Like thousands of professionals all over the country, you're trying your best to stay organized, keep
your appointments, and still
churn out the countless
hours of work you need to
keep pushing your company
forward.
Most of us aspire to conquer
more and more work in less
and less time, but since none of us can cram more
hours into the day (despite our best efforts),
increasing our productivity is the best we can do.
Even so, in some cruel twist of irony, most
"productivity enhancers," like going to the gym every
morning, seem to add more effort to our already
busy lives. Instead, try one or more of these 15
productivity hacks--which you can execute and
experiment with immediately:

1. Pause your email inbox and turn off your
phone.
Go airplane mode. If someone totaled up all the time
you spend in a given day responding to emails,
answering calls, and responding to text messages,
you'd probably be surprised--if not incredulous--at
the results. If you want to actually get things done,
shut down everything and focus on the tasks at hand
interruption-free. Inbox Pause for Gmail lets you
literally pause your inbox, which does the trick
perfectly.
2. Clean your desk.
Clutter on your desk leads to clutter in the mind. A
messy workspace can make you feel disorganized,
unfocused, or even downright panicked as you look
at all the papers and junk around you. It doesn't take
long to clear things off--especially if you have a lot of
trash lying around--and the benefits of working on a
cleaner desk are immediate.
3. Work on next-day task lists.
It's true that focusing on the present helps you get
tasks done faster, but working on your next day's to-
do lists will help in two ways: First, you'll help your
future self by setting a prioritized list of items in
advance, and second, you'll be clearing your mind of
tasks you don't need to worry about today.

4. Establish a micro-routine.
Forming a long-term habit, like a morning meditation
routine, takes time. Forming a short-term habit yields
similar benefits, but can be implemented
immediately. Instead of introducing some new
activity to keep track of, sort your current
requirements into digestible circuits. For example,
you could break each hour down into a repeatable
process: 15 minutes of communication catch-up, 15
minutes of simple tasks, and 30 minutes of a difficult,
larger task.
5. Break in the middle of a task.
Breaks are important. Taking 10 minutes to clear
your mind can give you enough of a mental boost to
save 15 minutes of eventual effort. Even though it
might be tempting to take a break when you finish a
task, since you've reached a natural milestone, it's
actually more beneficial to break in the middle of a
complex task--that way, it's easy to jump back into
things.
6. Set sprints for yourself.
Large, complex tasks are the usual culprits in slowing
us down. The idea of a large task can distract you or
weigh on your motivation. Instead of trying to plow
your way through it, break it up into sections of
effort. You'll trade one large task for several smaller
ones, and it will be easier to motivate yourself and
measure your progress.
7. Perform mindless tasks as a break.
Mindless tasks are annoying when they're on a task
list, but when you're actually doing them, they can be
quite relaxing. If you don't have time for a real break,
take time away from your current sprint to work on
something mindless. It will keep you productive while
giving your mind a chance to decompress.

8. Deactivate your Internet connection.
No matter how focused or busy you are, the Internet
is always a temptation. Even if your motivations are
purely professional, such as checking in on your
LinkedIn contacts or tweeting on behalf of your
company, there are heavy distractions on every
corner of the Web. To stop yourself immediately,
choose a handful of tasks to work on offline, and
disconnect your Internet for a set amount of time.
9. Replace a meeting with a bulleted email.
Some meetings are genuinely productive. Most
meetings are not. Find an unnecessary meeting to
skip--possibly an internal one--and replace it with a
bulleted email that contains a list of objectives, a list
of deliverables, and a list of questions (if applicable).
It will keep everyone organized and on track without
wasting time in circular or redundant discussion.
10. Work on Sunday night--just a little.
You need to take time to relax on the weekends in
order to keep your sanity, but working Sunday night
can be a great way to catch up and prepare for the
week ahead. On Sunday night, you won't be bothered
with phone calls or emails. Instead, you can look at
the week to come with a refreshed mind and tackle a
few tasks while you're at it.
11. Get rid of your low priorities.
The low-priority tasks on your list will only serve to
distract you or make you feel more pressure
throughout the day. Find a way to get rid of them. If
they take less than two minutes to complete, do
them. If they take longer, then either delegate them
to someone else or schedule them for completion on
a future date.
12. Commit to starting your least pleasant tasks.
We all have tasks on our lists that we dread, but we
can't postpone them forever. Getting the worst tasks
out of the way first can clear your path for the rest of
the day, so commit to at least starting those tasks as
early as possible. You might find that once you get
started, you'll be more motivated to finish quickly. If
you need to break in the middle, you'll have still
accomplished the start of the task.

13. Say no.
Your list is long and it grows longer by the day.
Sometimes the easiest way to get something off your
plate is to avoid accepting it in the first place. Don't
be afraid to say no to a task or a meeting that you
feel would be unproductive.
14. Optimize your commute.
Depending on how close you live, you could have half
an hour or more time to catch up on voicemails,
listen to an audiobook, make voice memos for the
day ahead, or just relax with some calming music.
Make the most of your trip.
15. Go somewhere else.
The mind craves stimulation, and staying behind the
same desk day in and day out can get stale and
stressful. At least one day a week, make an effort to
work in a new location. It can be a home office, a
coffee shop down the street, or even a picnic table in
the park. It's a great opportunity to get a fresh
perspective and a calmer environment in which to
focus.
Most of these productivity hacks are short-term duct-
tape fixes. They don't significantly reduce your
workload or magically create a system to get things
done. But they do eliminate some of the micro-
annoyances keeping you from staying on schedule
and set you up to get more things done in less time.
Your life may never fully calm down, but taking small
steps to make your life easier will improve your
performance and give you more of that irreplaceable
resource--time.

Niceone

Hmmm interesting