How to become more productive

Most of us want to become more productive, but finding the right method – one that actually works – can be a challenging task. We all know we need to be more productive, but knowing where to start in order to achieve this can be extremely daunting for a lot of us – although this didn’t put Chris Bailey off. After graduating from college, he dedicated a whole year to a series of productivity experiments to find the best techniques that work, in terms of increased productivity levels and less time spent being distracted by other things. If you want to know how to be productive, you just need to follow Chris’s year-long productive routine which includes everything from taking a daily siesta, to the more extreme measure of living in total isolation for 10 days. Over 30 of Chris’ tried and tested practices resulted in him having high productivity levels and by reading his book and following his advice, you too can achieve your goals. After all, who doesn’t want to become more awesome?! Read on for some of Chris’ helpful tips….

Set yourself goals

Reward yourself when you’ve managed to achieve these until you can stick to them every day of the week. The goals can include:

– Get up a few hours earlier or head to bed later so you can fit more into your day

– Switch off your mobile phone and other electrical devices during certain points of the day so you’re free from distraction

– Stop drinking caffeine in the evening, so you’re less wired and able to wind down naturally

Remember why you’re doing this

Becoming more productive and making changes to your life doesn’t happen over night. You need to be efficient in what you want to achieve, take control, be strict with yourself, whilst at the same time allowing yourself some freedom, learn from it and stay organised.

Study what you’re doing

i) Measure. Ask yourself whether you got done what you intended to for the day. Again, set yourself goals at the beginning of each day – even write a list if it helps you to have something visual, crossing off each task as you complete it. Whether it’s to complete a report at work or visit the family, if you’ve done it then you’ve been productive.

ii) Time. Observe how well you’ve used your time to get what you needed done that day. How many words did you write or e-mails did you answer, compared with how much you procrastinated.

iii) Attention. Make a note on what you’ve focused on, how well you did it and how easily you were distracted. That way you’ll know for next time what to get rid of to help you become more proactive.

iv) Energy. Look at how much drive, motivation and overall energy you have for the tasks in hand and see where they fluctuate.