Do you often feel that your work day is too short? If the work keeps piling up, chances are you’re still busy in the evenings or weekends. But with these 10 hacks you will boost your productivity so that your evenings and weekends are guaranteed to be a lot quieter.
1. From difficult to simple
Get to work on the complicated and dreaded tasks first, or else you’re guaranteed to keep putting them off. The faster you complete a difficult task, the longer it will take for it to resurface.
2. Time is precious
What takes most of your time? When does your energy level drop to zero? Don’t think too much about where all your time is going. There are enough apps that can do it work for you. And once you know what your day looks like, you can do things differently.
3. Old-fashioned way of noting
With a smartphone or a tablet, you can record your appointments in no time. The downside: the battery runs out quickly. Therefore, make sure you always and everywhere have a small notebook with you to quickly jot down appointments, reminders and ideas.
4. Lunch plan
Lunch gives you energy again and it is a moment when you can enjoy yourself between all the hustle and bustle. But don’t think too long about exactly what and where you are going to eat, because you will only lose more time this way. A tip: make a lunch plan on Sunday for the entire working week. A hot meal at work on Monday afternoon, for example, and a fresh salad for Tuesday that you bring yourself.
5. King of the power nap
Not every employer will appreciate it, but power naps can really work wonders. A twenty-minute nap makes you more alert, but if you can sleep for an hour to an hour and a half, you boost your creativity and your memory. A nap of half an hour to an hour will help you make better decisions.
6. 90 minutes of napping, 90 minutes of work
Just as a ninety-minute power nap improves your performance, a work time of up to one and a half hours increases your productivity. BRAC stands for basic rest activity cycle and means that when you equate the amount of sleep with the same amount of working time, you are less tired and perform better.
7. Love your job
No, you certainly don’t have to like everything you do in a day. But the more positive you are, the better you will do your job and the more fun you will enjoy it.
8. Meeting days
Are you rushing from one meeting to the next? Then you have undoubtedly noticed that not every meeting is equally necessary. Some things can be discussed perfectly over the phone or even via email. The golden rule: if a problem cannot be solved within five minutes, it is best to schedule a meeting of half an hour. And choose fixed days for this, for example every Tuesday and Thursday.
9. Relaxed eyes
Do you regularly suffer from sore eyes, a stiff neck and splitting headaches? Then you probably suffer from eye strain. A common ailment that only lowers your productivity. Therefore, try to look away for at least 20 seconds every 20 minutes, so that you do not focus too long on your computer screen.
10. The two-minute rule
There is nothing more annoying than working for hours on a difficult task. It’s not good for your productivity, but it’s not good for your mood either. The solution? The two-minute rule. Spend only two minutes per task each time: reading and answering emails, thinking about your next sentence, getting coffee. So cut your work into bite-sized pieces and you will see that it only improves your motivation and your productivity improves.
