With distractions everywhere, you might need a few tips to be more productive and get something done. Sometimes it can be hard to focus when all you want to do is go on Facebook or watch YouTube videos, but work needs to be done. If you feel your procrastination has gotten bad lately, here are some tips to be more productive.
This is one of the tips to be more productive that will help the most. My worst procrastinating happens when I’m on the computer and I think, "Wait, I’ll just check Twitter for a few minutes." The next thing I know, an hour has gone by and I haven’t gotten any farther in my work. The solution? Turn off your wifi and then go to the opposite end of the house if you can. That way, even if you try to get on the internet, you won’t be able to and if you’re far away you’ll be less likely to get up and turn it back on. This one works like a charm!
You’ll find it much easier to do something you may not want to do by taking a break every once in a while. Whatever it may be — writing an essay, doing paperwork, painting a wall — you’ll start to get bored after awhile, and eventually you might stop altogether and not finish what you started. If you take a break to get a snack or something quick like that, you’ll come back to your task hopefully with more drive to do it.
How many times has your phone distracted you from getting something done? The answer for me is way too many. Someone will text me, or I’ll get a call, and my mind will completely wander away from what I’m supposed to be doing. Try putting your phone on silent as much as you can. This’ll help eliminate those pesky distractions.
One of the best things to do is keep a checklist somewhere you can always see it. I put a small white board on the wall next to my desk, and every Sunday I fill it out with the week’s to-do list. Since it’s always in my line of sight, it’s a constant reminder of things I need to get done. Your list can be on your phone, on a notepad — whatever works best for you.
Similar to a to-do list, but a bit more in depth. An agenda will help you keep track of long-term engagements and will help you gauge how much time you have for anything you need to do. I did this to keep track of when all my college application were done, and it helped to know when I needed to mail things and such.
Studies have shown that chewing gum while working on something increases your focus. Have you ever been reading something, or trying to do something boring, and your mind starts wandering? It becomes impossible to complete your task. Chewing gum gives your mind something to do so it doesn’t get bored, which will in turn help you be productive with your tasks.
Listening to music works in the same way that chewing gum does. The music will give your subconscious something to focus on while you’re working, so your mind won’t stray. Music with lyrics could be a very bad distraction though, so try and keep it to instrumentals and classical music.
In making a schedule, you’re allotting yourself a specific amount of time to work on something. It shouldn’t create pressure, but it should help push you along and complete your task if you know you only have an hour to do it. You don’t have to stick to your schedule strictly, but having a guideline for knowing how to finish everything you need to do in a timely fashion really helps.
This is a trick that I learned from a friend my junior year of high school. I was terrible at studying until one day my friend put gummy bears after a few paragraphs in my test book. She said that I could only eat them when I had read up to the paragraph the gummy bear sat on. Needless to say, I read the whole chapter. Rewarding works wonders by giving you something to look forward to and driving you to finish what you need to.
It’s gets hard to be productive sometimes, especially when it’s so much easier to just put things off and do them at the last minute. But with this tips, you’ll be on your way to a cleared up schedule in no time! Do you have any productive tips to share?