Procrastination. Ugh. Can't live with it, can't live without it.
"There's so much to do, and so little time."
"Man, how tf am I going to finish this by then!"
"God..."
"Fu..."
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT?
Let's kill the sloth in you.
Try out these tips/tricks, and let me know which ones worked for you!
1. Batch processing
This is especially helpful for mundane tasks. Batch similar tasks together to operate at greater efficiency.
Batch your phone calls. Batch your emails. Batch your bills.
DO NOT CHECK YOUR EMAIL 10 TIMES A DAY! This is a sin.
2. Love your workspace
You should like to sit and work in your workspace. If something about it ticks you off, change it. Keep it clean and organised.
If you don't love your workspace, what are you even doing...
3. If a task takes 2 minutes or less, do it now.
I know a lot of developer friends who preempt using the washroom to save 80 seconds. NO KIDDING. Stop with that madness.
4. Prioritise!
One of the most crucial decisions you have to make while prioritising your task is to think if you should first do important things or urgent things.
💡 TIP: Important things first.
Most people default to doing urgent tasks first — the problem is that if you're always doing urgent tasks, you're not able to accomplish important tasks. Urgent tasks always come up. And there will always be more urgent tasks than you have time to accomplish, no matter how hard you try. (Source here)
5. Divide and conquer
Break down large or complex tasks into small chunks. This way you will have multiple small wins throughout the day. To stay productive, it is necessary to have a healthy amount of dopamine in your system.
6. Brainwave symphonies
Personally, I love listening to some Chopin while working. I know many people who also like to listen to lofi. The music will help you focus your energy.
7. Figure out when are you most productive
You could be highly productive early in the morning or late in the night or even in the afternoon. Figure out when is your body more alert, and capitalise on that.
💡 TIP: Don't schedule meetings or meet people at this time. This time is super precious for you.
8. Templatize everything
I use Notion a lot. I have a template for every damn thing in my life. This helps me reduce number of decisions I make everyday. Believe it or not, decision fatigue is a real thing!
Just for giggles: Why do you think managers are always stressed out without doing anything really impactful? 😉
9. The famous 80/20 rule ~ Pareto principle
80% of results come from 20% efforts.
Understand that being productive does not mean to do more work. It is about generating more value in less time.
Carefully analyse where are you spending your 24 hours at, and then optimise. Automate 80% of the efforts and then improve the remaining 20%.
10. Eat healthy, live healthy, drink well.
Can't stress enough on this point.
Stay peachy!