4 Ways to organize your day to be more productive

4 Ways to organize your day to be more productive

A little structure goes a long way

Photo by Johnson Wang on Unsplash

1. Prepare a detailed list the night before

My most productive days are always planned; this forethought allows me to free my brain of any clutter. Furthermore, it creates a mesmerizing experience in which energy flows effortlessly through you and into your work.

A simple task whose benefits are most tangible is the decision to plan your day the night before. Take a blank sheet of paper and break it down into headings. My headings are generally “work,” “home,” and “personal,” then under each heading, I write a numbered task list. I jot down each task; then I estimate how much time each task will take and place the estimation right next to the task. I do this for each heading. I then take another blank sheet of paper and divide the eight-hour workday into 30-minute blocks.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

2. Do your most significant tasks during your most productive hours

Take a pen and circle your most productive time of the day and fill in your most important tasks during that period. Then, fill the remainder of the day with less important tasks. Focusing on your most significant tasks during your productive hours ensures that your most creative output and focus are spent on the items that will yield the biggest ROE (Return on Effort).

3. Work in hour chunks to allow entrance into flow-state

The mind, once trained, can enter into a meditative state in which creativity blooms and focus is as sharp as a steel-cut razor. In this state, your creativity and thought process are generally uninhibited. Instead, permutations of different ideas become structured like a Jenga tower. You can achieve this state by practicing short intervals of intense focus for 15 minutes and slowly incrementing it to 1 hour over weeks.

4. Take frequent breaks.

It is essential to take frequent breaks. I generally take a 15-minute break every hour, but I take micro-breaks when I stumble across a solution. I immediately stand and walk away, letting the solution percolate in my head. I attack the idea for soundness and make sure I have a crystal-clear understanding. I don’t trust my brain because it is lazy and wants a simplistic solution.

Final Thoughts

These are some of the simple things I do to be most productive. Some days are going to be hard, and you will feel as if you should have accomplished more. Take a deep breath and try again the next day.

BONUS

I am guilty of frequently looking at my iPhone. Entering a flow state is significantly inhibited by constant interruptions from slack, email, or Twitter notifications. Of course, you can always hide your phone. As suggested by Simon Sinek, it is a good idea to put your device at least 20 seconds away from you. Hiding it will create an activation energy maximum that will deter constantly checking your phone.