Productivity is crucial to your success in both your personal and professional lives. However, achieving work-life balance is getting harder for employees as every business becomes more competitive and they struggle to juggle various tasks at work and at home.
According to a survey 80% of American workers take their work home.In the end, they spend an additional seven hours every week on average, which is virtually an extra day.
We’ve put together a list of productivity tips to assist you find the ideal balance between your work and personal lives in order to spare you the stress and tiredness.
Here it goes:
1. Make To-do lists
Virgin Group CEO Richard Branson has a trick under his sleeve that allows him to complete more work in less time. The man, who may claim to have founded more than 400 businesses, has a multitude of to-do lists to stay organised and manage his time.He went on to say, “Lists not only provide great structure to getting things done but they also help us to set goals and achieve our dreams.”
Making and using the list could seem a little challenging, but don’t worry—we have some advice. Try the “1-3-5 To-do list” method, where you set aside time each day to complete one major activity, three medium-sized activities, and five minor things.
2. Time-box every task
After creating a to-do list, time all the items on it. You might wonder what the heck a time-box is. The practise of placing severe time restrictions around a task or activity is known as timeboxing. You have a fair probability of finishing a task on time when you timebox it.
You might use a small psychological trick while allocating time for your assignments. Try giving each assignment a personality. For instance, delivering a significant client pitch will make you feel “triumphant,” and doing the things on the list will make you feel “self-assured” and “confident.”
3. Make the most of your commute time
People who are able to successfully balance their personal and professional lives understand the value of each and every minute. Every minute you waste in a day adds up to additional hours of overtime. You must utilise your commute time wisely if you want to prevent this. How about getting a project update so that, by the time you arrive, you have a precise idea of the project’s state.
Popular author Crystal Paine sums it up perfectly when she remarked,“If you want to be more productive, you need to become a master of your minutes.”Wouldn’t it be fantastic to eliminate time-consuming duties throughout your commute and simplify your life?
4. Become proactive and stop procrastinating
One of the biggest enemies of productivity is procrastination. While some only sometimes explore it, others postpone religiously. You have no clue how complicated it can make your life. Recognizing it and making little changes to be more proactive are the only ways to overcome it. Instead of just passively observing, it implies to be actively involved and to anticipate the results.
David Allen, a bestselling author and productivity expert, introduced “Two Minute Rule” to beat procrastination.He suggests that you perform the assignment right away if it will just take two minutes or less. You may absolutely achieve a better work-life balance throughout the year with the aid of this handy tip.
5. Take regular breaks
Running from one meeting to the next and having the impulse to work on several things at once can be utterly counterproductive for you. You become drowsy from it, but you also lose concentration and productivity. For this reason, many professionals take regular, brief breaks to stay focused.
We advise that you work for 90 minutes before taking a 15-minute rest. You can use this time to freshen up, refill your water bottle, or take a brief walk outside your place of business. Take a 10- to 20-minute power nap during lunch if you can to recharge your batteries.
6. Keep digital distractions at bay
There is yet one more issue that could hinder your productivity. Who can guess? No. Distractions cause it. There are various outside distractions that can divert your attention. Calls, continuous Whatsapp pings, and pop-up alerts from various social networking accounts are a few of them.
You would struggle to accomplish your daily or weekly goals if you added up the minutes spent looking through your Facebook or Instagram feed. There is only one method to combat these distractions: turn off notifications, use your phone as little as possible, or only while you are taking a break.
7. Don’t bring work at home
Bring no unresolved business home. If it isn’t finished yet, you might wonder where you’d take it. Thank your lucky stars or your capacity to finish your assignment on time if you are not one of the persons who makes up the mentioned proportion in the post’s introduction.
Leave your work at the workplace; if you work more than eleven hours every day, depression is more likely to strike. Additionally, since you won’t be able to spend meaningful time with your loved ones, it may harm your relationships. Make it a rule that you will only work from home when absolutely necessary.
8. Prepare for Monday on Friday
We are aware that on a Friday night, you don’t want to be worrying about the following Monday. A little preparation will save you hours of hard labour and effort because Mondays are busier than the other days of the week.
Whether you like it or not, plan and organise for the upcoming week within the last 15 to 20 minutes of Friday. You might set the tone for the rest of the week if you planned a day in advance. You would successfully complete the majority of your goals, if not all of them, if you were clear about your aims. You’d be able to enjoy both your business and personal time at home as a result.
9. Relax on weekends
There is more to productivity than just working nonstop. Your ability to be productive also depends on taking some time to “not do anything.” I suppose that’s why there are weekends. Use them to your full advantage to revitalise and refresh oneself. Spend time with your children, go outside, watch a movie, read a book, or simply rest.
On a Sunday night, be sure to get enough sleep to recharge your batteries and get your body ready for the week ahead. Awake with a refreshed mind and body by going to bed at a reasonable hour.
You can increase your productivity by making minor adjustments to your daily routine, but consistency is the key. And the ultimate rewards would go to those who truly dedicate themselves. So everyone can construct a fulfilling personal and professional life, and it is definitely doable.
Now, it’s over to you how do you maintain your work-life balance? Let me hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Also Read: 7 Important Facts for a Long and Healthy Life