By Lana Kennedy-Foglio, Corporate Communications Director, Spring 2020
Do you ever find yourself ready to work, just super determined?… and then you spaced out and it’s been 15 minutes and you’ve done absolutely nothing? Yeah, me too.
With Twitter, Instagram and pretty much every possible distraction at your fingertips, being focused is a task in its own right.
Here are 3 things that I do to make my workday as productive as possible:
Get. A. Planner.
This is probably the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. A planner allows for all of those millions of thoughts floating around in your head to be put down on paper and organized. Once I’ve written everything down and scheduled it, I tend to feel a lot less overwhelmed.
A workday that felt like it was telling me I had 100 things to do is now showing me that I, in fact, only have 16 tasks. I can do that, especially when I can schedule which hours they’ll be done in.
A planner also allows you to schedule the entire weeks’ tasks, putting your mind completely at ease knowing that everything you have due is written down. No more jolting up in the middle of the night because you forgot to do that assignment. You’ll be a new you… an organized you.
Pick the right workspace.
This is an extremely important part of the ‘being productive’ puzzle. If you go to the library with 6 of your friends, the ones who post about “studying :(“ more than actually studying, you probably aren’t going to get any work done.
With that being said, don’t be that person either. Unless you have pressing business emails to look out for, put your phone on do not disturb and turn in over. If you aren’t listening to music, put it on airplane mode and put it in your bag. Out of sight, out of mind.
If you go to the library, go with people who are actually serious about studying, or just go alone. If you go to a coffee shop, make sure it’s a place where you can focus with the music they’re playing; some people need complete silence, while others do best when they hear blasting EDM music. If you have an at-home workspace, make it inspiring… you should love being there! Hang some photos of things that inspire you to work harder, and go to the dollar store for some DIY decorations and lights.
If you love your workspace, you’ll be in a way better headspace to make great work.
Do the tough stuff first
You sit down, and see (in your handy planner!) all of the tasks that you have for the day. There are a few really tough ones, but you just woke up, and the smaller projects look, oh, so much more enticing.
Here’s the thing: you need to get those tough assignments done first. Your brain is fresh and ready to start firing. Once you get into the groove of things, you’ll be able to start moving smoothly throughout your difficult project.
Think of it this way: going from the easiest to the hardest project is like an uphill climb, while the opposite is a smooth cruise down a water slide. Your brain becomes mentally fatigued after a long workday, and if you want to produce solid work, your brain needs to be alert.
These tips have helped me become so much more productive during my workday! I hope you’ll be able to put them to use too.