How I increased my Productivity this week!
I’ve had the most productive week ever since lockdown happened! I filmed four YouTube videos, edited three, created content for Instagram and managed to get A LOT of other work done too.
There were a few things I did differently this week that helped me be more productive, so as a self proclaimed expert on productivity (just kidding, I’m really not :P), I thought I’d share my top 5 tips on being more productive:
1. Use the 80/20 Principle
If you’ve studied Economics like I have, you’ve probably heard this before but the 80/20 Principle (aka the Pareto Principle) essentially states that in any pursuit, 80% of the results come from 20% of the efforts. So to maximise your output, it’s important to identify the most important 20% work that you can do, which will bring you the most results. With the 80/20 rule, you can make sure that the way you’re spending your time, energy and resources is delivering the highest return on your investment.
2. Task-batching
This is a simple technique where you batch together the same tasks and complete them one after the other. This seems like such an easy and simple thing to do but you’d be surprised how effective this is. This week, I tried to batch things like filming videos one after the other, then taking a day to edit multiple videos. When you keep switching up the tasks you’re doing, it’s easy to lose momentum and be unproductive. So try to schedule different time slots within a day and batch work which are similar in nature to maximise efficiency.
3. Focus on the most important/difficult tasks first
Often times, there are certain tasks on my to-do list which don’t necessarily take too much time but they’re difficult or uncomfortable and I avoid doing them all day long and it keeps running on the back of my mind. And I can’t help but wonder how subconsciously thinking about it all day long affects my productivity with the other tasks through the day. So lately, I’ve started doing the most uncomfortable tasks at the start of the day so I feel more accomplished and spend the rest of my day relatively tension-free. This is a simple tip but it’s so effective!
4. Limit distractions
I’m probably the most distracted person I know and as much as I tell myself I won’t look at my phone while working, I always find myself scrolling through Instagram every fifteen to twenty minutes. So the system I’ve come up with is to make distractions hard to access. So now, when I try to work, I keep my phone away in another room in order to create some friction between me and my distractions. Similarly, when I’m editing, I turn off the WiFi on my laptop and somehow doing that stops me from randomly taking a break to watch YouTube videos in the middle of work.
5. Take breaks
It may sound counterintuitive but taking breaks makes you more productive. It’s impossible to focus on work for hours at a stretch no matter how efficient you are, which is why it’s super important to schedule breaks through the day. Even breaks that are just a few minutes long can help you recharge and get back to work with way more energy. So try to schedule breaks regularly (try reading about the Pomodoro technique - it talks about working for 25 minutes and taking a break for 5 minutes, and is proven to be effective).
If you’ve been struggling with productivity lately, I hope these tips help you out! Have a productive week! :)