Here are some simple ways to be more productive throughout the day. Many successful people in different walks of life have practiced these habits. Imitate their routine actions and you'll eventually get their results!
Plan your day the night before
This is a phenomenal habit to get into because it will make it easier to be focused during the following day on what you need to do. The upside to planning the night before is that you have your plan ready for you when you wake up, so then in the morning you can simply review it, identify your most important tasks, and hit the ground running.
Wake up Early
You're right, this can be a tough one, especially if you're not used to it or are not a morning person. However, this is one that will help you drastically in being more productive. The great part is that once you discipline yourself to do it consistently for a little while, you'll actually want to get up early and you'll start loving your morning routine. There's no getting around it, virtually all of the most successful people in any field wake up early and have a healthy morning routine. It programs your day for success. There's a lot of truth to the classic words of Benjamin Franklin: “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
Exercise
Exercising is on of the smartest things you can do to stay productive. There are so many benefits of course: clearer mind, better focus, reduced stress, more energy, better health and happiness to name a few. Of course everyone knows exercise is good for you, so why do so many people not do it? The most common answer people give: "I don't have time." I understand. People who live great lives usually also have incredibly busy ones! However, since exercise is so vital for your life, just make it a 'must' and incorporate it into your morning routine. If this means wake up 15 minutes earlier so that you can go for a jog, then do it and you will love yourself for that decision. The rewards of the exercise will more than compensate for those lost minutes of sleep.
Do your most important task first
Making this your routine will help you destroy the habit procrastination! Diving into your most important, most daunting task first, not only will help you squash procrastination, but will also boost your productivity and self-confidence. You'll feel great about yourself when its complete! This habit will move you quickly toward your goals because your most important task, by definition, is the one that will best help you reach your goals. Brian Tracy calls this concept of doing the big task first:"Eat That frog!" - the idea is that if you had to eat a live frog, it wouldn't do any good to stare down at it on the plate for a while, you'd want to get it over with as quickly as possible. Lots of people get trapped into doing 'busy' work all day, they feel like they're so busy because they're always doing something, but in reality their productivity may be poor because they are not accomplishing their key tasks.
Eliminate Distractions
This means put down the phone everyone. You can do without it for an hour. Completely cutting off distractions for chunks of time in the day will help you get more done in less time. It may seem like it just takes two seconds to respond to that text or check your email but every time you do, you break focus and lose momentum. Allow yourself to Focus single-minded on the work in front of you, and watch your productivity soar!
Take Breaks
This is a no brainer because it will help you stay fresh and will actually help you focus. Slaving away for long hours with no breaks can actually make you less productive because the quality of your focus will diminish. Taking periodic breaks will help keep you alert and energized.
The idea of forming a new habit can be daunting, but trying a little each day to make these habits your routine will do wonders for your productivity. With practice, you will be amazed at how quickly you improve!
