How to increase your productivity??

[bbdream8]

What are the techniques that you guys use to increase your productivity to get more things done and achieve more results in life?

These are mine ways:
1. Single tasking
2. Focus
3. Applying 80/20 rule.

Hope to hear yours too.

Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger

[Arina]

For me it's taking breaks

I work in blocks of 1,5 hours, then take 10-15 minute break to stretch, do a couple of exercises, and clear my head. The problem is that sometimes I get so caught up in my work that I totally forget that in order to be productive you also need to relax!

Arina

[David Cain]

The three you mentioned are huge for me.

I would also add "timeboxing" or "timeblocking." Just taking a set amount of time and deferring all other concerns for that time period.

[bbdream8]

Originally Posted by Arina

For me it's taking breaks

I work in blocks of 1,5 hours, then take 10-15 minute break to stretch, do a couple of exercises, and clear my head. The problem is that sometimes I get so caught up in my work that I totally forget that in order to be productive you also need to relax!

Arina

Hi Arina,

Taking regular breaks definitely help us to reset our mind and prepare it for our next following task.

Originally Posted by David Cain

The three you mentioned are huge for me.

I would also add "timeboxing" or "timeblocking." Just taking a set amount of time and deferring all other concerns for that time period.

Hi David,

This method has help me to overcome procrastination and it is really a good technique in increasing our productivity. Thanks for the note.

Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger

[Piercetheveil]

Use the 80/20 principle to ruthlessly cut activities and 'doing' out of my life that makes no sense to my personal happiness.

Use rituals and music to surround my most important actions (exercise, writing, speeches, business deals) in order to put me into a 'peak' emotional state.

meditate 20 min 3 times a day. Mainly concentration meditation. My focus has gone through the roof in the past year.

[RichC]

Set key objectives as opposed to long task list
review them against Pareto principle - 80/20 for most value
Ensure they are as congruent as they can be
Allocate fixed time for most important objectives
Shut out unneccessary distraction (build seperate time in to do this).

Set a most important thing to do today objective and start with that.

Hope that helps.

[Inthon]

Setting aside clothes for the next morning the night before. Helps eliminate indecision.

Always keeping a book handy to "pick up" lost time.

Take 15 minutes of silence to think and plan. Hurrying is no good if misdirected

[elisabeth]

What can I say -- all of the above...

seriously: meditation almost daily (I try for every day
but some days I forget.

Focus on tasks to exclusion of others, especially if
I have deadlines.

80/20 -- sometimes others don't agree wtih my prioritizing though...

And I recently discovered some paraliminal tapes that help me
focus when I'm dealing with a difficult and tedious task that I
just have to get through. Helps enormouslyh.

I'm using my iPod as a learning tool -- downtimes, walk times,
etc., though I also make sure I get plenty of silent time to allow
my mind to do its thing.

I have also recently discovered a very cool time management course
that takes things beyond the usual, and it has helped me a LOT.

[bbdream8]

Originally Posted by Piercetheveil

Use the 80/20 principle to ruthlessly cut activities and 'doing' out of my life that makes no sense to my personal happiness.

Use rituals and music to surround my most important actions (exercise, writing, speeches, business deals) in order to put me into a 'peak' emotional state.

meditate 20 min 3 times a day. Mainly concentration meditation. My focus has gone through the roof in the past year.

I believe in the 80/20 rule too and it does really help to cut down on the trivial few and this will allow us to focus on the important many.

Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger

[jbsmith]

Two practices are critical for me...

1. Having a positive outlook toward facing challenges and obstacles - I used to get sidetracked, now I seek out the points of resistance in any set of goals knowing that getting over these rough patches mean I'm getting closer and will achieve more

2. Making sure my goal is based on an inner drive - I find if I set a goal toward achieving an outcome, the more I tie that outcome to my own inner purpose and values, the better focused and more productive I will stay.

Jeff

[David Cain]

Through a lot of trial and error, I've discovered the crucial quality that makes the difference between productive time spent and not so productive time.

Edit: I don't want to retype it all here, so take just a look at this.

What a tremendous difference it's made. I can get stuff done in thirty minutes that I used to spend hours on.

[magi13]

Originally Posted by bbdream8

What are the techniques that you guys use to increase your productivity to get more things done and achieve more results in life?

These are mine ways:
1. Single tasking
2. Focus
3. Applying 80/20 rule.

Hope to hear yours too.

Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger

If I may, I would like to rearrange your ways.

1. Focus and single tasking can be counted as one.
2. 60/40 rule.

60 - concentration
40 - fun

My basis for this is that when we focus we're more likely to handle one specific task.

why 60/40? Why not 100? 1 days work of pure concentration is very very exhausting. It's better to maintain a balanced yield rather than one day success.

[Some Random Loser]

I've found if I desire something enough and maintain alignment to that desire, the productivity will work itself out. What's been difficult for me is deciding on a desire. I feel like I love all sorts of things so much that it's impossible to choose something. Maintaining a pure alignment to one desire, without polluting gravitation from other desires, seems to make my operations the most effective. It's just hard when I feel the longing for all sorts of things in my life that I miss, like I want to grab onto everything.