11 Most Overlooked Ways To Become More Productive — Even If You’re A Chronic Procrastinator

Leadership

Oct 12

Elon Musk once said that if you put in 100-hour workweeks, in contrast to someone who puts in 40-hour workweeks, you will achieve in 4 months what it takes them 12 months to achieve. In simpler words, if you do more, you will make much faster progress than others around you. Pretty obvious, right?

But perhaps, there is another way to look at it. Instead of working insane hours, why not extract more from the time that you're already putting in? We all know that we can do a lot more work than we do during an average day. A lot of time is wasted on so many other things that could otherwise be used towards accomplishing important tasks.

This is why it is so important to enhance your productivity. Doing so allows you to achieve much more in the same amount of time and you don't have to push yourself to crazy limits! So, how exactly do you become more productive? Well, there are so many overlooked ways that can help. These are minor changes or habits that you can instill into your daily life and the end result will be much higher productivity! Let's take a look at a handful of these below.

1) Go For Natural Light As Much As Possible

In the modern world, we have become so habituated to artificial lighting that we don't even think about its effect on us. But scientists have done a lot of research in this area and the consensus is quite clear. Artificial light messes up with our circadian rhythm which among other things, controls our sleep cycle. Too much exposure to artificial light, especially in the evening or at night, can disrupt your sleep. And if you don't get proper sleep, it is only logical that you won't be able to perform at your best the next day.

So, it is a good idea to incorporate natural sources of light in the office or at home during the day. That way, your circadian rhythm will function as it should and you will get a good night’s sleep as a result. Another important point to note is that exposure to daylight can contribute to your overall well-being and mood too. And we all know that when we feel good, we also tend to get a lot of work done in a relatively short span of time.

2) Choose An Environment With The Least Distractions

The environment where you work has perhaps the biggest influence on the quantity and quality of your work. If you are in a place where you feel comfortable, at peace, and energetic, you are likely to be more productive. On the contrary, if your environment is full of distractions, or other unfavorable things, your work will suffer. Add to this the fact that we humans are easily distracted, and you can understand how important this point is.

So, when you are deciding where you will work, try to choose a place that has the minimum distractions. If you don’t have that liberty, well, you can take other measures to achieve the same result. For instance, you can turn on silent mode on your phone, ask your coworkers not to disturb you while you work on something important, stay away from social media sites, set specific time blocks to deal with menial tasks, and so on. Doing so will allow you to focus uninterrupted for hours at a time and you will get a lot more done than you can imagine.

3) Track The Time For Tasks You Complete

I can’t stress enough how important it is to gather data. About as many aspects of your life as possible. Think about it. If you constantly knew your sugar levels, would you be more likely or less likely to allow it to reach dangerous levels? Knowing the state of things allows you to take real-time decisions and do what is best for you. The same thing is applicable while trying to get work done. If you track the time you spend on different tasks, it gives you valuable insights using which, you can take corrective measures if required.

For instance, your task tracking might tell you that you are taking way too much time going through your emails every day. Knowing this, you will be motivated to either spend less time on emails or use automation tools to make the task much faster. And this is just for one simple thing. Imagine how much you can optimize your entire day just with some data! You would not only increase your productivity but you would also free up a lot of time that you could then use in other areas of life.

4) Take Breaks From Time To Time

Look, you are a human being. And your biological body has its limits. I know, I know… in today’s world, we like to act and behave like robots and pretend that we just don’t have any limits. But that is simply not true. No matter how much you push yourself to keep going at your desk, you will eventually get drowsy or feel like taking a nap. If no one has told you this, let me be the first one to do so. It is completely ok! In fact, it is advisable that you give your body some breaks from time to time so that it can function at its peak when required.

Even research studies have shown that short breaks from time to time can enhance your productivity. So, now the question arises. How frequent should the breaks be and how long? Well, I would say that it depends from person to person. You have to experiment a bit and find your sweet spot. But, I think working for 90 minutes and then taking a 15-minute break should be a good way to start off.

5) Commit To A Deadline

There is something about deadlines that really keeps a human in check. I mean, you must have had this experience too, right? Whether you’re in college or work at a job, the tasks that don’t have a deadline often get pushed indefinitely. The ones that do need to be done within a fixed time period, get more attention and sincerity from us. I am sure this happens everywhere and with everyone.

Research shows that setting and committing to a deadline does wonders for your productivity. And it makes sense too, right? Having a deadline means you are accountable. Suddenly, your effort has a real-world consequence. At a workplace, regularly meeting deadlines is a sign that you are dependable and you might get frequent promotions because of this. On the contrary, if you can’t meet deadlines, others might think that you are not serious enough. All of this is factored in by your brain, and so, it gets to work.

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6) Make Exercising A Daily Habit

Do you ever wonder why some of the highest achievers in the world are also crazy focused on their workout regime? Is it their work ethics that make them serious about exercising or is it the other way around? Well, studies like this have shown time and again that regular exercise can enhance your performance quite considerably. Not only that, there are studies that show that working out can enhance your mental well-being as well!

It is only obvious then that exercising should be a daily habit if you want to increase your productivity. Not only will you get all the benefits of better physical and mental health, but you will also be able to do a lot more during the day. This will, in turn, make you feel much better about yourself and you will progress on the path to your dreams much faster. It is a win-win-win situation! Now, why won’t you want to do something like this? You would, right?

7) Use the Eisenhower Matrix

One simple method to supercharge your productivity that is overlooked by most people is called the Eisenhower Matrix. Don’t worry. It’s not as complex as it sounds. It is a simple decision-making tool that you can use to categorize most of your tasks into four categories. These are:

- Important and Urgent

- Important but Not Urgent

- Not Important but Urgent

- Not Important and Not Urgent

This simple categorization of your tasks will help you immensely. It will let you see at a glance which are the activities that need your attention the most. As such, you won’t waste on things that you can simply ignore for the time being. You can update this matrix every day, or every week as per your liking. And if you get into the habit of using it, you will see that your productivity skyrockets.

8) Learn To Say No

This one will differ from person to person. But I think it is safe to say that a lot of people suffer from the habit of agreeing to things they have no interest in or time for. If you have this habit too, you are probably well aware of what I’m talking about. You might be working away at your computer and your colleague might ask you if you want to join them for drinks later. Even though you have a lot of stuff to take care of, you might be inclined to say yes. Just because you can’t say no.

You can imagine the effect this can have on your productivity. By constantly saying yes to the wrong things or to things that can wait, you eat away at your productivity. And think more practically about it. Let’s say you go for drinks with your colleague. It’s not merely the time you spend at the bar that you need to factor in. Think about the time it would take to go to the bar and back to your home. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you stop enjoying your life. I am only saying that you should get your priorities straight. This alone can make a huge difference.

9) Use Your Commute Time

A lot of people are increasingly beginning to realize that they can use their commute time for a handful of things that they can’t otherwise find time for. If you travel by public transportation, you can use that time to read a book that will be helpful to you, review your projects, check your emails on your phone, go through all the notifications, catch up with someone at work, plan your day, and so on. The point is, you can get a lot of work done just while you’re commuting. So much so that it will shock you.

And if you are driving to work, well, obviously there will be limitations to what you can do. But there are still a number of things you can check off your to-do list. For instance, you can listen to a podcast, an audiobook, make a mental checklist, and even do some breathwork while you’re at it! Just make sure you don’t look at your phone or do something that you shouldn’t!

10) Wake Up Early

Do you know why a lot of the top CEOs of the world wake up so early in the morning? I mean, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple is 60 years old and he still wakes up at 4 in the morning every single day. Why do you think that is? Is it because they love mornings? Probably not. It has more to do with productivity. You see, it is only logical that if you wake up earlier in the day, you will have much more time in your hands. If you are currently waking up at 7, and you decide to wake up at 5, you have two full hours to take advantage of!

In today’s world, where people are starved for every minute of free time, two whole hours make a huge difference. Just imagine all the things you could do with that time. You could start your work much sooner than before, provide more time to important tasks, give time to your hobbies, give time to your family & friends, and more! Plus, you won’t have to live life as if it is some kind of a race - always running from point A to point B. For once, you can be on top of things!

11) Listen To Calming Sounds

This is something that a lot of creatives like artists and writers do. If you plug in your headphones and listen to some calming sounds, it will help you concentrate better. There are multiple reasons for it. First of all, the noise surrounding you in an office environment or even at home will be blocked. So, you will be able to divert your focus to the task at hand. Plus, research studies have found that listening to music can enhance your mood. It is this that leads to increased productivity.

Other studies have found out that instrumental music is useful for repetitive and well-defined tasks. So, when you’re checking out your emails, for example, you can definitely listen to some tunes. It will make the mundane task a little more enjoyable and you will be able to do it faster as well.

To Wrap It Up

So, now you know that there are so many simple ways that you might have been overlooking to become more productive. As mentioned above, these are ways that you can easily incorporate into your daily routine. With just a few changes, you can be a lot more productive than ever before. And with just a few weeks of practicing these methods, you will feel much better about your life merely by the fact that you will achieve a lot more than you thought.

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