10 Ways to Maximize your Productivity: Getting More out of Each Day

We all want to be more efficient, right? Time is limited and if we could achieve and check off our “to do’s” with laser focus, we’d feel great. We’d be able to take that momentum forward toward more achievements where justified and most importantly, we’d be able to fully allocate time toward things that make us feel wonderfully fulfilled, like family, friends, yoga, baking, playing, exploring. We could go on, and on!

Turn off Instagram when you are working. Seriously, log out. Put the phone away. Get rid of it. It can be very addicting, and before you know it, you’ve switched back and forth between tasks so much that something that should have taken you 20 minutes has taken an hour and a half.

Get your most challenging tasks done early or first. If you don’t, they just weigh you down and sit there in the back of your mind all day. Get them done when you are fresh, motivated and driven, and you’ll be sure to feel great about what you have achieved. Then you can move on to some of the smaller things.’

Write your to do list down on a piece of paper and actually strike off what’s been done. The fun thing about this is that the more see you’ve achieved, the better you feel. The better you feel, the most positivity you bring to your work. It’s a snowball of achievement!

Create an inviting environment. Whether you are in an office, or at home, create an environment to work that feels good. Turn on some soothing sounds, light a candle, put out some fresh flowers. Positive minds simply work better, and you don’t need to punish yourself to be productive.

Try not to switch tasks. The term “multi-tasking,” unless we’re talking about a great Pilates move, is a misnomer. The brain doesn’t truly multitask. Rather, it switches back and forth very quickly. The more we switch, the more we waist time. It’s best to do one task completely, then move on when it comes to work that requires mental focus. But, can we throw in a load of laundry and then go outside to do some weeding the garden, yes, and yes!

Turn off email notifications when you are creating. When your work requires focus, then those email notifications can be detrimental to your productivity. Each time your eyes creep up to view an email that’s just come in, you’ve completely lost flow, and now have the urge to follow up on that email, or you’ve forgotten where you were in your work. Just turn it off, and then set aside time to answer emails in a block.

Be careful about working during relaxation time. Say you are hanging out with family or friends casually. Some of you are on your phones, some are catching up on work. You talk from time to time, then someone turns on the TV, makes a snack, chit chat starts… It’s not a great environment for productivity because you’re not paying attention to your family and friends, nor are you doing your best work. Our advice, spend time with them fully, or work fully. Never put half time into relationships or your work.

Know when to really take a break. The weekend is a weekend for a reason. Has anyone seen that episode of “Emily in Paris” where she can’t get anyone from work to do anything because it’s the weekend? While it may be a bit extreme for entertainment’s sake, and yes, it was pretty funny… Taking a weekend “off – off” can actually really help you to feel refreshed and ready to conquer the world come Monday.

Make sure your daily tasks actually align with your goals. Say your goal is to live in a beautiful, clean, well kept home – what tasks are on your list on a daily basis that allow you to live out that goal? That applies to so many things from work, to health, to fitness.

 Positivity and productivity are linked. Get your good attitude going. Muster your best energy. Remind yourself that you are doing great work and moving forward. When you fill your mind with the good things, you beget more productivity. If there’s something you know you have to do, why wouldn’t you choose to do it happily. Take pride in your work, pride in yourself, and dedicate yourself fully to any task at hand. You’re worth it!