16 Tips to Be More Productive Today

hey everyone and welcome to top think today  we're going to learn about 16 tips to be more   productive today now let's begin number one the  productivity countdown imagine you walk up to   your desk and you find a stack of 50 documents  waiting for you to read or maybe you open your   email and find dozens of messages each one more  urgent than the last when you're staring down a   mountain of work what's the best way for you to  boost your productivity try using a Productivity   countdown just start with your max workload let's  say for example you're plugging away at those 50   documents every time you read one you count  yourself down by one that way each little bit   of progress pushes you one step closer towards  zero and the closer you get the more motivated   and productive you'll feel number two aiming for  the middle lazy people aren't the only ones who   struggle with productivity you have an amazing  work ethic yet you still have a hard time getting   anything done why is that well because you're  spending way too long on each individual project   you're trying to make everything you do turn out  perfect but that's not only impossible it's also   a gigantic waste of time so how much effort should  you put into your work how do you know when enough   is enough to gauge your stopping point think  about the minimum amount of work you could do to   finish that project now think about the absolute  maximum your goal should be to shoot somewhere in   the middle that way you're going above and beyond  without wasting too much of your energy on one job   number three the pre-lunch burst for most people  lunch is their favorite part of the workday it's   your chance to take a break decompress and get a  nice little boost of energy but few people realize   how big of a motivator lunch can be think about  that hour right before your lunch starts you might   spend a good chunk of that hour staring at the  clock hmm counting down the minutes until your   break but instead of letting the clock decide when  you eat why not base your lunch around your work   just tell yourself that you can go to lunch  only after you've reached a certain goal and   when this kind of reward is on the line your work  flow will jump into overdrive you'll work faster   and maximize your efficiency and by the time  that hours up you'll feel proud productive and   ready for your break number four find your peak  hours everyone has a certain window during the   day when they're the most productive for some  that's first thing in the morning you wake up   feeling energetic and ready to jump into your  work for others productivity feels more natural   in the afternoon or maybe you like the burst  of creativity that comes from working at night   whether you're an early bird or a night owl you  should reserve your hardest goals for your most   productive hours in other words don't waste your  energy or creativity on busy work save the boring   stuff for those moments when you're feeling lazy  and that way you can tackle the real challenges   when you're performing at your best number five  plan your time slots are you the kind of person   that constantly checks their email or maybe you  can't spend five minutes apart from your phone if   you are there's a good chance that your habits are  stopping your productivity in its tracks luckily   there's an easy solution instead of obsessing  about your emails and messages just create a   few time slots throughout the day where that's  all you do ya set aside all your other work and   focus solely on responding to emails answering  messages and returning phone calls as you get   in the habit of using time slots you'll find  yourself less and less worried about checking   your phone because you know you'll see it when  your next time slot rolls around number 6 live   an 80/20 lifestyle have you ever noticed that a  small percentage of your work yields the majority   of your profits in business this is called the  80/20 rule you can almost always expect 80% of   the effects to come from 20% of the causes okay  let's say for example you're trying to fix errors   in a computer program it's not worth your time  to tackle every single bug that people encounter   that would take way too long so instead you aim  for the top 20% because that will get rid of 80%   of the problems now if you want to increase your  productivity try to incorporate the 80/20 rule   into your lifestyle spend your time and energy on  a few very productive tasks rather than wasting   hours on something that won't earn you much of a  reward number 7 learn to delegate you just can't   do everything by yourself if your boss throws a  big project your way you can't do the research   design the prototype and make the presentation  all on your own not only would it take you way   longer but you'll end up feeling overwhelmed and  burnout to accelerate your productivity learn how   to delegate there's nothing wrong with admitting  you have too much on your plate it's almost always   a good idea to recruit a co-worker or even a  small team to help you out that way you can   spread the work get things done much faster and  even incorporate some new perspectives along the   way number 8 manage your team delegation is an  incredibly useful strategy but delegating work   doesn't automatically make you more productive  there are plenty of managers who delegate well and   then end up wasting even more their time that's  because they spend hours hovering over their team   members they check in on their progress every  5 seconds and they nitpick every move they make   delegating is supposed to save time but when you  hover you're just sabotaging your own productivity   so how should you manage your team in an effective  and productive way well try using some kind of   online collaboration tools these programs allow  you to quickly take stock of everyone's progress   without soaking up more of your valuable time  number 9 morning self-care do you cram as much   work as you can into your morning's if you do it  might be hurting your productivity when you start   your grind right after you wake up you're more  likely to feel lazy and burnt out in the middle   of the day so try to find a morning routine that  balances productivity and self-care remember that   you want to end your morning feeling motivated  not frustrated or exhausted number 10 creates   accountability most people work better when they  know someone's counting on them this is a big   problem for freelancers and people who own their  own businesses they struggle with productivity   because well no one's holding them to deadlines  or strict schedules so if this sounds like you   it's time to create some kind of accountability  find someone who's going to rely on you like a   client or even a close friend when someone  expects you to perform at your best you'll   find yourself being more productive than ever  number 11 shortcuts aren't productive cutting   corners isn't the same as being productive while  it's true that finding innovative solutions can   save you time you should never let the quality of  your work suffer because then you're just being   lazy shortcuts should never be an excuse to do  less work the goal of any shortcuts should be to   streamline your process or improve your efficiency  not to help you get out of work early number 12   under 60s your day is filled with small decisions  you pick out your clothes in the morning and you   decide what to eat for breakfast these trivial  decisions have very little impact on your day   yet you might waste tons of time making up your  mind so whenever you're facing a small decision   just give yourself one minute one minute that  sense of urgency will make you choose faster   and feel more satisfied with your decision so cut  yourself off at 60 seconds no more because that's   all the time you really need number 13 prune your  commitments sometimes your own generosity stands   in your way you'll want to help everyone and you  want to say yes to everything but you end up with   so much on your plate that you run out of time  to focus on yourself to give your productivity   a boost try to shave off at least one commitment  every week if you did 10 favors this week well   then do 9 the next and then eight and then  seven that way you can prioritize your own   responsibilities before handling someone else's  number 14 the sole decision maker you shouldn't   be making every single decision on your own it's  frustrating to hand the reins off to someone else   but it's stressful and unproductive to be the only  decision-maker but luckily you can relieve some of   that pressure by relying on your co-workers you'll  get a lot more work done if you can learn to trust   in their judgment number 15 cherish your downtime  downtime is an important part of being productive   even though you're not getting work done spending  time with your family keeps you mentally stable   it gives you an opportunity to recharge and  to gear up for another productive day no one   can be proactive and efficient all the time so  don't take your downtime for granted number 16   in don a high note when's the best time to  stop working most people try to drain their   brain before they leave for the day but the most  productive people in their day on a high note you   should stop working when you're feeling inspired  and full of ideas why well because it gives you   direction for tomorrow from the moment you come  into work you'll know exactly what to do next   instead of feeling hesitant or confused you can  jump right back into the action hey thank you   for watching top think and be sure to subscribe  because more incredible content is on the way

Channel: TopThink

Views: 412,678

Rating: 4.9131265 out of 5

Keywords: productivity tips, how to be more productive, how to be more productive at work, productivity hacks, productivity motivation, motivational video

Id: mkTKuQ873LI

Length: 10min 51sec (651 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 06 2020