Top 5 Clever Productivity Methods that Actually Get Results
Prerna Aggarwal
LinkedIn Top 3% - Workforce Management (WFM) Voice | Business Process Automation Expert
The average worker spends only a third of their day working. The rest is a waste of time on distractions, disruptions, and unproductive activities that sap energy and reduce focus. In fact,?according to web site CNN Money, the average full-time American worker loses 28 days of productivity each year because of distractions.
Many people have a hard time being productive—they get distracted, wander off course, and waste a vast amount of time. In the typical office environment, things happen that make it challenging to stay on task: distractions by co-workers or management, meetings that go on too long, phone calls from friends who waste half an hour with social chit chat, queries from vendors that you know can be handled by someone else.
This article presents ten clever tricks to boost your productivity and get more done in less time. These tips are simple to implement, don’t require any special training, and won’t make you work like a robot (in fact, some of these strategies will help keep you human and feeling enthusiastic about your job).
?Top 10 Clever Productivity Methods
1. The Eisenhower Principle
The Eisenhower Principle is a productivity method with several names, including “eat the frog.” It’s about frontloading vital activities and concentrating on what’s essential rather than urgent.
Many of us tend to prioritize the jobs with the nearest deadlines, even if they don’t move us closer to our objectives, since we may feel as though we’re neglecting other important tasks. The Eisenhower Principle encourages us to concentrate on the essential work rather than deadlines, suggesting that we pick 1-3 crucial activities and then spend time on them instead of worrying about the deadlines.
It’s not that deadlines are unimportant–if you don’t meet a deadline, then the project may be delayed, which can have a negative impact on your career.
However, if you’re going to be late on a project due to deadline pressure, it’s much better than being late because you spent too much time on something that wasn’t as important.
2. The two-minute rule
??The idea behind the two-minute rule comes from David Allen’s book Getting Things Done, in which he argues that if we have anything on our to-do list that will take two minutes or less, we should get it done right now.
This approach aims to beat procrastination by getting things done right away — so respond to an email now if it will take two minutes.
This will make you feel accomplished, increasing your motivation and providing momentum. It also aids in the clearing of our thoughts and the prevention of anxiety over all those minor duties we have yet to complete.
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3. Time Blocking
Limiting time blocking is a productivity method that breaks down your daily routine into the set, time-controlled chunks such as 10 minutes for email, 60 minutes to work on a paper, and 20 minutes to plan a new project. Parkinson’s Law holds that when we allot more time to an activity, it generally grows in size until it fills up all of that time. You can use Parkinson’s Law to your advantage by limiting the time you have to work on a project, forcing you to prioritize what’s important and remove unnecessary tasks.
Instead of allowing a job to stretch out into a borderless schedule, time blocking confines the time we have available. Enclosing each time block in a tight timeframe may increase competitiveness and help us stay focused and result-driven.
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Time blocking protects time for each and maintains all activities accountable, allowing you to become more intentional in how you spend your time. You can also set time limits on low-value daily activities like Slack, email, and administration, especially useful.
4. Deep work
The term “long-term concentration” might be somewhat of a misnomer. Long-term concentration means working in a state of intense attention for long periods of time. It’s essentially a technique for entering flow states, allowing you to stay present and pay attention to every aspect of what you’re doing; as a result, it lets you push yourself to keep going for much longer than you would be able to otherwise.
A big portion of it has to do with getting rid of distractions and “low-value tasks.” However, deep work also entails learning to concentrate for longer – scheduling 90-minute sessions with one measurable goal and gradually increasing the duration and frequency of those sessions. It’s called the world’s most incredible job skill for a reason, and it’s challenging to master.
The idea of deep work isn’t new, but the business world is only beginning to embrace it. For people who are deep workers, their mind is focused on a single task for sometimes several hours at a time. This type of mental labor becomes increasingly important as technology advances, and companies rely on their employees to juggle an ever-increasing number of responsibilities.
5. The Rule of three
The Rule of Three is valuable for overbearing individuals or those who create to-do lists that they never manage to finish. It’s about concentrating on the essential aspects and achieving a meaningful consequence for your day.
Simply writing down three things you want to accomplish every day is all it takes. They should not be chores; they should be outcomes, such as “submit an expense report.”
You’re refocusing your attention on what’s most essential and important, especially during those early hours of the day when it might be particularly difficult to focus. You’ll be more likely to achieve your goals if you start each day with three meaningful intentions.
Closing Thoughts
If you have been looking for ways to improve your?productivity process, we have provided ten clever methods that can help. We hope these tips give you a fresh perspective on how to get more done in less time and make it easier than ever before!
It’s never too late to start getting more done in less time! Which one of these clever ways do you need the most? The first step is always admitting a problem and deciding what needs fixing.
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Is there any?best productivity system?that can?calculate work hours? Is there any?productivity tracking software? for remote employee monitoring? Yes
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Thanks for reading!!