With so many distractions at work, it can be difficult to maintain consistent productivity. You may feel motivated at first, but a text, a glance through TikTok, or a funny meme from a colleague can distract you. Before you know it, lunchtime has passed, and you’ve done nothing.
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Fortunately, we’ve got the ultimate hacks you need to prevent these distractions by increasing your productivity below. Check them out.
Plan Your Day Ahead
To maintain overall productivity, you need to schedule your daily activities in detail, including what needs to be done, when it is to be done, and how long it will take to be done.
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You can use a productivity planner to help you structure your day by creating a to-do list and then figuring out how to tackle it. This will go a long way in guiding you through your day.
List your Top Three Tasks for the Day
It can happen to the best of us—an instance where you prepare to get ten things done in a day, but only finish six by the time 5 pm comes around. Crazy, isn’t it? However, you can prioritize three main tasks or goals you have for the day to prevent you from working late.
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This also helps you boost productivity, keeping you focused on important tasks while still fresh.
Take Short Work Breaks
It’s typical to get tired and lose motivation when you’re working long hours at your desk. You should make an effort to work in short periods and take breaks throughout the day to prevent those relatively small effects of burnout.
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You can also try out the Pomodoro method: Divide your workday into 25-minute blocks of intense productivity, combined with 5-minute rest intervals to recharge your system.
Do the Simple Tasks First
Many people realize that completing easy tasks first can boost their ability to focus on more difficult tasks later. While others prefer to finish the difficult tasks first, their minds are still clear and not distracted by other responsibilities.
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You need to choose the approach that is most effective for you and stick to it. You might need to experiment a little bit to get it correct.
Use a Website Blocker to Remove any Potential Distractions
Let’s be real, there are plenty of distractions you are likely to encounter during the workweek. There are blogs to read, coffee to drink, and social media to explore. You can, however, use a website blocker to help you get rid of some of these distractions.
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You can also set a time limit for your social media access on certain websites. Fewer distractions help you stay focused and productive.
Quit Multitasking
It may seem like multitasking increases productivity since it allows you to do more. But in reality, dividing your focus between several tasks actually makes your work performance slower.
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In addition, research shows that multitasking negatively impacts performance. So try single-tasking instead and concentrate on working on just one deliverable at a time.
Select the Appropriate Tools for Project Management
Asana and Trello are two useful productivity apps and task management software that allow you to digitally chart tasks, set deadlines, and take notes, so you always know what has to be done every day.
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Moreover, these collaborative productivity tools help facilitate easy tracking of tasks by project teams. It saves time, simplifies workflows, and increases productivity by doing away with the need for boring meetings and never-ending email follow-ups.
Choose the Appropriate Tools for Collaboration
Many of the challenges encountered in daily professional life can be solved by tech-driven collaboration tools. For instance, Slack reduces the need for tiresome emails, while Google Drive simplifies the sharing of documents in a single shared cloud location.
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Hugo, meanwhile, makes meeting preparation easier by offering templates for organization and simplifying the note-taking process, which reduces preparation time and boosts productivity.
Manage your Email Inbox
Your email can be a regular source of interruption in your workday. You can set a schedule for answering emails to help you stay on top of things. Outside of these periods, you should mute your email notifications and focus on your task.
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You can also mute selected email notifications to ensure that the most critical emails, like those from your boss, still get delivered.
Learn to Say No
We’ve all had that one teammate who constantly asks for small “favors.” Learning to say no to extra tasks helps you stay focused on your responsibilities. You may even have to say no to your boss’ request.
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You simply have to explain that you are at work capacity and have concerns that overloading will negatively impact your performance or cause you to fall behind on your deliverables.
Don’t Limit your Calendar to only Meetings
You probably have a calendar that you use to schedule meetings and create to-do lists. You can also use your calendar to manage your time; this makes it easy for you to navigate your work without interference.
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For example, set aside time each day for essential tasks like checking your email, working, self-care, making phone calls, and so on. When you have a block of work time, mark it as unavailable in your calendar so no one bothers you.
