Being productive is not about doing more, but about doing things in an efficient manner. To understand how some people manage to get a lot more out of their day than the average person, Amantha Imber interviewed them to learn about their routines, rituals, practices, and work hacks. Four tips especially stood out.
Batch your meetings
When you have a meeting coming up in the next hour or two, you get 22% less work done compared to when you have no upcoming meetings at all
- Think about it – what do you find yourself doing before a Zoom call, a virtual team update, or a one-on-one meeting with your boss
Read your work out loud
Look out for words that are clunkers or difficult to read and replace them with simpler language so that your writing is easier to digest and easier to understand.
- Proofread more accurately and find the optimal rhythm and pace for your work.
Avoid using the mouse
Most software shares the same shortcuts, meaning the more you learn, the faster you will become across the board
- Here are a few to get you started
- Use the mouse only when absolutely necessary
- Never touch the mouse without a keyboard shortcut
Nudge your way to better behavior
Consider what habits you want to change and think about how you can alter your environment to influence those behaviors
- For example, turning off your phone or putting it on airplane mode will help you stay more focused at work.
- In the same way, making small altercations to your surrounding can inspire you to act on things that you’ve been avoiding or don’t naturally want to do.
