Photo by Ivan Samkov / Unsplash
As a work at home mom of two, I’m always looking for ways to boost productivity, but it’s hard to sit down and write when you see those dishes out of the corner of your eye.
No matter where you are in the stage of life, you may have trouble doing everything that needs to be done. You may have all these goals but have a tough time executing them.
Things get in the way — whether it’s ESPN playing in the background, an overflowing hamper, or too many thoughts in your head.
Whether in the physical workplace or working at home, you need ways to boost productivity to get ahead of your competition.
I hear you! So, here are some ways to boost productivity and get stuff done.
1. Write down your goals
Setting goals remains one of the best ways to complete a task. You’re more likely to follow through if you can write down what you wish to accomplish.
Gail Mathews, a professor of psychology at the Dominican University of California, found that when it comes to success, people who wrote down their goals, shared them with others, and then sent progress updates were 33% more likely to complete them than people who only stated their goals.
You read that correctly: 33%!
So if you have an essential task at hand, why not write it down? It could be anything work-related like increasing your social media followers, landing 5 new clients a week: — you name it.
You may be surprised how your motivation increases.
2. Get organized
Something I need to work on is getting organized. I’m always losing stuff — from my car keys to my phone, to my mind. Okay, I still have my mind, but you get the picture.
The point is organization can actually save you time and productivity.
One of my goals this year is to start small. For example, I have a daily goal to declutter my desk.
I also replay this mantra in my head: “Everything has a home.”
Conveniently, this simple phrase applies anywhere, office, car, garage…. Feng shui goes a long way when it comes to productivity.
3. Change your environment
I recall this one day when the kids were not around, and I had goals to get so much work done at my house.
Yet, for some reason, I had a lot of issues completing much of anything.
That’s why it didn’t surprise me when I read in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine that a clean and stimulating workplace can boost production.
This makes sense since new environments jumpstart neurons and increase brain activity.
On the other hand, the home may be a hard place to work because it’s too familiar, and you might have more clutter than you’d like. (Where did all those golf tees come from anyway?)
Think about the intent associated with your environment
I knew there was a reason why I always got so much done at the coffee shop. It turns out that my brain registers Starbucks as a place where I get work done.
The cappuccino machine produces a symphony for my production needs.
Find an environment that works for you and go with it.
4. Ummmmmmmm. Meditate.
Did you know meditation makes you more productive? Seriously, according to the Harvard Business Review, it "increase[es] your capacity to resist distracting urges."
Makes sense. Meditation calms your mind and body, allowing you to focus more on specific tasks.
More good news: Widely available mediation apps, videos, and podcasts will get you started with a daily meditation practice.
Heck, most Smartwatches have a meditation tool.
So, try to put aside a few minutes of your day to meditate and see your productivity rise.
5. Focus on one task for a specific amount of time.
One of my biggest issues is I’m always doing multiple things at a time.
Even this morning I was pushing my son on the swing while holding the baby and also talking to a client on the phone. (I swear it was safe.)
I know I’m not alone when it comes to multitasking.
A lot of us do it, and although I’m not eliminating this constant juggling act, I’m going to try to focus on one task at a time when it comes to complicated ones.
In fact, according to the American Psychology Association, completing more than one task at a time decreases productivity.
I do notice that if I have all my attention in one place, I get a lot more done than when I multitask. So that’s why it takes an hour to find a pan when my email notifications are on?
The Bottom Line
In an age with so many distractions from cat video Memes to Alexa interrupting phone calls with random facts about dolphins, it’s difficult to be productive.
But hopefully, these few strategies that have helped me will help you too. Maybe you can give one a try and see how it goes. Perhaps one of the strategies above will add a little more productivity to your day.
And provide you with a competitive edge in the workplace.