How to Be More Productive: 10 Simple Steps to Get Things Done

Struggling with getting things done? It’s what we work for and what we hope to get every day.

Productivity is how much you can get done in a certain amount of time. It’s about getting things done, completing tasks, and getting results.

But it’s also about being happy with what you do, feeling like you’ve accomplished something, and being proud of what you make.

People who aren’t happy don’t get much done. When you can’t tell that things are getting better, you get stressed and anxious.

Social media updates, emails, texts, and coworkers who talk a lot can also make people unhappy. These “small things” might get in the way of your happiness and work.

But you can make sure you’re as productive as possible by doing the following:

1. KEEP TRACK OF HOW YOU SPEND YOUR TIME

Most of us haven’t found out what wastes our time yet. Some of us look through phone apps. Some people have bad habits, like checking their email all the time or taking more breaks than at work when they should be working.

If you can figure out your biggest time wasters, like things that throw you off track, distract you, or stop you in the middle of a task, you can improve your results and be more productive every day.

You won’t get anywhere if you try to learn, find other ways, and ignore your current thief. Productive people know that the best way to stay on track is to get rid of things that waste time.

Change one of your worst ways of managing your time right away to see an improvement. Once you see the link between what you do and what happens, you’ll be more likely to change what isn’t working.

Think of something you could change right now that would help you get more done. Write down the problem, think about why it’s happening, and then come up with a solution.

2. WRAP UP YOUR WORK FOR THE DAY BEFORE IT EVEN STARTS

To be as productive as possible, you should plan ahead and write down your most important goals every day. Get a tool for planning, and then use it to put your daily tasks in order of importance so you can spend your time on the things that really matter.

You will be well on your way to learning how to be productive if you know exactly what needs to be done and how much time you plan to spend on it.

3. TREAT TODAY AS IF IT WERE YOUR LAST

Look for ways to use the 80/20 rule by figuring out which of your responsibilities can be given to other people.

Stop wasting time on things that don’t challenge you or feed your passion. Everything you can afford to hire someone else to do or automate should be done this way.

Don’t be afraid to give tasks to other people that you think they can handle. They will probably be glad to help, and it will make you feel better to know that you will have less work to do because of their help.

4. TAKE REGULAR PAUSES

Find out how much sleep your body needs, and then make it a top priority to get that much sleep. Make sure to give yourself regular breaks to stretch, walk, or just rest. This will help you keep your energy up during the day and after you leave work.

One study found that the best way to keep up a high level of productivity throughout the day is to work for about 50 minutes before taking a break that lasts about 15 to 20 minutes.

If you want to learn how to get more done, you should start by following this pattern.

5. TRAIN YOURSELF TO ENJOY MORNINGS

This is one of the best ways to get things done that is rarely used. Since I started getting up every morning at 5, my productivity and satisfaction have gone up a lot.

Since most people aren’t awake at that time, you won’t have to worry about being interrupted or having your plans changed in any way.

Someone who is successful might use this time to work out, meditate, or get the day started early.

6. USE TIME BLOCKS

When I give myself an hour to do work, I won’t waste time checking my email or updating my social media feeds. Change the way you do things and learn to use your time better so you can get more done every day.

You can do this with a number of apps, or you can just set an alarm on your phone to let you know when you have some free time.

To get the most out of the time you’re supposed to be working, you should try to avoid any and all distractions. Find a quiet place, clean off your desk, and make a quick list of the things you need to do to keep you on track.

7. TRY NOT TO BE DISRUPTED

Interruptions are one of the biggest things that get in the way of having fun and getting things done. If you are in the middle of a task and someone interrupts you, you will not get as much done.

It’s normal for the office big talker to show up out of nowhere when you’re in the middle of a big project and start telling you about something crazy that happened to them.

By the time the chat is over, you’ve already forgotten where you were, and getting back on track takes at least 30 minutes.

You can stop this from happening by politely letting people know you have important work to do.

8. STOP SABOTAGING YOURSELF

Sometimes, all you have to do to build good habits is stop doing things that are bad for you. How often have you said something like, “I couldn’t do this because…”? Even if your reasons are true, they are just stopping you. It’s a way we don’t even realize we use to avoid doing important things when we can’t.

You can complain, point fingers, and blame everyone and everything but yourself if you don’t get things done.

Putting things off is a good way to hurt yourself. If you don’t deal with it, it will still be there the next time you put something off.

Put results ahead of comfort if you want to get more done. Life gets easier once you stop making excuses and figure out what you want to do.

9. DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF

People who are successful think differently. Challenge your ideas to make yourself more productive. A person who gets things done doesn’t worry about things they can’t do.

Instead, you should ask:

That’s what I have to do. How do I get everything done?
What’s making me stressed out, and how can I handle it better?
How can I make things better?

Your words and phrases can either make you feel more confident or more worried. Write down your answers to start.

You will follow the words you tell yourself, whether they help you or not. When your words make you feel good, you’ll get more done.

10. FOLLOW THE “FIVE-MINUTE RULE”

Try the five-minute rule if you have a hard time not putting things off. By telling yourself you’ll only work on an important task for five minutes, you get rid of many of the reasons you don’t want to start.

Almost everyone can find five minutes to write an email, do some research, file some papers, or plan out a new task.

Most of the time, the drive to keep going stays even after the five minutes are up.

Even if you move on to another productive task after five minutes, the small things you did in that time are still important to your overall output.

As usual, these small tasks are the ones we put off the most.

If you follow these thirteen tips, you will learn how to be more productive and find more time to do the things that make you happy.

Start small and put each suggestion into action one at a time. With this method, you’ll be able to get more done and enjoy the process at the same time.