25 Easy Tips to Increase Productivity at Work (+5 Bonus Tips) It seems like more and more companies are adopting the motto “do more with less”. So where does that leave you? Scrambling to complete deadlines, wearing 18 different hats, answering the slew of emails and phone calls… you get the point. The goal of this post is to help you find ways for you and your team to increase productivity at work. Instead of trying to do a bunch of these at once, find a couple that you can implement within your organization or department and practice them for at least 21 days (the time it typically takes to form a new habit).

1. List your "crucial results" for the day Create a spreadsheet listing your top 3 most important (i.e. crucial) for each day. This will help you plan each day and make sure you’re maintaining focus on the most important tasks each day.

2. Use tools to make your life easier and more efficient •

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Boomerang – Schedules the exact date and time you want to send an email or bring it to the top of your inbox if you don’t get a response within a certain time. RescueTime – Helps you monitor and analyze where you’re spending your time online. Evernote - A digital notepad stored in the cloud. You can also save pictures and voice-recorded messages as notes.

3. Prioritize your most important tasks first   Your ability to make decisions and think critically diminishes throughout the day, so tackle your most important projects earlier in the day.  

 

4. Complete tasks in batches It takes time for you to get into a rhythm with whatever you’re working on. If you constantly start and stop that process, you’re wasting time getting back into your rhythm or catching up to where you left off. Here are some practical applications: • • •

Set a block of time to knock out data entry and reporting tasks at once Set meetings with colleagues back to back in the afternoon Answer voicemails and emails for a chunk of time in the afternoon

5. Exercise Exercise is not only important for the body, it is almost as important for your mental wellbeing. Exercising has been shown to reduce stress hormones while increasing growth factors in the brain necessary for new neuronal connections.

6. Morning huddles with your team Each morning, huddle together with your team for about 15 minutes and go over each person’s main crucial results for the day. This helps everyone get on the same page and lets people know where their assistance is needed.

7. Eat healthy foods throughout the day to avoid energy crashes and keep your brain properly fueled The food we eat is extremely important in how productive we are at work. Junk food not only affects your weight. It also causes to decreased productivity and energy crashes.

8. Turn off the gadgets for crunch time Remove the distractions by silencing your phone, exiting out of chat applications and closing the inbox before you start any important task where complete focus is necessary.

9. Set an agenda and goal for each meeting Make sure there is a set agenda and goal for each meeting. No agenda and goal, no meeting. Also respect participants' time!

 

10. Work remotely Working remotely can help you increase your productivity by getting more done in less time. While the office is an environment that can foster collective energy and resources, it can also hinder our productivity.

11. De-clutter and organize your work environment There’s a lot to be said about how much organization and less “stuff” can decrease your anxiety, thereby increasing productivity. Having less clutter will help you think more clearly and waste less time searching for that misplaced document.

12. Love your job It turns out that the best way to become more productive at work is to have a job you love. No tool, no system, no bonus scheme and no amount of pressure can match the productivity boost you get simply from being happy at work.

13. Complete the “2-Hour Solution” at the end of your work week Spend 2 hours each week for the purpose of mentally creating the next week of your life. Use this time each week to reconnect with your goals, assess what has been working and what has not, and schedule your calendar for the upcoming week.

14. Wake up early Look at every top CEO, executive or leader and you’ll find they all have 1 major thing in common – they wake up early.

15. Stand more There is a productivity method called the Pomodoro Technique - it forces you to stop and take a break every 30 minutes, so you can use that time to get up and walk around. Also take phone calls standing up and do stand-up meetings.

16. Learn to say no Throughout your day, people will inevitably disrupt you to get your help or input on something. It’s so easy to say yes and take on more things, but this is

  counterproductive. Learn to say no more often to guard your time for your highest leverage activities.

17. Stop checking email Unless your clients could have true emergencies where time is of the essence, there is no reason to check your email more than a couple of times a day. Try only checking email twice a day max (or once, if you can get away with it). This approach will help you stay on track with your work by limiting distractions.

18. Focus on one thing at a time Multitasking lowers IQ and reduces the performance with which you can complete any task.

19. Find simple tasks to outsource so you can focus on high-leverage activities Check out Taskrabbit, oDesk, Fiverr and Elance to see if there’s something you could be outsourcing.

20. Give yourself less time than you think you’ll need However long you think it will take you to complete a project or task, give yourself less time to complete it. You’ll find that giving yourself a deadline will keep you more focused to get the job done.

21. Constantly ask yourself if what your working on is important Staying busy is not hard to do. What’s difficult is focusing on the activities that will yield the most results for you.

22. Read in the morning Most people don’t wake up super energized feeling inspired and excited to take on their day. To get your mindset in the right place to be productive, try reading for about 15-30 minutes before you start your day. Any topic that inspires you!

 

23. Protect the time in your schedule to get real work done Lots of us will book back-to-back-to-back meetings in a day, then all of a sudden it's 6:00PM and we feel like we did not accomplish much at all. So protect your time, keep your most productive times meeting-free if you can, and even consider designating one afternoon, or even an entire day if you can, as a “meeting-free” zone where you can dig in, concentrate, and get some “real” work done.

24. Create an ID statement or a list of affirmations and read it each morning An identity statement or affirmations is a list or paragraph that describes who you are as an individual. It’s a combination of your beliefs, aspirations and values. Write your identity statement as the ideal version of yourself, meaning all the things you aspire to be. Read it each morning over breakfast.

25. Replicate the body’s natural cycle Replicating the body's natural cycle in office environments is a fundamental, but often ignored, part of improving wellbeing. Keep blinds and windows open to ensure there's natural light and air circulating. Plants are another wellresearched way to improve air quality and mood to help you get more done.

26. Use 2 monitors If you’re not already using an extra monitor to your computer or laptop, this just might make the biggest difference in how quickly you can get work done!

27. Sync all your calendars   There’s  no  point  in  having  a  desk  calendar,  a  work  calendar,  a  personal  calendar,  etc.   Get  them  all  in  one  place  digitally  that  you  can  access  on  your  computer  or  on   mobile.  Google  calendars  is  our  preferred  tool.  

28. Plan for the unexpected   If  your  schedule  is  packed  so  tight,  an  unexpected  interruption  or  emergency  will   leave  you  in  a  state  of  anxiety  to  catch  back  up.  Leave  some  flexible  time  in  your   calendar  to  make  it  easier  to  shift  things  around  when  the  unexpected  occurs.  

29. Organize your thoughts on paper  

  Writing  things  down  on  paper  can  help  you  sort  through  the  feeling  of  being  stuck.   You  can  write,  cross  out,  and  brainstorm  until  you  better  organize  your  thoughts.  

30. Turn off the popup notifications   Those  immediate  popup  notifications  set  to  every  app  on  your  phone  are  really   distracting.  Turn  off  the  ones  you  don’t  really  need.  And  set  your  email  fetch  to   hourly  instead  of  every  15  minutes.     Don’t Miss Out: Get a free snack sample box with a hand-picked selection of delicious, healthy snacks your office will love… and watch productivity skyrocket. Click Here!