Frazzled? 4 Simple Ways to Actually Boost Productivity

How I’m maintaining productivity, health and sanity, even while I’m working from home and without a set schedule…

I totally treated my birthday like a national holiday this year, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. With my new reduced hour work schedule, it made no sense for me to head into the office on my birthday, so I took the day off to do all my favorite things — a class at Uplift, flying trapeze and a Broadway show with the boyfriend. It was the perfect day and I’m happy I got to spend it doing all my favorite things.

So let’s talk productivity…

As much as I enjoy having extra free time and tons of flexibility these days, it also stresses me out as someone who thrives on schedule and routine. Some days I feel like a total badass #GirlBoss checking things off my to-do lists, cooking healthy lunches, getting my inbox to zero and skipping around Manhattan from event to event. But more often than not I feel like the hot mess express and it’s suddenly 4PM and the only productive thing I’ve done all day is get Starbucks.

I’m starting to get the hang of this odd new-to-me lifestyle, and I’m certainly loving the freedom that comes with it. Here are some super easy things I’ve been doing to keep me on track and feeling way less frazzled.

Flag Your Emails.

I get really antsy and stressed when my unread email count starts creeping above 10. I have three inboxes (my normal gmail, blog email and work email) so obviously keeping the grand total of emails between the three under 10 is a lofty goal.

I use to mark emails as unread, even if I’ve already read them, to remind me that I need to do an action of some sort with them. These kinds of emails would sit in my inbox for days and sometimes months depending on what the task was and if it was something I’ve been procrastinating.

Instead, I’ve started flagging emails that I don’t want to respond to right away. It’s been super helpful for my work inbox since I’m not checking it in “real-time” like I did when I was in the office all day. On days I’m working on work stuff, I just go to my flagged emails and can power through.

It’s oddly calming to not have 56 unread messages staring back at me on my iPhone every time I unlock my home screen and it’s been helpful in not accidentally missing an important email.

Related: 4 Simple Happiness Hacks.

 

Find Your Thinking Spot.

I’ve recently become OBSESSED with my desk in my apartment after tidying up the area and making it more conducive for the kind of work I do (uh many hours on the laptop and sometimes using my second monitor). The second I sit down at my desk, my brain goes into “work” mode and I’m infinitely more productive than when I’m lounging around on the couch.

Everyone has a space where they do their best work– for some people it is the couch or at the office, but for me, I need to sit at my desk. Once you find that thinking spot, utilize it! I know I’m not taking a project seriously if I think I’ll get it done sitting on the couch. And for those working from the office, you may or may not find your allocated space productive. It may depend on the nature of the work as well. If your job entails getting copies and documents ready, having a reliable copier solution (such as what https://iotecdigital.com/location/copiers-los-angeles/ provides) might be the thing that constitutes your good productive space.

So, find your comfortable working space, be it at home or office.

Related: 5 Types for Working From Home.

 

Start your Day Early.

I’m totally guilty of letting myself sleep in because I technically don’t have to be anywhere most days until whatever my evening plans are.

I’ve been doing my best to stick to my early morning workout schedule. As much as I hate waking up early, getting my day started earlier and my workout done long before noon is crucial for getting shit done. I’m still working on this and have fallen trap to the lure of midmorning workouts which end up taking over my whole morning by the time I get back home, shower and get ready.

It’s a work in progress, but I’m working on it!

Related: How To Get Shit Done When You Have No Time

 

Use a Stop Watch.

Okay, trust me on this one because I swear it’s been LIFE CHANGING while also being super simple.

Whenever there’s a task I’ve been avoiding, whether it’s answering a slew of emails or writing grad school essays, I set a timer on my phone for 20-30 minutes. I tell myself that I will devote the allotted time to that task and at the end of it I can take a nice little social media break on instagram and snapchat.

I don’t know what it is about setting a timer, but it always lights the fire under my ass that I desperately needed to do the task I was avoiding. It helps me to get into the “zone” and makes the task feel far more manageable. I struggle with staying focused when I’m working at home and juggling a ton of things, but knowing the clock is running helps for some reason.

Your turn: What simple hacks do you use to boost productivity?