We’ve been taught that to increase productivity we need all these apps and tools to help streamline our workflow. While these can be helpful in moderation, more often than not, these apps and systems hinder our productivity rather than increase productivity because of the stress and time that comes with maintaining these “tools”. In this blog post, I’ll walk through some easy ways to increase productivity while maintaining a “less is more” strategy.
Define Productivity
Defining productivity is important because many people tie productivity to being successful. However, productivity is really about how efficiently we can complete a task and our capability to do several tasks.
Do a Brain Dump
If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, you know I am an avid lover of brain dumps. By writing down everything on your mind, you can increase productivity by focusing on one task at a time rather than trying to remember everything that needs to get done. Brain dumps increase productivity by putting all your tasks into perspective.
Take 5-10 minutes to jot down what needs to get done. Then pick 3-5 tasks that are most important for completing that day. When you do this, you’ll feel an increase in productivity and efficiency when you only need to work on a few tasks.
A brain dump clears the mind, giving you the capability to get more tasks accomplished. You don’t need fancy apps or notebooks for this, just a random piece of paper or an old notebook.
{Related Post: 5 Apps to Increase Productivity: How to Increase Productivity as a Corporate Girl}
Structure Your Day
One of the biggest hurdles to increasing productivity is structuring your time and day. We know what we need to get done, but when we wake up in the morning, we think the whole day is ahead of us for accomplishing tasks.
This creates a lazy start to the morning that trickles into the afternoon and evening. Then, before you know it, rather than increasing productivity, you’ve barely done anything all day.
Instead, take some time to understand when you are most productive throughout the day. Schedule deep-focus work during these times. For me, 8 am to 11 am and 4 pm to 7 pm is when I have a lot of energy to accomplish tasks. For this reason, I work on my most difficult tasks in the morning and important admin work in the afternoon.
Because I know the 3-5 tasks I want to accomplish in the day from the brain dump, I can schedule these tasks during my most productive time to increase productivity.
{Related Post: 5 Tips On How To Create A Productive Workspace At Home}
Reset for the Next Day
One of the biggest ways to increase productivity is by setting up the right environment for yourself. Take 10 minutes at the end of each night to reset your space. By doing this, you are creating a clutter-free environment so your mind can also be clear first thing in the morning. If you wake up in a messy place, you’ll likely have a more chaotic and clumsy day.
Resetting for the next day also means figuring out those 3-5 important tasks the night before. This means one (or three) fewer decisions in the morning, meaning you feel accomplished as soon as you wake up. By knowing the main focus on tomorrow, and tonight, you’ll increase productivity like crazy.
Use a Calendar
Whether it’s a physical planner, Google Calendar, or Outlook, having a daily calendar to schedule your day is important to increasing productivity. By giving time blocks to your tasks, you are more likely to finish within that time frame.
Plus it gives a visual representation of how many tasks you might be able to accomplish in a day depending on social and work commitments.
Google Calendar is one of those few productivity apps that keeps me in check, along with my physical planner.
{Related Post: 9 Time Management Strategies to be More Intentional in Work}
If You Get Distracted, Try This
If your biggest issue when trying to increase productivity is getting distracted easily, try to leave your phone in a different room or even behind your laptop. Putting your phone where you can’t see it can help limit distractions.
If that’s not enough, my favorite app is called Forest. The Deep Focus mode allows you to access your phone’s main functions (text and calls) while blocking other apps. If you click on a “locked” app, your growing tree dies. This little gamification for productivity can help increase productivity and make it more fun.
Final Thoughts
I hope you found this blog post to be helpful on how to increase productivity while still being a minimalist. None of these tips require any money or new applications really, just a few extra minutes a day. It’s all about restructuring and reframing. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
With love,
Aditi <3
Aditi Rani – Figuring Out Life in Your Twenties
*Disclaimer: This is not professional advice. Some links are affiliate. By clicking and/or purchasing, I may receive a commission. It does not alter the price or change your buyer experience.
