For anyone that knows me, knows I am that type of person that will have a checklist for my checklist. I love organization ideas and here are tips that help me stay productive!
1. Outline my workday. I start off with a to do list. Then I organize those to dos and visualize how those tasks would fit into my day. In Outlook, I’ve created a new calendar for my “Ideal Day”. Within this calendar, I block off certain amount of time I would need for each task, and I try my best to fit it into an eight-hour workday. I try to be as specific as possible and leave notes in each calendar appointment as needed. By outlining my day, I head into work with the intention of what I will be doing.
2. Tracking my time with the Clockify app. I recently discovered this app and have been loving it! I’ve tried to track my time using excel and typing in each cell what I’ve worked on within a time period and well, it wasn’t fun to do. With Clockify, I played around in the settings and created “Projects” which are the different categories of work I do each day. When I begin my workday, I’ll start my clockify timer, choose my project and add in any description I want within that given time period that I’m working on the task. When I’m done, I’ll stop the timer and start a new one when I move onto a different project. At the end of the day, I can clearly see how much time I’ve spent in each category. This helps me visualize exactly how much time goes into each thing I work on.
3. Time batching. Group similar tasks and set a time to complete all of these tasks or when the time is up. For example, if you have phone calls you need to make today, set an hour or two to complete all of these calls so you are not jumping from one thing to another back to the original task. You can do this by scheduling it into your calendar, turning on a timer or using a time cube.
4. Good posture. This one is much harder for me as I’ve trained myself to slouch over the years. However, I’ve learned that proper posture eliminates my lower back and shoulder pain. So I’m trying to get into the habit of sitting up a little straighter!
5. Taking breaks to avoid burn out. Somedays you’re in the zone and don’t need as many breaks and others, you might need to step outside multiple times for some fresh air. My rule is to stand up every hour. Even if it’s to stretch.
6. Stay hydrated and eating a nutritious meal. It’s important to pay attention to how food makes you feel. Eating a healthy filling meal helps me stay focused and does make me feel sick or lazy. I also keep a large water bottle with a straw at my desk. I find that the straw makes drinking water a lot easier!
Those are my most used tips to stay on track. I’d love to hear from you. Share with me below any of your tips!
Comments