Product Description

Productivity: Are you tired of ending a day at work, only to see how many things are still left undone? Does facing a weekend or even a vacation cause you to feel stressed and discouraged, rather than looking forward to fun and relaxation?

Set a Game-Plan!

One factor which all successful people have in common is effective time-management. You may prefer to call it structure, setting yourself to the task, or a game-plan. Whichever word or term works for you is fine. As long as you take it seriously, and put it into practice, you are creating one of the basic principles of productivity.

It might be a good idea to think about this, and why this factor is so essential to success. Perhaps you can begin by thinking of the opposite– ways which do not work. Even if you have one very small task to complete, if you do not manage your time appropriately it may get done too late, or not at all. You may be working on a deadline, or have a task which does not have a specific time to be complete. If you do not have a game-plan for getting it done, the results will not be satisfying. While procrastination and wasting time impede productivity, lack of effective time-management can be as destructive.

Increasing your productivity and getting things done means having a good game-plan. First, you need to know exactly what must be done. Second, even if you do not have a specific deadline, you must also decide when it must be done. The third step is putting yourself to the task of doing it.

Reducing Distractions

There are few things which block productivity as fast and as surely as distractions. When you cannot concentrate and focus properly, you cannot get things complete. Even if you do accomplish something, it can feel stressful and frustrating. Whether you are on the job or at school, reducing the distractions which influence your ability to be productive will help you to get more done.

There are two key points which you should keep in mind when you are planning to reduce the distractions in your environment. The first point is what works for you and what works for someone else may be entirely different. The second point is unless you have examined your habits, you may not be one hundred percent certain about the habits that are the most effective for you. The good news is it does not require much time or effort to consider how your habits are affecting your productivity, and begin to adjust them accordingly.

If you are like most people these days, multi-tasking has become a part of your everyday life and your everyday vocabulary. There may be a number of things which you need to do in one day. And you may be doing them simultaneously. If you overdo with multi-tasking, there can be two consequences. You might not get everything done; or you might spread yourself too thin and not have satisfactory results.

What Should You do First?

If you think about back when you were in school, you may remember teachers telling you that the best way to approach homework. And other projects was to do the hardest task first. They may have also advised you to tackle the homework subject you disliked the most first, before moving on. This same approach can greatly enhance your productivity today.

When you are preparing to begin a fresh day at work, try to begin putting this approach into action. Instead of beginning with a task you enjoy, or one which comes easily to you. Start with one you dislike, or one which you feel will be quite difficult. At the end of the day, you may be pleasantly surprise with how much you have accomplished. You will also feel that the day has gone much smoother.

One reason for this is at the start of your work day you will have more energy. When you devote this energy to the hardest or most disliked tasks. You will not feel as drained or frustrated in doing them. A second reason is if you begin with tasks you enjoy. You often find yourself looking ahead to the ones you dislike in a very negative manner. Instead of enjoying the easier tasks while you are doing them, you are dreading the ones ahead. When you do the hardest ones first, you will not only have more energy left for the rest of the day. You will also appreciate the other tasks more when you get to them.