34 Easy Tips to Increase Your Productivity

When you boost your productivity, not only do you get more work done, but you can also do it quicker, freeing up more time for you to do the things you really want to do!

Try these tips to help you take control of your day and accomplish more:

1.      Set a goal for each day

2.      Make a schedule – with deadlines – for your tasks

3.      Keep a daily to-do list. Cross off tasks as they're completed.

4.      If a task doesn't really need to be done, just get rid of it altogether

5.      Batch similar tasks together

6.      Learn to say no to requests for tasks that would impede on your priorities

7.      Delegate some of your work

8.      Do the unpleasant items quickly and as early in the day as possible

9.      Slow down. Rushing causes mistakes and actually slows your productivity.

10.  Leave only icons for work programs on your computer desktop

11.  Avoid social networking sites during work hours, unless you use them for work

12.  Color-code your paper files and folders

13.  Take a 2-5 minute "micro nap." Rest your head and close your eyes.

14.  Organize your electronic files and folders so you know where everything is

15.  Use keyboard shortcuts whenever you can

16.  Schedule your most critical tasks for your most effective time of the day

17.  Communicate clearly with clients, bosses, and colleagues

18.  Use a planner faithfully

19.  Search for add-ons for your browser that can speed up your Internet tasks

20.  Take breaks to relax and refresh your mind and body

21.  Use stress-reducing techniques each day to keep stress to a minimum

22.  Keep work and personal email separate. Access only work email when working.

23.  Limit emails to 5 sentences: who, what, where, when, and why

24.  Clear clutter from your desk

25.  Beat procrastination and get started right away on the task at hand

26.  Try doing everything a little faster. Walk, talk, type, and read faster.

27.  Avoid trying to multi-task

28.  Focus hard on being productive for 30 minutes at a time. Set a timer.

29.  Help motivate yourself with your favorite quotes

30.  Focus on the appropriate task—personal or work-related—at the appropriate time

31.  Put on headphones to avoid distracting noises. Listen to music if it helps you.

32.  Focus on the tasks that will accomplish the most

33.  Ask for help

34.  Leave your desk clean at the end of each day

Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com
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Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest

*** check out the Products tab for self-paced workshops, planners and more....

How to Gain Laser Focus in a World Full of Distractions

Our ability to focus has been reduced dramatically. We’ve never had more distractions to deal with. And as disheartening as it sounds, many of the distractions we face were engineered to be as distracting as possible.

Our brains quickly become addicted to these distractions and our ability to focus on important work suffers.

Learning how to focus is a vital skill if you want to be productive and successful.

Overcome the distractions in your life and get things done with these strategies:

    1. Single-tasking beats multitasking. Avoid fooling yourself. You’ll get more done and feel more relaxed if you focus on a single task at a time. It’s not easy for your brain to switch back and forth between different things. Set your priorities and complete them in order.

    2. Do deep focus activities early in the day. Your ability to focus deeply is greatest in the morning and decreases throughout the day. A few people also do well late at night if their day isn’t too demanding.

        ◦ Schedule your more demanding mental tasks earlier in the day. Save the simpler items for later when your focus is weaker.

    3. Practice focusing. You can’t be good at something you don’t practice. It’s harder to focus deeply than you think.

        ◦ Try setting a timer for 15 minutes and keep your attention entirely on performing a task. Notice how stray thoughts constantly interfere. Notice how strong the urge to check your email, text messages, social media becomes.

        ◦ Over time, you’ll be able to focus for longer periods of time before you need a break.

    4. Remove distractions. Make life easier for yourself by removing as many distractions as possible. Put your phone away. Turn off the TV. Block any websites that you find compelling. Close any computer tabs you don’t need. Remove any distracting sounds. Turn off the radio.

    5. Learn to be comfortable with being bored. When you’re focused and working, it can also be boring. Most of us choose to distract ourselves because we’re bored. The better you can handle boredom, the easier it is to avoid engaging in those distractions.

        ◦ When you have the urge to distract yourself, force yourself to wait 15 minutes longer. After a few days of this, try 30 minutes. Keep building on this.

    6. Plan time for your most common distractions. You don’t have to avoid your favorites distractions 100% of the time. Simply schedule time for those activities after your work has been completed for the day. Put a reasonable limit on how long you’ll spend on them.

    7. Get enough sleep. Sleep is important for focus and energy. Your brain needs at least seven hours of sleep to be at its best. Have consistent times for going to bed and waking up.

        ◦ Try sleeping for seven hours each night for a week and rate your ability to focus. The following week try 7.5 hours. If you see an improvement, try eight hours. Keep going if necessary and find the optimum amount of sleep for you.

    8. Eat healthy foods. Your body and brain function better when you eat in a healthy manner. Your focus improves with a healthy diet. Start by eliminating everything you know isn’t good for you – one at a time will work.

Life is a never-ending series of distractions. The most successful people are able to focus in spite of distractions. It takes practice to focus intently in the face of other things vying for our attention. Incorporate these tips into your daily schedule and you’ll see your ability to focus grow.

 Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com
.

Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest

*** check out the Products tab for self-paced workshops, planners and more....

Getting Back on Track in this Stressful Time

The past few months have been very stressful for most people. Most stores and businesses have been shut down. Schools are closed. Routines have been disrupted.

Everyone has been in a state of flux and most people have not continued in their "normal" routines of exercise and being productive. Why? Because everyone was waiting for things to get back to "normal" - so they put everything - including their life - on hold.

Most people never dreamed that we would be isolated and quarantined for so long.

It's time to start getting back on track. It's time to get up and get dressed in something other than sweats. It's time to get back to your regular workout program. It's time to get back to healthy!

Having a "routine' is important to alleviate stress. It makes things "seem" better. By having structure we can accomplish more.

And kids - more than adults thrive on structure. So make up a daily schedule to help yourself get back on track. Be sure to add in a time slot for exercise - even if it's just going for a walk. Add in a time slot to connect with your friends or colleagues from work.

Start setting some goals for things that you want to accomplish over the next few months. Be sure to make them attainable and realistic goals.

Get your life back on track and ORGANIZED. Get your home organized and ready for summer.

Take your life off of hold and make some plans!

If you are stuck with where to start - reach out to a Life & Business Coach to help you navigate your options.

Listen to our interview on Business Talk Radio to learn more about what a Coach can do for you.



Radio Interview on Business Talk Radio


Happy Organizing !



 Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com
.

Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest

Papers - Papers - and MORE Papers....

One of the hardest, most emotionally exhausting thing to work on is PAPER ORGANIZING!

I always warn my clients that working with paper is a lot more exhausting than organizing a closet or pantry. It's not that it's physically exhausting - unless you're lifting a 50 pound box of paper - it's the emotional exhaustion that is the hard part.

When you are organizing a closet and you take out a few sweaters - it looks like you actually made a dent in your closet. But - when you take a few pieces of paper out of a file - you really can't even notice. Therefore, you think that you haven't accomplished as much and have a tendency to get frustrated easier. Even if you work for 2 - 4 hours on sorting through papers - it doesn't pack the same visual punch as if you had emptied out a closet.

But paper disorganization is one of the most challenging things to tackle. You have to look at every single sheet of paper (and there are 500 sheets in a ream of paper) - in order to make a decision on if it's something that you need to keep or if it's something that can be disposed of. Then you have to decide if it's something that you really need to shred.

So many decisions....

A Professional Organizer can help you wade through your papers and help you make sense of them. They can help you set up a system THAT WORKS - FOR YOU. Not someone else.

In order for the paper clutter not to return - you have to have a system that you can maintain. A system where YOU can find things - EASILY.

A Professional Organizer can help you with:

*   Incoming mail & bills - creating a system that will work for you
*   File creation and monthly or quarterly maintenance
*   Creating a financial system - including filing system, setting goals and budgets
*   Life Management - identifying all of your important information, including account information, contact information, medical information, house & property information and so much more...
*   Emergency planning
*   Anything paper related....

Paper organizing takes on a life of it's own. If you have a system in place where you only keep paper that is needed for tax or legal or bill purposes - and you have a designated place for that paper - then you will be much happier and less stressed. And - you will be able to find whatever you need within minutes!

If you do nothing else this year - go through your filing cabinet (or wherever you keep you papers....) and get rid of anything that you are not required to keep. *** Make sure that you check with your accountant and/or lawyer before discarding any questionable papers - they should have a list of how long you need to keep documents.

Happy Paper Organizing!


Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com
.

Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest

Organizing - While You Have Time On Your Hands

While a lot of businesses are closed - and you aren't working and have "spare" time on your hands - it's time to start on those Organizing projects that you have been putting off.

Whether it's clearing out your clothes closet, or pantry, basement or garage - we are here to offer you any advice or ideas. * Send us an email and we will gladly offer you any suggestions.

Start by having a bag (we suggest different colored bags for donate and trash) to put things into that you no longer, need, want or is broken. Since most donation places are still closed - make sure that you have a place to store the bag until they reopen.

It's always easiest if you take everything out of the closet (or wherever you are working), clean it out, sweep or wipe it down - before you start putting anything back in. Remember - things always look worse before you are finished.

Be realistic about your "things". If you haven't used it in a while - ask yourself why you are keeping it. It's time to make that hard decision on letting it go!

*****

Another idea on what to Organize:

Your information!  Do you have a list of all of your critical information? All in ONE PLACE? For easy access in case of emergency? A list of all of your financial accounts, insurance information, medical information, household information, family contacts....

There are numerous ways to accomplish this! Whether it's a written form (book or spreadsheets) or an online form - whatever works for you. The point is - everyone should have a list of EVERYTHING - all in ONE PLACE.

This does take some initial work - but after that all you need to do is update it when your information changes.

*****

There are a lot of things that you can Organize during this downtime! If you need help with getting started or working on a project - we can help VIRTUALLY!  Email us and ask us how it all works.

Happy Organizing!

Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com
.

Working From Home - Is It Working For You?

Before the Coronavirus consumed everyone's life - most people thought that working from home would be a dream come true! You don't have to get dressed. You can throw in a load of laundry in between writing reports or doing whatever work you do, or watch some T.V.  And no one would ever know.

And then reality set in.

Having a "normal" job - where you have to go to (drive to) work does have it's advantages. It forces you to have a "schedule" and a "routine". It usually requires you to be accountable to a lot more people. And there are usually not as many distractions. You are there to "work".

Unless you are very disciplined - working at home has it's challenges. There are a lot of distractions - people knocking at your door - because "you're working from home - so you are available to chat", the TV lures you in, there are house projects that you could squeeze in, and kids wanting your attention.

So how do you make it work when you aren't used to working from home?

First, make a dedicated work space. Somewhere quiet, without distractions. Make sure that you have all of the equipment and tools that you need to be productive.

Second, make sure that your kids (if they are at home) know that you are "working" and they cannot disturb you (unless there's blood) during set working hours.

Third, make a schedule and stick to it!  Use your calendar just like you would if you were at work. Don't get distracted by personal emails or Facebook or Twitter or whatever other social media you are on.

Fourth, have a plan for each day - and stick to it. Try setting a timer for a certain amount of time that you need to work before you can take a break.

Fifth, take breaks and go outside to get some fresh air! A few minutes outside of your home will do wonders to recharge you. But remember to come back to your desk!

For more ways that you can be productive - email me with any questions and I will gladly point you in the right direction.

Have a great week!



Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com
.

Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest