5 Simple, Easy Ways To Be More Productive at Work (and Home!).

Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort. – Paul J Meyer.

She decided it was time to be more productive, get her focus back, and manage her time better.

(This is a post by Melissa Cook Boykin)

If you’ve ever experienced runner’s high you know how great it feels.

You’re in the zone.

All factors that affect the run seem to converge at an optimal level, creating an effortless sense of forward momentum that leaves you breathless, invigorated, and brimming with energy and aliveness.

What an amazing feeling, right!?

Now imagine feeling like that about your work or daily chores. It IS possible!

FLOW is the runner’s-high in the world of productivity and it allows you to crank high quality work out effortlessly and quickly.

It’s the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in feelings of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. The hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy, even rapture, while performing a task.

When you’re in flow, procrastination, distraction, overwhelm, and missed deadlines are obliterated (or at least dissolve down to something that isn’t even on your radar).

Everything seems to just come together. And as you create flow in your days, you’ll begin to experience an undercurrent of flow in your life.

Flow is where the high is.

Here are 5 simple things you can do to get flow on a daily basis:

1) PRACTICE A MORNING MINI-ROUTINE.

Spend 2-5 minutes EVERY morning to decide what tasks are priority that day – and map out when you’re going to work on what. (Actually plug time blocks into your calendar!)

Set your day up right with this simple tip because just slamming into your day is a guaranteed way to waste time and create disappointment/frustration for yourself.

2) TAKE THE EMOTION OUT OF WORK.

Set your emotions to the side. It’s time to put your head down and go.

If attention is given to every emotion that crosses, productivity will go out the window. There is a time and place to give attention to your emotions, but it isn’t during work.

If you must, take a short break, shake it off, and come back determined.

3) SET A TIMER.

Each time you sit down to work on a project or through a list of tasks, set a timer. This will help keep you focused and on track.

Setting a timer allows you to become hyper-focused. You don’t have to keep an eye the clock (to ensure you aren’t late for your next scheduled thing). You can totally sink into the task at hand and be pulled out of your “zone” when your timer goes off.

4) PREVENT DISTRACTIONS.

Before you’ve set a timer to work deeply on something, make sure to shut down any dings, rings, or pings that could divert your attention.

After your timer goes off, THEN you can check to see what you’ve missed! Until then – forget it!

5) KEEP A NOTEPAD NEXT TO YOU.

There are times when you’re working and you suddenly have a thought that pops in your head that you don’t want to forget. It can be totally distracting and pull you away from what you’re doing.

Keep a notepad next to you while you’re working so that you can easily jot down the random ideas and thoughts that come to mind. This keeps your flow going AND ensures that you won’t forget the little-but-could-be-life-changing nugget.

These super-simple tips are easy to implement and will amp up  your productivity like crazy.
* main pic source: istockphoto.com.

What small easy tips do YOU have to keep you in a productive flow? Share them in the comments below! And if this post was helpful for you, please like/tweet/pin it, thanks!

A certified life and productivity coach for startups founders and entrepreneurs, Melissa Foster Cook is on a mission to optimize her clients’ mindset + lives so they get out of their own way… and get big things done.

Her hyper-focused, energetic approach is coupled with wisdom, warmth, and wit. Want more productivity tips and tricks? Check out one of her most-liked presentations here or visit her blog for some crazy-good videos and articles. 
________________________________________________________________________________________

** Want MORE BLISS and less stress in your life? Inner Sparkle: The 21 Day eCourse is made for you. Click here to get inspired. Happy. Sparkly. **

________________________________________________________________________________________

SPARKLE FLIGHT CLUB: WHERE DREAMS TAKE FLIGHT & FEARS GET GROUNDED. 30 day purpose + passion + self rediscovery digital experience. Starts October 1st, 2012. CLICK FOR DEETS.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Facebook comments:

comments

Comments

  1. says

    Thanks for the great tips, Melissa! My morning routine includes saying an abundance mantra and deciding my top 3-6 priorities for the day. I still find that it takes me all day to get them done ‘cos I slack off and start hanging out on Facebook! Takes a certain amount of willpower to not turn on the computer first thing in the morning, ay.

  2. Jan says

    Thanks for the tips, Melissa! I have to agree that we should get rid of any distractions that can make our work meaningless. If possible we should not even take a sneak-peak just to check our Facebook or tweet our friends when we’re already clocked in to work. No one wants to have a boring work life (right?) but we should always think that we can be productive even if our boss is not always monitoring us. If I may add a tip, perhaps, more discussions on timedoctor.com/software-for-managing-telecommuters can help us become aware of our time – on how it was spent.

Leave a Reply to Jan Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *