Five tips to work more productively, focus and get stuff done
Do you struggle to make as much progress as you'd like to? Do you have a to-do list where nothing seems to be completed so you feel you're doing something wrong? You might be
juggling work, home-schooling and working out how to stay productive over the coming weeks and months.
Here are a few tips to help you:
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Hide Ad1. Recognise that being productive isn’t just work, work, work
Keeping a healthy routine right now is important. Working all hours to stay afloat is a reality for a lot of business owners but it takes its toll. Making time for family, time off, healthy eating, exercise and sleep is more important than ever. Knowing when to log off and being intentional with non-work-related time will give you a better sense of wellbeing.
2. Write down everything that’s on your mind
Create a mindmap of everything you need to do; home, work, finances, business operations - get it all out onto one page. Do this whenever you feel overwhelmed as it breaks the logical
flow of ‘list making’ and removes the hierarchy of tasks. Write down everything on your mind, then put a star next to the things you can control. We have a lot in our circle of concern, but
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Hide Adwe can’t control everything in there. Spend your energy on what you can control or influence.
3. Put a 'S' next to the strategic tasks and an 'I' next to the important bits
Focus on what’s strategic - what’s going to help your business over the next few days, weeks and months. A strategic action is an intentional decision which gives your business the best chance to thrive and differentiate from your competitors. Important tasks aren’t necessarily strategic but need to get done. And don’t forget, urgent isn’t always important.
4. Block out regular times in your calendar to get tasks done and create structure
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Hide AdAllocate focused work time for strategic tasks when you have the most energy and delegate the lower tasks to less productive hours. Slot in exercise, playtime, dinner etc. to give your
day structure. Videocalls can be draining so don’t let these creep into your most productive time slots!
5. For the time being, plan and focus on the near-future of your business
Yearlong plans are great, but they can come out again in a few weeks. Right now, focus on what you need to do immediately and over the next few weeks and months.
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Hide AdEmma Mills-Sheffield is the owner of Mindsetup Ltd and led a Brighton Chamber Bite-sized Learning: “How to become more productive” on 17 March. For more information about Brighton
Chamber online training and networking events, visit brightonchamber.co.uk
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