The world is packed with so many distractions and interruptions, so much so that it requires enhanced productivity skills. It can be too easy to fall into procrastinating habits that impact your personal and work productivity. These habits can add more stress and anxiety and cause a poor work/life balance as you have to compensate for the periods you haven’t performed at your best. Whether you’ve always struggled with productivity or recently fallen down the rabbit hole, here are five daily habits you can implement to increase your productivity levels.

1. Understand “why”, and the rest will follow

It’s easy to go around in circles and get frustrated without understanding “why” you’re doing what you’re doing. If you find yourself plodding, you haven’t set transparent goals for yourself or your work. Being sure of the direct links your daily tasks have to your longer-term goals will improve productivity.

2. More is less

In many areas, doing the maximum is considered to be the best. However, this isn’t necessarily true within the workplace. You could start ten tasks, but you’ve wasted your time if they weren’t appropriate or finished. Sometimes, multitasking can do more harm than good and is another cause of lack of productivity. Set priorities, then stick to a reduced amount of work each day to ensure you’re actively reaching your goals and not just “fluffing” about.

3. Allocate communication time blocks

The most significant cracks in people’s time management and personal productivity skills relate to the management of emails and workplace communication. It’s the number one cause of major distractions, and more often than not, it leads to someone going off on a tangent and wasting time. Incorporating blocks of “comms” time will allow your mind to move away from the anxiety or stress your inbox’s unread messages or missed calls can cause and allow you to focus on the work in front of you.

4. Start Strong

Say it’s 3 pm, and your deadline for a big project is due today, and you’re stuck because you’ve left the most challenging task until the last minute, and your manager is asking for an update. You’re the most productive first thing in the morning and after lunch, but you’ve spent that time making calls. Sound familiar? It’s a stressful position for anyone, but it’s directly related to poor time management skills. Although it’s easy to complete the quick or most enjoyable tasks first, it often leads to stressful situations where you’re stuck, stressed, or don’t have the resources to complete the task.

5. Schedule time for yourself

Whether for exercise, lunch out, to read or tune in to your latest podcast, it’s vital to give yourself time to relax mentally. If you’ve been burned out, stressed, or have struggled to reach goals, you will know the importance of guilt-free “me time.” Setting time for yourself creates motivation for the day and adds more fuel to your productivity fire!

If you need to improve your productivity and time management skills, we have the perfect opportunity for you to improve your skillset! Designed to help anyone who wants to achieve more in less time, who struggles with prioritising, procrastination and more. Check out our Personal Productivity Course Today.