5 Productivity Hacks to Make You More Efficient at Work
This was a tip I got from a life coach and it is really good (especially for those of us that make our own schedules). Maker tasks are the creative tasks where you are generating ideas and making things. If you're a content creator, this would be posting on social media, writing blog posts, or brainstorming new campaigns. For me as a scientist, I am a maker when I am at my bench doing experiments or writing. Manager tasks are more of the administrative side including responding to emails, meetings, and doing orders. Switching between maker and manager tasks is draining for the brain and prevents us from achieving a flow in either one. Instead, by setting aside time to be a maker or be a manager and only doing those tasks, we let ourselves stay fully in it and can get more done.
2) Switch your phone to "work" do not disturb
If you have an iPhone, in settings you can set up different types of do not disturb. This regulates the types of notifications you get and the people whose calls and texts are allowed to come through when your phone is in that mode. It took all of two minutes to set up and has been a game changer. It removes the urgency of responding to non-urgent texts and emails since I don't get the notifications and has made it easier for me to get off of my phone during work hours.
3) Pomodoro method
This is the tomato timer method used by a lot of really successful people. I think Lauryn Evarts from The Skinny Confidential was the first one that introduced me to it. With this method, there is a set time for work with a set time for a break. I think traditionally it is 25 minutes work, 5 minutes off, but instead I prefer 50 minutes work, 10 minutes off. I find this really helpful when I am doing a lot of writing or have a task that feels daunting because I can tell myself I will only work on it for 50 minutes, which is far more managable.
4) Figure out your chronotype
Chronotypes are the behavioral manifestation of your natural circadian rhythm. There are four: bears, wolves, lions, and dolphins. Knowing my chronotype has allowed me to optimize my schedule. The world is made for bears, who comprise the majority of the population and thrive on a 9-5. I found out that I was a lion and am most productive in the morning. Knowing this has allowed me to schedule my more mentally taxing activities earlier in the day and put things that I can do with less mental effort at the end of the day. This looks like meetings being earlier, writing earlier, and doing experiments and answering emails in the afternoon. You can learn more about chronotypes in the book The Power of When and you can take this quiz to find out which one you are!
5) Take time off
I get into times where I am super overwhelmed and want to overwork myself and do 12 hour days or work all 7 days of the week. This is the easiest way for me to burn myself out and I've gotten to the point where even if I am in flow and am really motivated and excited about my work I'll cap myself at 10 hours and will force myself to take at least one weekend day fully off of work.
I hope that these tips are helpful for you. Implementing them into my life has helped me be less stressed, more productive, and achieve a better work life balance. Let me know in the comments what your work tips are and also let me know what chronotype you align with.
P.S. Have you checked out these posts?
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