Evolve > Focus > 2 Hacks To Boost Productivity And Getting Work Done
In order to boost productivity, it’s important to stay focused, work hard and work smart. This involves knowing how to find simple hacks that can help you complete more work, be more productive and achieve more!
When you have long working hours and high pressure deadlines, it’s important to know how you can get a little bit extra out of yourself. This is when certain techniques or hacks are helpful! Distractions due to work are ever-present, more so while working from home is in effect! It’s important to know how to respond better to distractions and find your focus.
If you need to finish a lot of work in a short duration of time, work with the time you have rather than against it! When facing a deadline or high pressure situation, using one of these techniques will help you achieve more with ease.
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Here are 2 simple techniques to boost your productivity:
Pomodoro technique
A simple technique to help you power through work in a short period of time and do more work as well. Break your workday into 25 minute chunks followed by a 5 minute break to refresh yourself. Repeat this 4 times and then finally take a longer break of 30 minutes. During those 25 minutes, you work without any distractions or interruptions. No phones, no people and pure focus on the task at hand. This way you can achieve more in 25 minutes than you would in 1 hour. In the 5 minute break, do something quick to help you relax and recharge yourself. A glass of water, light stretching or breathing exercises can help you prepare for the next 25 minute cycle.
After you’re done with 4 cycles and finish your work, take a proper 30 minute break to relax. During this time, do something unrelated to work and use that break to destress and unwind. It will help you regain energy, recover from the hard work you’ve put in and give you a platform to do more as your day continues.
This is a great technique to use when you’re in the middle of important work, a high pressure deadline or for any other day when you’re trying to get a lot of work done. It helps bring structure to your day and work without distractions.
Eisenhower decision matrix
The Eisenhower decision matrix is a simple decision making tool to help you focus your energy on what’s important at that moment and work on things that require your attention. When facing a deadline, you need to be able to prioritise your work and this matrix helps you do exactly that!
Here’s how you do it:
Split and divide your work into the 4 following buckets:
Urgent and important
Important but not urgent
Urgent but not important
Neither urgent nor important
Once you’ve listed all your tasks down and split them into these 4 categories, you can take the next steps.
- Urgent and important – do them yourself and do it now
- Important but not urgent – schedule it for later on your calendar
- Urgent but not important – delegate to someone else or focus on it later
- Neither urgent nor important – delete it from your schedule entirely
By using this matrix, you can prioritise your work, tackle what’s necessary and reduce your workload. This leads to a little more calmness, structure and ease of doing work. As a result, you will be more focused, productive and be able to achieve more.
Work pressure and stress is lasting. What matters is how you respond to it, manage your time and your mindset when approaching a deadline. By trying out these hacks, you can boost your productivity and give yourself an edge when approaching work. With work from home looking to stay, this can be really helpful.
Evolve’s guided audios help you proactively manage your stress and achieve more with better focus with a series of joyful and refreshing exercises!