I overheard an interesting conversation, more like a banter, between two friends browsing through some books in the self-help section of the bookstore.
The cocky one of the two was recommending a productivity book to his friend, going on about the author and how the book is ‘The’ book for improving his productivity.
The nerdy one let him go on and then quipped with elan, “First wake up on time. All else will fall into place.”
I simply couldn’t resist laughing on the other side of the bookshelf. Trust your friend to keep you grounded with brutal truths and simple advice.
But this offhand remark triggered some serious thinking. It’s not complex hacks or tools that boost our productivity. It’s the basics, the small things. Like waking up on time.
Some days are just not for you. Your productivity goes out of the window. Your work begins to pile up. And doesn’t matter how much you try, you seem to be running on a hamster wheel, reaching nowhere.
And it’s not because of the quantum of work or the clock working against you.
The reason can be as silly as not waking up on time.
Productivity depends on following some simple, but often overlooked, habits which have the ability of bringing about a 360 degree change in you and your efficiency.
Starting the Day Off in a Rush
The satisfaction of pressing the snooze button is unrivalled. Those few stolen minutes can give you, undoubtedly, the most blissful sleep. Yet there’s a price to pay for those pleasures.
Those extra few minutes can result in a rushed start to the day. Don’t let your alarm clock become the starter’s gun. And as you jump start the day, you don’t give yourself the time to ease into the routine.
Your brain is still easing out of sleep. And when you force it to get into the high-gear too quickly, it falters – forgetting a few jobs, skipping some steps or just feeling foggy.
When you’re in a hurry, you make compromises like skipping breakfast. You rush out to get to office on time, but you reach there all flustered and frustrated.
You’re constantly playing catch up. And this ultimately affects the attitude for the entire day.
With this state of mind, expecting any form of productivity or quality work is a joke.
Work on developing a thoughtful morning routine for productivity.
Begin with waking up half an hour early. Get your mind to calmly get out of the restful state. Complete a few stretches to get the blood circulation going.
Decide your outfit the previous night so you don’t waste time trying out combinations or searching for something in particular.
Have a relaxed breakfast. Don’t expect to run the race on an empty stomach. Pack some healthy snacks the day before to beat the mid-morning hunger pangs.
These are all routine tasks, things you do every day. So why not make them less stressful by giving yourself a few minutes extra in the morning?
Not Have a Plan for the Day
The headless chicken routine will continue once you’re at work because you haven’t bothered to plan the day.
Rather, you didn’t have the time to decide what you want to do or have to accomplish.
So what do you do? Check your emails. Because that’s the closest to some form of organised work.
And then follow it up with the first job that you come across. This job is not selected based on urgency, or priority, or need; it happened to appeared first on your radar.
STOP doing that.
Plan your work so you can focus on those tasks that are high on priority, that need your attention, that your fresh mind can work on.
Before leaving for the day, jot down your top tasks for the next day. Assign priorities so you know which ones to handle first. That’s the first productivity habit to adopt.
Use the Eisenhour matrix to organise your work. You don’t need fancy templates. Simply draw a quick grid on the calendar and jot down the task in the appropriate grids. Done.
Or try the 1-3-5 rule – one big task, 3 medium tasks and 5 small tasks for each day.
Figure out what works for you and follow it.
If you’re into digital tools, block out tasks on google calendar with buffer time in between. Or try Todoist or Notion to track and prioritise your daily goals easily.
Once this is sorted, your productivity will show upward trends.
Not Taking Regular Breaks
Just because you’re in a flow, don’t forget to take a break. You’ll do yourself a favour.
Your mind and body need that pause to refresh and rejuvenate.
Have a cup of coffee, walk a few steps, do some stretches, talk to someone.
A change of pace will do you good.
Working continuously for long hours can cause mental fatigue, slow down your mind, dry up fresh ideas.
You need to take a breather to allow yourself some cooling down time.
Constantly being on the treadmill or getting worked up about meeting deadlines will get you nothing but high blood pressure and ulcers, or even a panic attack.
Can’t ignore it since most of you’d be sitting at the desk for nearly 12 hours a day, or even more. And you do know what it can do to your back, your spine and even your mind?
If you find remembering to take a break difficult or get too carried away with your work, keep a timer (modified 80-20 method). For every 2 hours of focused work, take a half hour break. You deserve it.
Try it out for a week. Notice the difference before you junk it. Break time at work must be sacrosanct.
The breaks are like summer breeze in the hot intensity of your work schedule.
Skipping Meals
Taking a break? Make it count. Grab a small snack. Or walk to the cafeteria and grab a cup of coffee.
Eating regularly is equally essential. They’re the fuel for your engine. Studies show that skipping breakfast can lower productivity by 20%. There, you start off the day with the fuel tank half full.
But be conscious of what you put inside you. Desist the urge to grab a greasy sandwich or potato chips or something equally unhealthy.
Even skipping meals is not advisable. “Oh, I was so busy I didn’t get to have lunch!” Yeah, makes you look cool for 10 seconds but you pay the price for it for life. You can end up with acidity, if you keep to your irregular meal times.
I often see groups of young professionals walking into the nearest shop to have their daily quota of samosas, and kachoris, and bhajjis. Really want to see their health report.
If food is the fuel, then stuffing yourself with such unhealthy snacks is not helping.
Dried fruits, mixed nuts, fresh fruits, juices, healthy sandwiches, salads – the options are plenty, if you look around. And trust me, they aren’t boring or bland.
The right food can energise you, help you build up your energy levels. So, before you bite into that samosa, think.
Multitasking
It’s not multitasking – thinking and eating.
But multitasking is a killer of your productivity. People flaunt their multi-tasking abilities to show off their efficiency.
Don’t get fooled by all that big talk. Just look at their output, the productivity. How much have they got done?
A close review will reveal the harsh truths.
When you work on multiple tasks simultaneously, your attention is distributed, your efforts are spread thin, and your mind is distracted. Not the ideal conditions for producing quality work.
Believe me, I’ve been there. I once tried working on preparing notes for class, write a piece for posting later, and create some graphics for my sales. End result – total khichdi (an indescribable mess) and delayed outcomes.
When you’re constantly shuttling from one job to another, or when your mind has to keep switching from one thing to another, it’s not possible to give it your best, is it?
Multitasking is a myth created by the higher ups to push you into accepting more work; it worked well in the conventional 9 to 5 set-ups back then.
What matters is quality over quantity. I hope you agree with that. If you agree and understand the truth, you’ll be able to work more efficiently.
Final Thoughts
Working culture, environment, systems, all have changed drastically in the last decade, give or take a few years. So isn’t it time to change the productivity rules and beliefs also?
It’s a lot more easier to increase your productivity since you’ve access to a lot more info about health, mindfulness, and technology.
Use these tools to become a stronger professional. Don’t wait till these bad habits become a part of you and lead you down an unproductive path.
Fell off the wagon today? Its ok. Everyone hits a productivity slump. What matters is what you do next.
Start small. Start again. Take stock of your life, and your work, today.
Like James Clear says, “Focus on the seeds, not the trees. What seeds are you planting today?”
