Boosting Your Productivity

I read an interesting blog about "boosting your productivity" by Steve Pavlina. This is part of two blogs he posted. They both had 33 ways to boost your productivity - thats a total of 66 (just trying to help). I put some of my favorites, ok I put a bunch of my favorites, here. Check out his blog for the rest. And "Happy Productivity Boosting". Hope this helps.


Boost your productivity...

>>Nuke it! The most efficient way to get through a task is to delete it. If it doesn’t need to be done, get it off your to do list.
>>Daily goals. Without a clear focus, it’s too easy to succumb to distractions. Set targets for each day in advance. Decide what you’ll do; then do it.
>>Worst first. To defeat procrastination learn to tackle your most unpleasant task first thing in the morning instead of delaying it until later in the day. This small victory will set the tone for a very productive day.
>>Peak times. Identify your peak cycles of productivity, and schedule your most important tasks for those times. Work on minor tasks during your non-peak times.
>>No-comm zones. Allocate uninterruptible blocks of time for solo work where you must concentrate. Schedule light, interruptible tasks for your open-comm periods and more challenging projects for your no-comm periods.
>>Timeboxing. Give yourself a fixed time period, like 30 minutes, to make a dent in a task. Don’t worry about how far you get. Just put in the time.
>>Early bird. Get up early in the morning, like at 5am, and go straight to work on your most important task. You can often get more done before 8am than most people do in a day.
>>Ready-fire-aim. Bust procrastination by taking action immediately after setting a goal, even if the action isn’t perfectly planned. You can always adjust course along the way.
>>Promise. Tell others of your commitments, since they’ll help hold you accountable.
>>Punctuality. Whatever it takes, show up on time. Arrive early.
>>Glittering prizes. Give yourself frequent rewards for achievement. See a movie, book a professional massage, or spend a day at an amusement park.
>>Continuum. At the end of your workday, identify the first task you’ll work on the next day, and set out the materials in advance. The next day begin working on that task immediately.
Slice and dice. Break complex projects into smaller, well-defined tasks. Focus on completing just one of those tasks.
>>Single-handling. Once you begin a task, stick with it until it’s 100% complete. Don’t switch tasks in the middle. When distractions come up, jot them down to be dealt with later.
>>Super Slow. Commit yourself to working on a particularly hideous project for just one session a week, 15-30 minutes total. Declutter one small shelf. Purge 10 clothing items you don’t need. Write a few paragraphs. Then stop.
>>Dailies. Schedule a specific time each day for working on a particular task or habit. One hour a day could leave you with a finished book.
>>Plug-ins. Inject one task into the middle of another. Read while eating lunch. Return phone calls while commuting. Listen to podcasts while grocery shopping.
>>Gratitude. When someone does you a good turn, send a thank-you card. That’s a real card, not an e-card. This is rare and memorable, and the people you thank will be eager to bring you more opportunities.
>>Denial. Just say no to non-critical requests for your time.
>>Mastermind. Run your problem past someone else, preferably a group of people. Invite all the advice, feedback, and constructive criticism you can handle.
>>Opt-out. Quit clubs, projects, and subscriptions that consume more of your time than they’re worth.
>>TV-free. Turn off the TV, especially the news, and recapture many usable hours.
Timer. Time all your tasks for an entire day, preferably a week. Even the act of measuring itself can boost your productivity, not to mention what you learn about your real time usage. >>Valor. Pick the one item on your task list that scares you the most. Muster all the courage you can, and tackle it immediately.
>>Nonconformist. Run errands at unpopular times to avoid crowds. Shop just before stores close or shortly after they open.
>>Reminder. Add birthday and holiday reminders to your calendar a month or two ahead of their actual dates. Buy gifts then instead of at the last minute.
>>Do it now! Recite this phrase over and over until you’re so sick of it that you cave in and get to work.
>>Inspiration. Read inspiring books and articles, listen to audio programs, and attend seminars to keep absorbing inspiring new ideas (as well as to refresh yourself on the old ones).
>>Gym rat. Exercise daily. Boost your metabolism, concentration, and mental clarity in 30 minutes a day.