Being Productive

Tips and strategies for getting (hopefully useful) things done.

Use Simple To-Do Lists

It's common knowledge that checking off tasks keeps motivation up, so having routine or simple items to check off keeps us going.

Do Tough Work First

Get the tough stuff out of the way, so the stress doesn't build up over time as you procrastinate. Most people have higher energy in the morning for better tackling tough tasks too.

Go Outside for a Few Minutes

Walking around gets your blood flowing and stretches your muscles. Daylight also helps wake you up and reset your biological clock, lowering drowsiness. Best used around lunchtime before the afternoon slump.

Also take a few minutes to stretch your muscles, which keeps them loose and prevents soreness.

Listen to White Noise or other Background Music

Videos or podcasts split your attention too much when trying to do serious work. Music without lyrics, like electronic or instrumental tracks, are much better for focus.

Eat Protein for Lunch, not Carbs

Avoid pasta and bread. Lunches with things like vegetables, chicken, eggs, tuna, low-fat cheese, and other protein foods are much preferred. Get them all by making a salad!

Get Small Caffeine Doses in the Afternoon

Caffeinated tea, or a single dark chocolate square, are good options.

Avoid caffeine in drinks, like coffee or soda. The doses are too high, and likely lead to you taking in too much sugar.

Peppermint Scents help Energize You

Rubbing peppermint oil over your hands and face works, without bothering your coworkers as much. Strong, minty gum helps, which the motion of chewing perks you up and helps clear out post-lunch mouth bacteria.

Save Group Work for Lazy Moments

Doing work with others always energizes, assuming it's not boring. This makes it great for snapping out of a low-energy funk.

Do Simple Desk Exercises

• Roll your shoulders forward than backward, pairing each roll with a deep breath

• Tense and hold different muscles for 5-10 seconds each. These include biceps, triceps, calfs, thighs, chest, abdomen, back, and other muscles.

• Take deep, not shallow, breaths that you hold for several seconds.

• Rub your hands until they're warm, and cup them over your eyes. The darkness and warmth will lower anxiety.

• Stretch your arms out by your sides, shake your hands wildly, and take deep breaths.

• Sit up straight and don't slouch. This helps circulation, oxygen, and lowers muscle soreness.

Go for Continuous Snacking over Large Meals

Large meals make us feel bloated and slow us down, while smaller meals and snacks give continuous energy without slowing us down as much. Good snacks usually have protein, fiber, and/or complex carbohydrates and include:

• Whole-grain crackers

• Pretzels

• Bagel (small pieces, not an entire one)

• Raw vegetables

• Fruit

Take Small Breaks

Small things like walking around the office, staying by the window, or just refilling a drink all help keep stress from building.

Write everything down

I heard from many people promoting better life organization, that writing things down is a very important step in being more productive. I definitely confirm. Writing things down cleans up your brain – it makes you not thinking about something you have to do – you just write it down and you are sure you’ll take care of it when the time comes. Such brain-liberty is very powerful. You can use your brain to think about the activity you’re actually working on at the moment, not having many “background” topics taking your brain’s “resources”.

As soon as you have your place chosen, just work out that simple habit of writing things down (in case of Nozbe – adding them to your Inbox). When someone comes to you and asks you for something – write it down and say “Sure, added to my tasks list”. The person is then confident that you’ll take care of what he/she asks for and your brain is not occupied by it until you have time for it. When you’re on a meeting, and something to be done by you appears – write it down. If you suddenly recall you need to visit your dentist soon – write it down. Simple as that. You’ll see how much it helps.

Review and plan your tasks

As soon as you write everything down, try to work out the habit to review your list of tasks. If you have only one place in which you put everything you want to do, review such tasks inbox every day (e.g. in the evenings) and decide what to do with each task – either add it to the project/category and set the deadline, leave as it is if there’s nothing to do for now or delete if there’s actually nothing more to be done in a particular topic.

Apart from daily tasks review, perform a general, weekly-review of all your tasks in all projects/categories. I do such reviews every Sunday in the evening. It allows me to know the scope of things to be done on a higher level – across different projects and categories. I can also see if all the tasks are properly scheduled so I can manage to complete them. It’s better to plan than not, even if you finally don’t realize all tasks as planned.

Create what-to-take lists

Create what-to-bring lists