Photo by Ryland Dean on Unsplash
We often procrastinate.
don’t we ? may it be replying to an urgent email, or a weekly report, or anything important for that matter.
why is it that we always need a dose of motivation to accomplish a task?
we haven't looked at it deeper enough to know what causes procrastination in the first place. Whatever the cause may be. We suffer the consequences of not making the most of our life.
Do you have 10’s of tasks on your To-do-List but you struggle to accomplish them because you haven't yet unleashed the power of systems and tools that help you boost your productivity levels to 100x. Yes, you heard it right there are tools and systems to help you get over the procrastination zone.
So, let’s get started
1. Pomodoro Technique
I am sure you must have heard it somewhere. The idea behind Pomodoro Technique is working for say 25 mins on a given task and taking a 5-min break using a timer. Doing it four times and then taking a long 30 mins break. It’s a great technique for students preparing for exams as it allows you to block your time and focus on the given task intensely.
2. Parkinson’s Law
Parkinson’s law is a concept proposed by British historian and author Cyril Northcote Parkinson. The idea behind it is that “work expands to fill the time available for its completion”. To put that more simply, the more time you have to complete something, the longer you’ll put it off. And that might end up leading to you procrastinating. This way it's evident that we humans tend to be more productive when given deadlines.
“The essence of Parkinson’s Law is to set deadlines that are much shorter than you’ve ever set them before,” writes Jari Roomer in a Medium post. “This forces you to focus on the essentials, avoid distractions, and stop procrastinating — making you extremely productive and helping you achieve better results in less time.”
3. Pareto Principle
It’s also called the 80:20 rule.
Now, the idea is simple 80% of the output from a given situation or system comes from 20% of the input.
In other words, a small percentage of causes have a gigantic effect. This concept is important to understand because it can help you identify which initiatives to prioritize so you can make the most impact.
You can use the 80/20 rule to prioritize the tasks you need to get done during the day. and out of your entire task list, completing 20% of those tasks will result in 80% of the impact you can create for that day. So in order to get the most impact done, identify which tasks have the most impact for you and focus on those for the day.
4. Using your commute productively
The idea is to utilize commute times in an efficient way.
No, matter how much time you have you can always make the most out of it. you can read on the go, take a cat nap, listen to audiobooks, podcasts or catch up on phone with a friend or family you haven't for a long time.
You can also go through your plan for the day, visualize it, set your goals and priorities, and review the three most important tasks to accomplish. This helps you efficiently hit the ground running when you finally do make it into the office.
5. Create a dedicated space
Dedicated spaces are often overlooked but can have a greater impact when it comes to adhering to a habit or a task for the long term.
want to write? dedicate a space a desk, couch, or even a bed as per your convenience same is true for the other areas of life.
6. Focussing on the system, not the Goal itself
All the eminent athletes and authors, swear by this productivity method.
The idea is to focus on the system or the process that leads to the goal and not on the goal itself.
- If you’re an entrepreneur, your goal might be to build a million-dollar business. Your system is how you test product ideas, hire employees and run marketing campaigns.
- If you’re a musician, your goal might be to play a new piece. Your system is how often you practice, how you break down and tackle difficult measures and your method for receiving feedback from your instructor.
7. Delegating
Entrepreneur and investor Naval Ravikant suggest the idea of setting an aspirational hourly rate. This is to figure out what is our time worth to us personally in terms of dollar amounts, if there is stuff that we don't enjoy then we can think of delegating it to someone else provided it is cheaper than the amount of our aspirational hourly rate.
It saves tons of time and you can focus on the work important to you.
8. The 5-min Rule
Do you want to start something anew but keep procrastinating?
Then this rule is for you. The whole idea is we promise ourselves to pick up the task and just do it for 5 -mins, not more. This tricks your mind to enter into the flow and once you’re up there, you’ll probably finish the task or at least spend more than 5-mins on it, and that's what we want Right? It can be reading a book, going to a gym, or anything for that matter; the 5-min rule works wonders.
9. Learn to say ‘No’
Sometimes saying yes can be a boon to your career, it opens you up to new opportunities and challenges.
But always saying yes can also leave you exhausted, stressed, and time-poor, wondering why you have been busy and not productive.
“The difference between successful people and really successful people, is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” — Warren Buffet
Therefore, it’s important, to be honest about what’s truly urgent and important.
10. Eisenhower Matrix
It’s a simple tool that lets you decide on and prioritize tasks by urgency and importance. The concept is to sort out less urgent and important tasks which you should either delegate or not do at all.
Finally, the last one is about enjoying the journey, nothing is more satisfying and exciting than this. When we are having fun doing something then productivity just magically takes care of itself and you don't need to motivate yourself. Do you motivate yourself to sit down and hang out with friends and watch Netflix? no Right. If we find a fun way to do something then our productivity levels just spark up automatically.
Thanks for reading!!