How to Avoid Wasting Time
Do you find yourself wasting time while you are trying to accomplish things in your day-to-day life? I get it, it happens. Sometimes it seems like you are right in the middle of being super productive and then all of the sudden it is three hours later.
If you want to learn how to avoid wasting time, you need to get an idea of the things that cause us to waste time. Read on for more ideas on how to do just this.
How to Avoid Wasting Time
Prioritize Tasks
Make a list of the tasks you need to accomplish and prioritize them based on importance and urgency. Focus on the most important tasks first and work your way down the list.
Set Goals
Setting specific goals can help you stay focused and motivated. Make sure your goals are achievable and measurable, and give yourself a deadline to work towards.
Eliminate Distractions
Identify the things that distract you the most and try to eliminate or minimize them. This could include turning off your phone or email notifications, closing unnecessary tabs on your computer, or finding a quiet place to work.
Manage your Time
Use a planner or calendar to schedule your time and ensure that you’re making the most of it. Block off time for important tasks and avoid overcommitting yourself.
Take Breaks
It’s important to take breaks throughout the day to avoid burnout and maintain productivity. Take short breaks every hour or so to stretch, move around, or do something you enjoy.
Learn to Say No
Don’t be afraid to say no to requests or invitations that aren’t a priority or don’t align with your goals. This will help you avoid overcommitting and wasting time on things that aren’t important.
Focus on One Thing at a Time
Multitasking can actually decrease productivity and increase the likelihood of mistakes. Instead, focus on one task at a time and give it your full attention.
Delegate Tasks
If possible, delegate tasks to others who are better equipped to handle them. This will free up your time to focus on the things that are most important to you.
3 Ways to Get More Done During the Day
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay
I know that I am not the only one who is battling to get more done everyday. With work and kids and responsibilities, it gets hard to accomplish anything, let alone everything. Am I right?
I have read books, listened to podcasts, asked for advice from others that I know are awesome at this stuff, I have done it all in an attempt to get better at adulting. I have made some big changes in my life lately as it relates to accomplishing more of what I need to get done and boy oh boy has it helped! Check out these 3 ways to get more done during the day that I have found incredibly beneficial in my life.
3 Ways to Get More Done During the Day
Sleep More
I get that this may seem counterproductive, but when you get enough sleep, you can accomplish so much more during your day. When you are well rested, your mind works better and when your mind works better, you are infinitely more productive.
Wake Up Early
Waking up earlier than the rest of your family is a surefire way to get things done. Depending on what time you wake, you may find yourself with up to a couple of hours alone to work on projects.
For example, this morning I woke up at 5 am, got 2 loads of laundry done as well as several other projects that I was in need of finishing.
Set Goals
Setting goals will help you to accomplish goals. After years of thinking that I can just get all of the things done and remember them as I go, I can finally acknowledge that it is not in my best interest to assume I can do it all. Setting goals and writing them down has helped me accomplish the things I need to do.
I have taken to writing down my to-dos and must haves for the week in a planner, and then I write down my daily goals on a checklist. It has made a world of difference in my life and my productivity.
Even more tips on becoming more productive
I just can’t get off of this topic! Are you excited about this productivity thing we have going here? Are the tips helping you so far? If you are really ready to become more productive, I am here with you! Let’s make these changes together! I am ready for my life to be more productive, more meaningful and more relaxed!
My goal is to be productive enough in my days that when my family is home, I get to spend all of our time together. I no longer want to be spending family time working on stuff that I should have gotten done before.
Even more tips on becoming more productive
- Take care of yourself. I know, I know, you don’t have time to take care of yourself. Here’s the thing though. If you don’t take time to take care of yourself (both your physical and mental health), you will become more rundown and less productive. Tell me again how you don’t have time?
- Do one thing at a time. Remember that to-do list that we talked about a couple of days ago? Start doing the tasks on this list one at a time. Do not jump from task to task. It will slow you down.
- Start easy. When creating your to-do list, start with the easiest tasks first. Obviously this will change if you have something incredibly time sensitive on your list, however, you will be much more productive and accomplish more things on your list, if you tackle the easy stuff first.
- Download the right apps. A to-do list app didn’t help me, but that doesn’t mean it won’t help you. I do use a family calendar app and a productivity timer app that have both helped me greatly. Our phones are full of amazing tools that can make our days more successful. Take advantage of the ones that work for you.
- Think positively. We talked a little yesterday about how negative feelings can hinder our productivity. The same is true for the opposite. The more optimistically you think, the more you will accomplish during your days.
Let me know if I am missing any great productivity tips or tell us which of these tips have worked the best for you!
5 More Tips for Learning How to Be More Productive
The other day I wrote a post on my top 5 tips for learning how to be more productive. I discovered while writing it that I actually have quite a few tips that I follow on a daily basis that help me to accomplish more throughout my day.
I don’t know about you but between running the kids back and forth from school and activities, to housework, to the work that needs done in my business, my goodness I get overloaded! I used to fall into a trap that made it far too easy to go pretty lax on my list of to-dos which really affected my days. No more! In addition to the list I posted the other day, I also follow these tips on a day to day basis to keep myself in gear and to help myself become more productive.
5 More Tips for Learning How to Be More Productive
- Take social media off of your phone – Social media is the worst time suck ever. I fell into a trap because I often use social media for work, so I kept making the excuse that I needed to have it on my phone. NOPE. Nada, that was a lie. Once I finally took Facebook off of my phone and started just checking it on my computer I started getting so much more stuff done. I found that whenever I was feeling overwhelmed by my workload it was easy to just grab my phone and scroll (which didn’t help me feel less overwhelmed btw).
- Set a schedule for checking email. You email can wait a couple of hours. Yes, it can. Seriously. Many of us (myself included) check our emails WAY TOO OFTEN. I have committed to checking my emails just 3 times per day. Early morning (6 a.m.), noon and again at 4 so that I can respond to any time sensitive emails before the work day is over. That’s it. My emails do not get opened otherwise.
- Wake up earlier in the morning. I don’t know about you, but I am ridiculously productive in the mornings. I seriously can get so much done. I don’t know if that’s just how my mind works, or if it is because it is actually quiet in my house, but I find it highly beneficial to wake up at least an hour before my family so I can actually get stuff done.
- Go on an unsubscribe binge. Okay, I know I just told you to rein in your time on your email, but schedule this into your week. Go into your email and unsubscribe from every non-important email that you can. If you are anything like me you have many, many of these emails coming in daily. Not only do they clutter up your inbox, but they also distract you with constant notifications.
- Watch less TV. How much TV do you watch in an average week? Imagine all of the stuff that you can get done in the time you spent watching TV this week.
5 Tips for Learning How to Be More Productive
Are you struggling with productivity? As a work at home mom (WAHM) I absolutely understand this struggle. For me, it is hard to be productive when I have so many things pulling me in different directions.
Don’t worry, my friend! There are things that can help us develop our productivity skills better and help us to be more successful in our day to day lives.
5 Tips for Learning How to Be More Productive
If you are ready to start gettting stuff done, you can do it! You just need to be ready to make a change and oh my goodness, what a change it will make. Becoming more productive in life can drastically alter many things that you do! Here we go, here are my top 5 Tips for Learning How to Be More Productive.
- Keep a calendar – Keeping a calendar is an imperative step in increasing your productivity. You need to know what you have coming in order to know how to dedicate your time.
- Write out a list – A to-do list has been a game changer for me in increasing my productivity. I tried a to-do list app on my phone, it really did nothing for me. So I literally keep a notebook of paper with me all day and in the morning I write down my to-do list for that day. Being able to strike though the jobs done helps to motivate me to get more accomplished.
- Be realistic – C’mon, you aren’t a superhero. Be realistic with the stuff that you can actually accomplish in one day. I’m not saying don’t push yourself (definitely push yourself!) I’m just saying, recognize that there are only 24 hours in a day.
- Focus on the positive – If you sit down and think negative thoughts about what you need to accomplish (example “this task is too difficult” or, “I probably won’t get them done so why even try”), you aren’t going to go very far. Try to brush the negative thoughts aside, they are going to destroy your productivity.
Stay Productive with These 6 Tips
How do you stay productive throughout your day? If you are like me, you likely struggle with productivity from time to time. Did you know though that there are things that you can do to help become more productive?
Check out these 6 tips on how to stay productive and see if they help you:
- Wake up earlier. Make it a habit of waking up earlier in the day to accomplish more. Waking up before the rest of the family is up gives you a chance to get lots of work done in the quiet hours before the noise happens.
- Plan it. Plan and schedule the things that you need to do. Don’t just think “oh I need to do that later” WRITE IT DOWN in your calendar and make it a priority, you are far more likely to accomplish your goals if they are more than just a passing thought.
- Celebrate meeting your goals. Even if it is just a quiet 5 minutes and a cup of coffee, make sure you pat yourself on the back and celebrate completing a goal. This is often motivation enough to move forward to the rest of your to-do list.
- Take on less. The reason many of us have such a hard time completing our to-do lists is that our to-do list is simply too long. You don’t have to do everything by yourself. Delegate some of your tasks or accept offers of help when they come your way. You deserve a break.
- Workout. I know, I know, you don’t have time to hit the gym, but do it anyway. Even a small workout session can increase your productivity by a lot. Plus, you will feel better afterward!
- Focus and breathe. I know you are busy, I know you have a lot going on, but you must take some time to relax. Taking a break and simply spending time breathing on occasion can improve your productivity immensely.