually prevent?continuous improvement.

Whichever of these "speaks" to you, implementing productivity hacks can help streamline your workflow, manage your time effectively, and achieve a better work-life balance. By incorporating these strategies into your daily routine, you can increase productivity levels, reduce stress, and ultimately reach your goals more efficiently.