How To Stay Productive During Lockdown: 5 Easy Tips

Hello All,

We should now be approaching the last phases of lock down here in England, considering the risk of a second spike. Lock down has presented its own challenges for all different walks of life, productivity being one major one. A question I have been asked often, is how to keep busy, but in a positive way. A few of my colleagues have started writing books, but never finished the 2nd chapter. They have begun courses that end at the sign up phase and just in general pretend to be productive, when nothing of value is actually happening. We all have 'them days', but with that said, here are 5 quick tips to help you be more productive.

Set A Timer

One of the best ways to actually get work done rather than staring at your screen for hours on end, is to set a timer on your phone and be disciplined. Select your activity and then put your phone on a timer. Begin with a smaller time, but make sure to increase your work intensity. Follow that timer religiously; as soon as it is finished, that is it. Either move on to the next task or have a break. If you do this in shorter bursts, you will find that your work rate sky rockets because your focus is demanded for that specific time. 1 hour is a great time to start with.

Work Specific Hours

Do not just get up, then try and be productive for the entire day. During lock down there are so many distractions...David Attenborough is constantly on TV, food is always being eaten and phones are being used at increased rates. My personal distraction, is boiling the kettle and having a cuppa every time I even get close to a break. Treat your productivity at home like work and set yourself work hours. This can be the typical 9-5. For me 6 - 2 is working great. But at the start, I began with 8-12. Which leads me onto my next point.

Start Small

The mistake I believe most people are making, is that they are expecting to go from 0 to 100. This has been causing some stress amongst people that have messaged me for advice on the subject. People are pretending to work all day long on various courses, housing tasks and writing, then judging themselves too harshly on the product at the end. Begin small, start with 30 minute timers between 9-12. If that works for you, and you are satisfied, perfect. If not, alter each part accordingly until you find your optimal performance range.

Set A Reward

In order to be motivated and stay motivated, you need a goal, a cause, some higher aspiration that will pull you through the tougher times. In normal work life, the motivation can be mastery, money or travel plans, mortgages or cars etc. During lock down its a little harder. Make sure you are rewarding yourself for the work you are continuing to do. This can be a small as a snicker bar at the end of your self assigned shift each day, or a future goal of becoming certified in 2 months in a new subject. Reward yourselves with takeaway, fizzy drinks, maybe there is a suit you have been looking at or a new book? Set a reward and most importantly... Earn it!

Be Measurable

I have a very data driven approach to life in all areas. I like to know where I have been, so that in the future, I can see my progress...Or lack of. The same should be used in lock down. Understand how many hours you have done this past week. How many words did you write? How much wall did you paint? Measure everything that you are doing in a way that you can compare later on with these new found tips. You will see an improvement if you utilise them...I guarantee it!

These have been just some simple tips to help you during these strange times. It is a small bite size article due to the nature of the subject, but if you have any questions, as always, give me a message.

Kind Regards,

Harry