Time is our most precious asset, our greatest luxury – but we often forget it and waste it. A good division of your time can make your work easier – and also improve your free time. These are our best tips to get more out of every day – what are yours? Let us know in the comment box. And now to our to-do list …
- Make yourself aware of your goals
First things first – what do you want? The first step in completing tasks is to set a few goals.
We tend to put 3 types of things on a to-do list:
So first you have to define what kind of goal it is – it will be difficult to write down your ambitions on Monday and cross them out as ‘done’ on Tuesday! Instead, divide them into smaller tasks (publish blog, share portfolio, prepare events, etc.). This will help you get closer to your goal and create a more manageable list.
When you have defined your goals, whether for today or for the whole year, write them down. The easiest way is to keep a good, reliable schedule and set a few deadlines. But if you’re looking for a stricter method, a Bullett Journal is a great way to plan your daily tasks, appointments, and habits.
For inspiration, take a look at our blog about creating effective to-do lists
- Divide up the day
A big step towards increasing your productivity is to no longer view your day as a long block of time or as two rather long blocks of half a day each. Most psychologists agree that you can only really concentrate on one thing for about 45 minutes.
That said, if your goals for the day are too big or too ambitious, you will struggle to achieve them. Put yourself back to school age – add your to-do list to a timetable and change your activities after each ‘school hour’. This is also a great way to answer regular tasks like emails or limit admin to a limited amount of time instead of spilling them all day.
Or, to keep it simple, grab a tomato – the commodore technique was invented by Italian developer Francisco Cigarillo in the 80s and recommends working in 25-minute sections, with a 5-minute break between sections and a longer one Break after 4 sections. With these little breaks for the activities of your choice (going for a walk, playing with the dog, surfing on Tinder …) it will be easier for you to stay on course.
Learn more about the Commodore technique
Productivity Tips Instagram Phone
- Make distractions more constructive
Think of distractions as research time! If you can’t resist your cell phone during your productive hours or feel the urge to open your book instead of concentrating on the task at hand, do some useful research. If Instagram or Reddit are your favorite distractions, give yourself time to explore – but set yourself a limit.
To stick with the photographer’s example, you could use this time to explore the most popular photography hashtags and find out what the competition is doing or ask a question in an industry-related forum. Such activities give you a little break – and at the same time, it can be very advantageous to regularly monitor your industry and keep up to date. You never know what ideas you could come up with.
- Set priorities
We all know (whisper it) that we never really come to the end of our to-do lists. There is still one thing we could do, a task that needs to be finished. So another trick is to make a leaderboard – always be aware of what your priorities are and tackle these tasks first.
Many people also swear by doing the most unpleasant things first. Do you have to do the filing? Are you about to file a tax return? Get rid of this first to avoid procrastination later – at the end of the day you will be happy that the hated task is done and can enjoy your evening off more.
Productivity Tips Computer Phone Mug and Keyboard
- Rethink your work-life balance
Everyone has a natural rhythm with ups and downs throughout the day. Fortunately, more and more modern businesses are realizing
