Everyone wants to find ways to be more productive at work. But just having more coffee and making lists will not make you reach your peak productivity (although it does help).

Why is everyone looking to improve their productivity? In this digital age we live in, it is even more difficult now more than ever to stay on task and avoid distractions. The other reason is how much better you feel about yourself after having a productive day at work.

The search for a more productive workday has led to a common misconception in what ‘productivity’ actual means. It means a lot more than just checking tasks off your to-do list, truly productive people aren’t just focused on doing more things, but focused on doing more things that matter.

Follow the tips below and find out how to be more productive at work?

Focus on yourself in the morning

Spending the first part of the morning checking your emails and your calendar can be a real productivity killer, allowing others to dictate what you want to achieve during the workday. Instead of this, spend some time on yourself by getting some good breakfast, reading the news, or doing a workout. This will help you to get in the right mindset and prepare yourself for a productive day.

Cut down on your to-do list

Being more productive does not mean doing as many tasks as possible during your workday. Check your to-do list for the day, and ask yourself if some of those tasks really need doing?

Take a less is more approach and focus on tasks that have more importance.

Create a system

You’ve probably already developed some productivity-killing habits over the years (everyone has!). Manage the things that distract you most by creating a system for your day. For those who spend too much time on their emails, reserve a specific time slot during your day to manage your inbox.

Start with your challenging tasks

Tackle your most challenging tasks before lunch when your brain is fresh. If you have any meetings or phone calls, try to arrange them for the afternoon. By re-scheduling your day like this, you will be able to create a more productive way of managing your workload throughout the day.

Use the 80/20 rule

What is the 80/20 rule? Only 20% of what you do produces 80 percent of your results. Remove things that don’t matter or have very little effect on what you’re working towards. For example, break down your next project into tasks and remove the tasks that have less importance until you end up with 20% of them which will get 80% of results.

Manage your emails

Emails have the potential of being a productivity killer and can be a distraction from the important tasks at hand. A good rule to follow is if an email interaction goes beyond two replies, pick up the phone. Instead of receiving distracting emails and taking time the time to reply to them constantly throughout the day, pick up the phone and solve the problem with a quick chat so you can get back to what you need to do.

Stop the multi-tasking

Sometimes we feel overwhelmed with the amount of work we have to do and end up doing 10 different tasks at once. This is not the way to go about it! Get things done more effectively by focusing on one task at a time.

Take more breaks

You know it is time to take a break when your eyes and brain starts to ache after several hours at your desk. Instead of getting to this point, take regular breaks throughout the day to refresh yourself and stay at your peak productivity level.

Productivity or laziness?

Nobody likes admitting it, but laziness is one of the main contributors to a lack of productivity. In fact, a lot of people say that time-saving methods (meetings, emails, etc.) are just ways to get out of doing work. Use your time to focus on completing important tasks that have more importance.

As strange as it sounds, less is more when it comes to being more productive with your workday. 

What do you do to stay productive at work? We would love to know!