5 Ways to Increase Productivity

If you've been following my blog for a while, you're probably well acquainted with my obsession with business/self-help books and articles. Today, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite tips that I've pulled from my readings. These are all things that I try to incorporate into my daily life and that have actually increased my productivity. In no particular order...

1. Set Everything Up the Night Before - This refers to any small, unimportant decision that you may need to make in the morning. Decision fatigue is real (read up on it, it's super interesting) so you're going to want to make all your tiny decisions the night before, so you're not doing it in the morning. Set out your clothes, already decide on what you're eating for the next day, and set yourself up for success. 
2. Do Your Important Things First - This is partially because of decision fatigue (if you make your big decisions first, you're more likely to make better decisions), but also because it feels good to get the big things done with before lunchtime! In my personal life, I also know that if I don't do big things first thing in the morning, I am way more likely to put it off until late at night or the next day.
3. Set a Day to Get Organized - For me, I like to take half an hour on Sundays to look at my schedule for next week and all the due dates and events I have and write it down. It keeps me organized for the week and helps me figure out the best way to manage my time. I also know other people that do best when they take 10 minutes a day to plan the next day. As long as you take some time (either daily or weekly) to plan, organize, and evaluate your week, you're setting yourself up for success. 
4. Don't Snooze - When you hit the snooze button on your phone, the extra 10 minutes of sleep that you get can actually make you feel more tired in the long term. You've already disrupted your sleep cycle, so the amount of time spent snoozing is time that could be spent doing other things. I'm not saying to sleep less, because I am a huge proponent in getting 8 hours of sleep a night, but once your alarm goes off, get up and start your day!
5. Don't Multi-task - Multitasking is almost never productive. Science has shown that when you multi-task you do both tasks worse than if you had done one and then the other. It is so much better to focus on one thing, then move on to another once it's done than to do both things simultaneously, but halfway. 

Let me know in the comments if you have any productivity tips that have changed your life! Also, make sure you follow this blog on Bloglovin so you don't miss any new posts!

-Sienna