Discover These 10 Productivity Secrets

Self-discipline and willpower alone won’t keep you productive. What you really need are healthier, more sustainable habits that leverage your environment for success.

Whatever space you’re working with (your living room, kitchen table, work office, or coffee shop) can be optimized to support your productivity. This will make good behaviors easier and bad behaviors near impossible. And it will do wonders for motivating and keeping you on task.

Let’s explore 10 hacks that utilize your environment to achieve your short and long-term goals.

 Optimize Your Environment 

 Distractions are the death of productivity. Eliminate frequent interruptions that disrupt your workflow and put you off task. Some great ways to accomplish this are to:

1. SET YOUR PHONE TO DO NOT DISTURB
Or better yet, put your phone in a different room or turn it off entirely! According to this 2019 study by Asurion, Americans check their phones approximately 96 times a day. That’s nearly once every 10 minutes!

Eliminate this temptation by putting your phone on Do Not Disturb. For iPhone users, it’s as simple as scrolling up on your home screen and selecting the half-moon icon. This will silence all calls and notifications while your phone is locked so you aren’t distracted every time your phone lights up.

2. TURN OFF PUSH NOTIFICATIONS ON YOUR PC
Speaking of push notifications, you’ll want to turn off these pesky buggers on your computer, too. Email notifications, text messages, and software updates that automatically appear on your screen are a simple way of derailing your train of thought. Easily avoid this interruption by toggling them off in your system preferences.

3. CLOSE UNRELATED BROWSER TABS
If you’re like us, opening your computer to a million open tabs is anxiety-inducing. We might even have a few bald spots already, that’s how badly it makes us want to pull our hair out! Not to mention it slows down your internet connection to snail speed.

A cluttered browser is a quick way to heighten your frustration and tempt you towards other more accessible devices. Protect your peace (and your sanity) by closing any windows not related to the immediate project at hand.

4. BLOCK OUT YOUR CALENDAR
Mastering your calendar is the kind of self-care everyone needs. Adding hours-long “meetings” with you as the only attendee is a great way of scheduling uninterrupted time into your busy itinerary. This way, colleagues are forced to schedule around these busy hours, leaving you plenty of time to conquer that never-ending to-do list.

Optimize Your Energy

We all face crushing workloads that leave us cramming as much as we can into everyday life. As high-achievers, it’s what leaves many of us feeling unfulfilled and underappreciated when we come home. This makes the balance between energy expenditure and energy renewal ever more crucial.

5. TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS
Bestselling author Tony Schwartz writes, “It’s not just the number of hours we sit at a desk that determines the value we generate. It’s the energy we bring to the hours we work.” And he couldn’t be more correct! Taking regular breaks is a powerful way to replenish your reservoir of energy. Refuel your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual tanks often to keep them firing on all cylinders. This will help you get more done in a shorter amount of time and prevent you from experiencing burnout.

Here’s more information on How to Accomplish More by Doing Less.

6. TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY
And we’re not talking about cliche forms of self-care here, either. It’s important for you to:

* SLEEP for 6-8 hours each night to restore your body and mind.
* EAT three full meals a day without eating in front of your computer or at your desk.
* HYDRATE each day with the recommended amount of 11.5 cups of water for women and 15.5 cups for men.
* EXERCISE for at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) per week at medium-intensity or 75 minutes at high-intensity.

Learn more on how to properly nourish your body in our World Health Day blog.

7. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH AFFIRMATIONS
Decorating your space with inspiring messages and mantras can be a great source of encouragement when your motivation dwindles. From quotes, poems, anecdotes, or images, surround yourself with messages that uplift and empower you. This also primes your mind to be ready to conquer and helps keep your workspace positive, happy, and healthy.

If you’re unsure where to start, grab a copy of Reprogram Your Mindset: 100 Winning Quotes and Affirmations for High Performers by Dr. Toni®.

Optimize Your System

8. CLARIFY YOUR STRATEGY

All Winners operate with a plan. Without one, you’re simply drifting in the wind with no clear direction or goal in sight. That’s a big no-no.

Get clear on your plan and visualize your next steps by writing them down. Prioritize which components are more time-sensitive than others. Then, commit to a realistic timeline that accounts for your existing obligations, habits, and lifestyle.

9. GET AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER
Sound familiar? At Soar to Excellence® Coaching, we’re religious about accountability partners. We’re steadfast believers that everyone should put themselves parallel to those with similar values, goals, and a strong work ethic. No one succeeds alone. An accountability partner that can keep you on track and celebrate your successes with you is a powerful tool for motivation.

Learn more about the importance of building a Team and aligning yourself with like-minded individuals in our previous blog post.

10. REFLECT OFTEN
At the end of each week, schedule time to reflect on what’s working well and what isn’t. Did you meet each of your deadlines on time? How many times did you get distracted by something within your control? Did you test out a new system this week? If so, did it make you more or less productive?

These are all crucial questions worth reviewing on a regular basis. It helps spotlight weak areas to improve upon moving forward. It’s also a great opportunity to celebrate small wins and hype yourself up. You deserve the recognition!

Other Ways To Hack Your Productivity 

  • Delete and unfollow distracting apps and social media accounts
  • Use a project management tool like Asana or Trello to track your workflow
  • Publicly commit yourself to deadlines to use peer pressure to your advantage
  • Put your alarm clock away from your bed so you can’t snooze it without getting up
  • Download app and website blockers to protect your digital environment and keep you on task
  • Use a time tracking software like Clockify to monitor how much time is dedicated to each project