Leaders and entrepreneurs who are at the top of their game know how to achieve what they want in less time than others. We can learn a lot from the tactics of these successful, and incredibly busy, individuals on how to better organize our own days. And some of them use certain methods to get things done. If you do your work efficiently day in and day out chances are you will free up more time and opportunities to do extra things. This could be beneficial in getting a promotion or personal development. So let us dive into the 5 Productivity Techniques that will Squeeze work out of you like Magic
1. The 2 Minute Rule
Most of the tasks that you procrastinate on aren’t actually difficult to do — you have the talent and skills to accomplish them — you just avoid starting them for one reason or another. The 2–Minute Rule overcomes this by making it so easy to start taking action that you can’t say no. It is not a groundbreaking rule. It’s no fancy app or software. It doesn’t even require learning or dedication, and you can start doing it today. Want to become a better writer? Just write one sentence (2–Minute Rule), and you’ll often find yourself writing for an hour. Get this thing rolling and you have a pretty neat habit of doing things right away.
2. Workstation popcorn
This fancy name is given to a method where you take your work to different physical places. List out everything you need to do today. Try to be as specific as you can. Ensure that each item on your list is a clear action rather than a vague intention. Now assign them to the locations. These spots can be your usual work desk, your favorite coffee shop, your garden or anywhere else. Break the items in the list to 3 roughly equal sections so that you don’t have the issue of having to move to a dozen different locations. This would be an even better idea for entrepreneurs or people who work from home. The intervals to commute naturally provides breaks. You can extend these a little longer if you feel like.
3. Promodoro Technique
In the pomodoro technique you choose a task and break it down into tasks of 25 minutes each. Now that 25 minute work period is called a “pomodoro”, named after the Italian word for tomato. This is a really helpful technique if you use it correctly and sincerely. The idea is this: You decide on the task to be done. Set the pomodoro timer (try not using your phone for this because it will distract you) to 25 minutes. Work on the task until the timer rings; record with an x. Take a short break of 5 minutes.
After four pomodori, take a longer break (15–30 minutes).
4. Getting Things Done or GDT
The GTD workflow consists of five stages: capture, clarify, organize, reflect, and engage. It doesn’t require you use a tool, although there are tons of them available. The real thrust of GTD is to encourage you to embrace some method to get your tasks and ideas out of your head and organized as quickly as possible so they’re easy to manage and see. GTD also suggests you organize to-dos in order of priority and time required to accomplish them: things that can be done quickly should be done sooner, and large projects should be broken out into things that can be done quickly. There’s much more to it, and it can be a little difficult to adopt, but once you start using GTD, you may never go back.
5. Don’t break the chain
It’s simple to implement and leverages our own human nature to keep us working on the things that are important to us and reaching for our goals. Pick something you want to start doing, do it, and then spend the same time every subsequent day doing that thing. Every day you do the thing you want to do, mark it down on a calendar.
Over time, that series of marks on the calendar will serve as their own motivation, encouraging you to keep going, and keep doing that thing every day as long as you can. In essence, don’t break the chain. All you really need to get started is a calendar of some type and a marker. As you work, you’ll be able to easily see how we’ll you’re doing because you can look at the calendar, and you can easily plan for sick days, vacations, and still keep the rhythm going. No books to read, no software to install—just you, a calendar, and little red marks that keep you motivated better than any email alert or buzzing mobile device ever could.
Source: lifehacker