Different people do different things to remain active and get the most out of each day. For me, a few things have stood out. In this article, I share with you some of the habits that continue to boost my productivity levels every day of the week.
Getting enough sleep
There’s a connotation that sleeping is a sign of laziness; you should go to bed late at night and be up at the crack of dawn. That’s the sign of hard work and a strong indicator that you are self-driven. But is it really? I doubt it. What I have found is that less time you spend sleeping, the higher the chances that you’ll be less productive.
Sleep deprivation is a serious problem that’s rarely given any attention, even though it’s crucial for your overall wellbeing. Lack of alertness, impaired memory, mood swings, premature wrinkling, and dark circle under the eyes are the short term impact of lack of enough sleep. Long-term sleep deprivation might lead to obesity, heart attack, diabetes, and high blood pressure, just to mention a few.
Enough sleep rejuvenates. You’ll have a better mood, sharper memory, and sizzling energy. You’ll get more work done at the highest standards because your mind is alert and your body is present.
Treat sleep like you treat medication. If 7-9 hours is a perfect balance, why not stick to that? I have experimented with my productivity when I have had enough sleep verses little sleep, and the difference is like night and day. The energy I get after a good night’s sleep goes a long way in ensuring I deliver to the best of my ability.
Meditating
Every time I tell someone to meditate, they give me an awkward look that says, “Does that thing work?” I’m almost giving up on recommending it but before I resign to my fate, let me drum it in one more time. Meditating once a day can help improve your focus and clear your mind. It helps you be present and focus on the here and now.
I’ll recommend you start with a guided meditation because many people complain of the chatter in their mind that never seems to go away no matter how hard they try to silence it. A guided meditation will enable you to focus on the teacher’s words and shut down the buzz in your mind.
Whether you need clarity of mind, positive energy, or mental strength, there’s a meditation for you online. I’ve also recently discovered that meditating to flute music is astoundingly soothing.
As an ardent believer in the power of meditation, I encourage you to do only 10 minutes of meditation every day for a week and see how it will impact your productivity.
Exercising
Exercise is to the body what reading is to the mind.
Exercise might seem like a daunting task to maintain, but it’s worth it. It doesn’t have to be an evening or a morning at the gym. You can devise simple callisthenic workouts for every muscle in your body.
YouTube has a gazillion workout videos for complete beginners or veteran workout enthusiasts. Take your time to find a few that you can do every morning before work. A session in the morning will help you maintain your productivity throughout the day.
Setting monthly, weekly and daily goals
If you set yearly goals without breaking them into monthly activities that will build up to the big picture, there are high chances that you won’t achieve them.
Break your goals into small chunks. As every month starts, review your work to find out how far you’ve gone. Go ahead and build on the goals you didn’t achieve last month. Further, split the monthly goals into weekly activities.
Every week check the activities you need to accomplish before the week starts. Next, before going to bed, write down what you need to accomplish the following day. End week, examine if you’ve met your targets and start all over again.
By writing everything down beforehand, you’ll have a clear plan and fixed mind on what needs to be done. I tend to do the bare minimum when I haven’t articulated my daily tasks. Everything spills over.
Minimising phone usage
It has come to my attention that phones are the enemy of progress. The moment you log onto social media, you are as good as the last assignment you did. You promise yourself to put the phone down after 10 minutes, then this turns to half an hour, and before you know it, it’s three hours of retweeting, liking, and commenting on things that are none of your business. If you want to be productive, put your phone away.
Start by turning off notifications. Next, put your phone somewhere that it’s not readily available. You can have specific times to use your phone, but until then, you are not touching it. Lastly, reward yourself for the discipline it took to stay away from phone during working hours.
Give these things a try, you’ll be able to accomplish a lot more with your time than you thought possible.
Also read: Adopt a Daily Routine to Take Back Control of Your Life
