“productivity” is a buzzword that’s often used, but what does it mean? Is it about accomplishing more tasks in less time, being more efficient at work, or something else? I’m here to clarify that productivity is quite simple.
All of the best productivity products, tools, and apps stem from five basic concepts—and with just a little bit of effort (and maybe one or two small purchases), you can be an incredibly productive employee or entrepreneur in no time!
Productivity comes down to a few basic things: planning, priorities, knowledge, and thirst.
Productivity comes down to a few basic things: planning, priorities, knowledge, and thirst.
Planning is the first step in productivity. To be productive, create an actionable plan with specific tasks and deadlines for each. It would help if you had a plan for your day or week so that you’re not spending time doing things that aren’t important.
Priorities are the second step in productivity because they help us focus on what we should be doing now instead of wasting time on unimportant stuff like checking email or social media accounts all day (or at least until lunch break!). Ensure all tasks have some level of importance attached. Hence, they stay aware of other less urgent ones during execution–this will help keep everything organized until completion, at which point we can move on to Step 3: Knowledge!
Plan.
Planning is the key to productivity. Planning allows you to be more efficient with your time, which means in the long run, it saves time! If you don’t plan, things will happen, and you can’t control them.
The most important thing to do when planning is to figure out what and when it needs doing by. For example: if I want my room clean by tomorrow morning because I have people coming over for dinner tonight, and my room isn’t clean now (or ever), what should I do?
The answer is simple: start cleaning now! Suppose I wait until today or tomorrow morning when everyone arrives at 9 am sharp (which they always do). In that case, there will need to be more time left before their arrival since there will still be dishes from breakfast lying around like usual, along with dirty clothes everywhere else too–and that’s not even mentioning how messy my desk area looks right now too!
Set goals and make lists.
When working on a project or trying to complete a task, listing all the steps can be helpful.
For example, I need to write an article about productivity tools and apps for my blog. First, I’ll think about what kind of information I want to include in this article (I know it will include some examples of apps). Then I’ll decide how much time I want to spend researching those apps before writing anything else; maybe 10 minutes or so?
Next time you have something big on your mind–whether it’s an upcoming trip or even just figuring out what movie night movie should be–try making yourself a list with everything that goes into getting ready for that event/task. This way, every detail will be noticed!
Learn new tricks.
You can use apps to learn new tricks, get more done and stay organized. Here are some examples:
- Learn a language: Duolingo is an app that helps you learn a new language by breaking down words into easy-to-understand parts. This app also lets you track your progress over time to know when it’s time for another lesson!
- Get more done at work: Todoist is an excellent task management app that lets users create tasks within projects and set reminders or due dates on those tasks so they don’t forget about them later in the day (or week). This way, when it comes time for your next meeting with co-workers or clients, they’ll already have their notes ready because they remembered them at the last minute, as some people do.
Streamline your workflow.
- Make sure you have a sound filing system.
- Use a calendar to keep track of appointments and deadlines, as well as any tasks that need to be completed by certain times.
- Use an inbox for all incoming emails, so you can quickly file them into their appropriate folders once they’re read (or delete them if they aren’t necessary).
- Please keep track of all your tasks in one place with an app like Todoist or Trello–this way, it’s easy to see what needs doing next at a glance!
- Write down ideas in your notebook whenever they come up–you never know when inspiration might strike again!
Create a schedule that works for you.
Whether working in an office or from home, there’s no reason your day should be structured like someone else’s. If it makes sense to work in the morning and take breaks later in the day, go for it! Or mornings are too busy with family life, so you prefer writing at night when everyone else is sleeping (and most likely not bothering). Whatever works best for your lifestyle and schedule should guide how often and when breaks should happen during each day of work–not some arbitrary idea about how long one task should take to complete.
Takeaway:
So, you’ve read this far and are now wondering what to do next. If you haven’t already, sign up for a free trial of Todoist. It’s one of the best productivity tools, with features that will help keep your tasks organized and completed on time.
But don’t worry if you can’t afford it or don’t want to pay for a service like that–you don’t need any app or tool to be productive! The most important thing is being organized and planning so that when it comes time to do something, all that needs doing is getting done (and knowing how long each task will take).
Conclusion
This article is a tiny sampling of productivity products, tools, and apps. We hope this article has helped you begin your journey towards becoming more productive or at least given you some new ideas on making it happen.