Our life consists of little pieces. Short interactions, phone notifications, little by little we go on in our daily chores and often try to do everything at once.
For years I was proud of juggling tasks like a pro. Until I realized: our brains are not built for multitasking. As much as we wish to do everything all at once that is just not how nature shaped the processors in our heads.
Serialize.
Stop parallelizing. Concentrate on one task and stick to it. It takes just a second to distract yourself, yet requires over 20 minutes to regain focus on a task.
There is a method used to pace learning phases called the pomodoro technique. If you are using this method it might be a good idea to increase the duration of each pomodoro. But this depends on the type of tasks you are doing, find out how much time it takes you to continue an interrupted task. For programming that will be very high, for reading a novel it should be easier.
Concentrate.
Reduce your distractions. The phase of concentration is when your brain performs best. When you dedicate your time to one subject your brain pulls all the necessary information related to it in temporary memory for easy and quick access. Even small distractions reduce the availability of this memory or might even flush it if you switch the object of concentration, for example by replying to a message on your phone. Avoid these obstacles and turn off phone notifications, put a do not disturb sign on your door, close all those programs unrelated to the task at hand. Even a blinking light can make you lose your concentration.
Plan.
Keeping a calendar can be beneficial to hold goals for the day and not worry about keeping track of them in your head. It also allows you to stop worrying about forgetting something and concentrate on the important – the task at hand.
I keep my tasks in Wunderlist and my main schedule in the Google Calendar.
Prioritize.
Setting priority to tasks is essential. But sometimes we set our priorities wrong. A tasks priority should be defined not only by the urgency but also its length and how much it bothers you or reminds you about itself – and, consequently, distracting you.
When you plan your day set your simple/quick tasks to the top of the list. This way you will quickly get through a bunch of them. This is good for 2 reasons:
- clears most of the bloated list and leaves just a few bigger items left for the day
- provides a sense of accomplishment and motivation to continue
There are some tasks, though, that are not quick to solve, but are distracting and annoying, like “cleaning your desk”. Tasks like this one will impede productivity as a whole and should be dealt with as soon as possible.
Leave the room.
Plan your days to be fulfilling. Your life should not feel like a rush from one point to another. Allow yourself to relax and prepare mentally for the next task. If you plan your day too tight you will inevitably start being late, as we cannot predict every possible distraction that comes our way and sometimes we just forget about some tasks. To avoid re-planning and frustration about missed deadlines do your future self a favor and plan the day to realistically accomplish everything without a rush. It’s a great feeling to check off everything on the agenda and still have some time left in the day.
Plan ahead.
Plan tomorrow today. Waking up and knowing what to do without the hassle of preparing the agenda is a liberating feeling. If you do not do it you will rush to fill out the agenda and soon notice that you are already late. This is how stress begins and can lead to giving up.
Don’t be afraid to do nothing. Doing nothing seems like a waste of time, so we plan every minute of our day. Allow yourself to finish everything and allow your brain to cool down. It opens some processing power to explore your memory for hidden or unnoticed. Once its done why not take that book that has been lying on your shelf for many months?
Sleep.
Sleep should absolutely be the most important task in your day. Know your body and find out how much sleep you feel most comfortable with. Don’t undercut your sleep, but also don’t sleep too much. Both can lead to decreased productivity, sleepiness etc.
Remember: your cannot sleep ahead and you cannot catch up on lost sleep my sleeping more the next days. Keeping a strict sleeping schedule will allow you to fall asleep more easily, improve your deep sleep and gain more energy for the next day.
Embrace the routine, yet allow for planned deviation. Doing the chores day-to-day will start to feel a bit monotonous and you might feel the urge to abandon the goals. Allow yourself to be spontaneous, leave a period of time without a plan. And just have fun!
What are your productivity tricks? Share them in the comments. Have you tried a certain sleeping schedule that you found works best?
Further reading on: creativeoverflow
Dude, that’s really helpful advice you got there! Keep up the good work 🙂
Love it, and completely agree.
Except besides time, I use something more valuable as a measurement — life. So, that includes time, of course, because we will all expire one day… but there are feelings mixed into it. Is something urgent? Why is it urgent? Do I care more about answer my mom’s text messages rather than another work email?
For me, priorities are dictated by my happiness. So that means…. yes, I need to pay the bills, but I’m constantly aware of the fact that the seconds continue their onward march toward the day we fall apart* and what truly dictates this present day is the second law of thermodynamics…. entropy. That everything is in a constant state of decay.
Now, I celebrate that decay. I know it, because it means transformation. It means that unnecessary burdens are removed. The people I love and have a connection with — they remain in my life, even after months of no contact.
Before I get too philosophical here, I’ll bring it back to modern society’s reality: Time Is Money. I hate that maxim, but it does give some shape towards knowing what a person wants in their precious little time on earth. I’ve been a freelancer for over a year, and it’s wonderful. I’ve had to confront the harsh reality of putting a price on my time: On my various skills, on my ideas, on my soft skills (like charm, inference, pleasant attitude, etc.) on my hard work… I’ve had to put a price on almost everything.
But… if you cannot translate the value of something, do you really know what it’s worth?
Think about the price of a life….. no, not like the days of the slave trade, but the price of your life when you go to work for someone else to ‘earn a living’ and pay for things you need to survive. Think about the price you pay when you do things for free and learn lessons in return. Think about the exchange that takes place when you sacrifice so much just to live…. .be it through chemotherapy or fasting or self-exploration or … even darker experiences.
I think that if you cannot translate something, you don’t know what it’s worth — that you don’t know what it is. Value is intrinsic, just like time.
*That’s from a song I wrote, but it’s not on my blog 🙂 Yet
PS) Glad to ramble on about this topic more over coffee if you’d like…. I’ll stop it here for now.