It’s easy to turn a 15-minute task into an hour-long task when you are surrounded by distractions. Being sucked into social media quicksand or down a Googling vortex isn’t something new. This phenomenon happens to the best of us and sometimes hits us when we least expect it (or, when we have a deadline).

In a world full of distractions, it can be hard to be productive. Well, we only have one life to live and it’s best to figure out how to maximize your productivity so that you can live life to its fullest.

We’ve compiled the following five ways that you can boost your productivity:

Turn Off Phone Notifications

Think back to a time where you were deep in thought and concentration only to be disrupted by a symphony of dings and bings. This is probably something that isn’t hard to recall. It’s hard not to acknowledge the phone or computer notifications because it may be your boss, client or even an emergency.

Maybe you just made a post to social media and people are beginning to interact with it? Maybe you are itching to see what the results of your epic post are?

A way to avoid this disturbance is simple: turn off your phone notifications. In addition, you can even put your phone on silent and leave it in a bag, pocket or face down. Try this out and see how much faster your next task gets fulfilled.

Eat That Frog

Brian Tracy, a Canadian-American motivational speaker and personal development author, wrote a book about how to stop procrastination called ‘Eat That Frog!’ The message in this book is that you should always tackle the most important and hardest item on your to-do list, first thing/every morning.

This technique suggests that it’s lucrative to plan every day in advance and to ensure that you eat that frog first thing. This method educates that during the morning is when people are most productive, which means you are putting your best energy towards the most important task of the day.

Embrace Delegation

A not-so-secret secret to being productive is to widdle down your to-do list by passing off tasks to others. You may think that no one can perform the tasks that you need to accomplish as well as you but there’s a good chance that you are incorrect. In fact, this is also a great opportunity for you to train others on how you like certain tasks performed.

If you are flying solo at work and have no one to delegate to, you can always outsource certain tasks for a fairly affordable rate. Take a look at companies like Fiverr and Upwork to get an idea about what tasks you can outsource and how much that will cost you.

Take a Vacation

You can’t pour from an empty cup, right? It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and burnt out and a way to help recharge your battery is by taking time off. Yes, this may seem counterintuitive but we know, from experience, how valuable a vacation can be. Don’t let the word “vacation” scare you. This can be as simple as staying home for a staycation and turning off your phone and computer for a few days.

In addition, you can go for a quick weekend getaway, explore a new part of the world or check yourself into an all-inclusive resort somewhere where the sun is warm and the drinks are quenching. The possibilities are endless and the goal of your vacation is to take a timeout from work. The long and short of it is that humans are more productive when they are rested. So, what are you waiting for?

Chunk Yours Tasks

Although the term “chunking” sounds like a word that you may find in a cookie recipe, it actually has a pretty cool meaning when it comes to productivity. Chunking is when you group together similar tasks on your list so when implementing these tasks, you can be more efficient.

If you have a few meetings coming up, try scheduling them back to back. If you have a lot of emailing to do, try to organize a few time slots a day that are dedicated to checking and responding to emails. If you need to spend time making phone calls, plan those calls to happen sequentially. Being able to accomplish tasks/ to-do list items at the same time, that are all of a similar nature, will help increase your productivity.

There are many other hacks that you can implement to increase productivity and there are even various apps, books and programs that will help you do just that. Remember that every little action that you take is a step in the right direction towards being more productive. You can start small and add something new each week.

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Do you have any productivity tips that you believe to be successful? What has worked for you?

Filed in // Productivity