I recently read an article about productivity at work and I thought it would make a fun post.
Savvy Sugar reports that the average woman’s work day consists of 35% ‘productive work’.
Where does the rest go?
- Email 20.8%
- Looking for stuff 18.75%
- Interruptions12.5%
- Internet searches 13%
[If you ask me, email, looking for stuff, and interruptions are also work!]
I think most of us can agree that we wish there was more time in the day to get things accomplished. Here are some of my favourite tips and tricks for maximizing the work day productivity!
1. Cross it off
Before you go to sleep, make a list of what you want to accomplish the next day, starting with the most important things first. Make sure you include easy-to-accomplish tasks too! Crossing things off a list is fun and it gives you confidence to keep going.
Making a list before sleep is also thought to help you fall asleep faster because you are able to ‘empty’ your mind. Having a good night’s sleep is also crucial for a productive morning!
2. Make rising fun
Give yourself something to get excited about first thing in the morning so you feel eager to get out of bed. My motivation is usually spending time with Eric before he goes to work, a delicious breakfast, or even getting excited about an early morning workout. When I know the weather is nice, I pump myself up for a great run and imagine how good I will feel after. Oh, and Sketchie helps with rising…but you knew that already ;)
Other motivation: Peanut Butter and Jam Vegan Overnight Oats!
3. Get a buzz, but don’t overdo it.
Caffeine in the form of loose leaf Japanese Sencha Green tea always makes me feel focused within seconds without that jittery feeling. Occasionally, I also like to have a cup of French press coffee in the afternoon if I need a boost, especially when doing a boring task…like entering 170 recipes online! Oh yes, I drank a lot of coffee to complete that mission!
4. Get the blood pumping
I’m not always successful at working out first thing in the morning, but when I do I feel my best all day long. I start my day feeling upbeat and accomplished! It helps if I pump myself up the night before, pick a few new workout songs, and also get my workout gear ready next to the bed. The easier I make it for myself to get up and go, the more likely I am to do it. I’ve never regretted a workout first thing in the morning.
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5. Plan Breaks
wMost people function best when they have regular mental and physical breaks to look forward to. When I’m doing a rather boring task like entering business expenses into Excel, I like to take a 5 minute break for every 30 minutes of work. I am able to focus much better when I give myself a stimulating break.
Make your break a reward time for you! Walk around to get blood flowing, do your desk stretches!!!, hit up your favourite websites, chat with a friend (talking actually stimulates and energizes your mind!), drink some water. Breaks keep my motivation high, happiness up, and I’m able to focus on the task without my mind wandering. If I can squeak out 50 minutes of productivity for every hour, I’m a happy girl!
6. Mid-Morning Fuel
When I workout in the morning, I typically like to have a small mid-morning snack to keep me going until lunch (which is usually around 1pm).
My fav snacks? Protein-packed hummus, crackers, and veggies or an apple and almond butter or ABU (image above).
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7. Nix the email & Twitter compulsion
Email and social media is a huge time suck for many of us (you too, Grandma!). It’s not practical to say that you shouldn’t check your email in the morning, so what works for me is scheduling a certain amount of time for email at regular intervals. I devote a certain chunk of time to email in the morning and another chunk of time to email in the afternoon. By chunking email this way, I’m able to get a lot more accomplished instead of checking it every 10 minutes and then getting distracted. I used to start my day with email, but now I like to check a couple important things off my list before I even open it.
I’ve also stopped keeping Twitter open during the day. When I take a break, I may open it and spend a few minutes on it, but for the most part I get so much more done when it’s not distracting me!
8. Turn up the Baroque!
Studies show that you are able to concentrate better, relieve stress, block out noise, and improve communication when listening to Baroque music. The key is to listen to music that doesn’t have a beat. This way, it won’t be distracting and will create white noise blocking out all other sounds (like annoying coworkers!). Don’t know where to find it? Try Grooveshark– it’s free and easy to use.
9. Find Your Prime
Figure out when you work best and then schedule your toughest tasks around that time. I am 100% without a doubt, a morning worker. I have my most productive hours between 8am and 1pm. My mind is clear, I’m able to write, and I can crank out a to do list like nobody’s business. My alertness and focus starts to dwindle by mid-afternoon, so I typically reserve my baking/cooking and photography for the afternoon and keep my writing/desk tasks for the morning.
Find out what works for you and plan your day around your body’s cycles!
What are your tips for a productive (I just typed ‘reproductive’, whoops!!) morning? Share below!
I would imagine it’s even harder when you work at home or for yourself. I know I have a hard time staying focused even though I work in a corporate office and have people breathing down my back constantly. We are moving soon and I will be working from home and although I’m extremely excited, I would be lying if I didn’t say I’m a little nervous about making sure my work and productivity habits are efficient.
My distractions take up about 85% of my time. But they are the two cutest distractions I’ve ever seen!
I would love for my work day to look like yours. Do you need an assistant? I’m in a rut right now and feel antsy and ready to work more on my own. I need to do something I’m passionate about, like something involving food!
I’m definitely more of a morning person than an evening person. It’s weird because I don’t really like gettng up super early but once I’m up I always feel energized to “get’er done!” Once I come home from work I cook dinner, clean up and rarely can muster up much energy to do a ton of tasks. I never thought to schedule stuff to get done early rather than later. I usually try to do it later since I’m home from work but I really need to make a conscious effort to get some tasks done in the morning.
Great post Angela!
im the same way Christina! After dinner we go on a light walk usually around 8pm (20-30 mins) then i veg for the night. I need that downtime at night.
Thank you for reminding me that I really do need to make lists to get things accomplished! I look forward to reading your blog!
I love making lists….sometimes I think I spend too much time making them:)
Dealing with things as soon as possible helps me keep clutter down. When I’m dealing with mail or e-mail I decide right then if I need to deal with it now, or put it in my stack to deal with later always with a specific time in mind of when to deal with it. Makes going through things much faster and more efficient.
The only one I can’t agree with is caffeinating, because my own body can’t handle the stuff. I HAVE to get my sleep in, because there is no caffeine help for me!
crossed off lists make me happy :) i am still a cluttered person, but lists help give me some semblance of organization. great tips. thanks.
I completely agree, crossing off items on a list is HUGE!! I always make lists and that is definitely my way of staying organized and reduces anxiety about forgetting things.
I totally get sucked into my Google Reader during the day (Case in point… I probably shouldn;t be writing this comment right now…) I usually feel better during the day whenever I work out first thing and I listen to Pandora or Slacker radio while I’m at work (It gets WAY to quiet in my office). I enjoy listenign to Oldies and 90’s country (Should I admit that ;) )
making lists are SO helpful! And I LOVE the feeling of accomplishment once things start to get crossed off! Maybe I should make a ‘to do’ list RIGHT now…
hmm must google slacker radio!
Those are great tips. I love the idea of making a list. I love lists.
Great tips! I love making a list of what I need to do the night before! It helps me sleep easier because my mind isn’t racing about all of the things I need to get done. Working out first thing in the morning is also key for me!
Angela,
I am going to say this as gently as possible…..
is it just me? or is Sketchie’s head shrinking? lol
LOL! I sure hope not.
I love your tips and suggestions. I never really got on board hugely with twitter b/c it’s just one more time suck.
Mu #1 timesuck is my googlereader. I love all my blogging friends, I love everyone’s blogs and want to keep up with and comment (so much more efficient to read in stealth! but I want my friends to know, yes, I saw this and am here reading) so keeping up with sooo many blogs is a HUGE timesuck! That’s my #1 thing that’s unproductive. But in some ways, it IS productive. Depends on how you look at it I guess :)
Also the article does not mention the woman’s work of running a household, grocery shopping, food and meal prep, and child rearing. As much as we’d all like to say it’s 50/50 out there, it’s NOT! In my house, it’s more like 95/5. Women are superwomen for a reason :)
I am a huge list fan! I make a bit list each day of what I need to accomplish: to do, email, phone calls, meetings. This all helps so much as I am trying to establish a yoga non-profit!
Angela – Do you have any advice for me on how to squeeze exercise into my day? I feel like mornings are my only option, but I already get up at 5:00 a.m. just to start my regular day (5-6AM getting ready and eating a leisurely breakfast, 6-7AM getting the kids to wake up and get dressed, 7-8AM get the kids to daycare and myself to work). I have an hour for lunch, but I work in a small office without workout facilities and I don’t feel like I can come back to work in the afternoon all sweaty and stinky, anyway. 5-7PM leave work, pick up the kids, fix and eat dinner for family. 7-8:30PM spend time with kids and husband then put kids to bed. 8:30-9:30PM spend time with husband and both keep putting the kids back to bed. 9:30-10:00PM maybe read if I’m not tired, but otherwise go to bed.
This turned into a long, boring post – sorry! The thing is, I know people who are twice as busy as I am and still manage to exercise – but I don’t know how they do it!
Maybe I just need to start getting up at 4:00AM – shudder!
Hi Becky! I can’t really say what is going to be best for you personally, but I know when I was commuting 3 hours a day I had to workout first thing very early in the morning or it would never happen since I didn’t get home until around 8pm. Once it becomes a habit, it gets easier. After a while it was like brushing teeth for me (aka: still annoying but a habit). I also try to shave time where I can. For example, if it used to take me 60 mins to get myself ready for work, I would figure a way to do it in half the time, so I’d have that extra time for exercise. I also used to eat breakfast in the car or at work (bad I know! but it was my only option at the time). It also helps if you can workout outdoors (this will save time commuting to a gym). Hope this helps :)
That is helpful; thanks. I’ve thought about eating breakfast and/or lunch at my desk in order to give myself more time for exercise – I may have to give that a try.
Great tips! I am a person who loves to-do list and being able to check things off! I do need to get better at setting up time to get certain things done, like emails and than stop and go do some more tasks instead of getting caught up in emails all day long. Thanks for the tips!
What a great post! You seem so ultra-organized with your list that gets crossed off…I need to get on board with that one!! Being that I’m a stay-at-home mom and work from home too I need to utilize all of your great tips.
Thanks!
Great tips, thanks for sharing! Love the photo of the grandma at the laptop, and of course, Sketchie! Have a great day.
Haha reproductive morning. Freudian slip? :) Lists are always a great idea and I recently got a French press so I’m loving a cup of it in the mornings!