Top Tools to Increase Productivity

Do you ever put breakfast on your to-do list just to have something to mark off? Yesterday was one of those days!

I did get a few other things done, but sometimes it is a struggle to stay motivated and not get sucked into Netflix or a novel I’m reading.

If you work from home, what tricks do you use to stay on task and motivated? Sometimes it takes getting out of the house, taking my laptop to a coffeeshop or library to tackle my to-do list, or other days I schedule my morning to get a lot done, and then take a break after lunch for a walk or a few minutes to read a book or listen to a podcast.

I’m a big list maker, it’s how I keep track of all the things spinning around me, whether it is work, paying the bills, soccer practice or Boy Scouts, I have it listed in my phone and on my calendar.

I have tried online scheduling, but I still like writing things down in a planner, being able to look at a week at a glance and see what meetings and deadlines I have coming up.

I attempted keeping a bullet journal, I even bought the fancy markers and stickers and tried to do it the crafty way, but I felt like I was spending too much time decorating my journal and not enough time actually working! Those YouTube videos about bullet journaling can be a real rabbit hole, they are interesting, and I do like keeping track of some items in my planner, such as books I’m reading or online classes I want to explore, but I found it to be overwhelming.

My planner love goes way back, I had a Filofax in college, where I kept track of classes and assignments. I bet I’m dating myself saying that, I had a classic black leather cover, and you could buy specific planner pages, such as weekly or monthly calendars, to organize your schedule. The company is still around, with much fancier covers!

I am back to using a daily planner right now, but also use my phone to make lists, such as what errands I need to run or emails or phone calls I need to return.

I try to plan out my week, looking at upcoming meetings, deadlines and goals for the week and the month. As a self-employed writer, this helps me keep on track and it is helpful for looking back to see patterns of what is working and what isn’t.

Making a list at the end of the day, or the night before, can help clarify what needs to get done the next day and set you up for success.

Time blocking

Another popular time management strategy is time blocking.

This entails setting aside certain days or blocks of time to accomplish certain tasks. For example, grouping errands, such as going to the bank, returning books to the library or other quick errands, to save time and gas.

So, in the morning I might focus on writing blogs, or setting up social media posts for the week or two-week period, and then after lunch I might run errands or go grocery shopping before picking up the kids from school.

I also have certain days for certain tasks, such as on Mondays I always pay bills online and check that finances are where they should be. I also catch up on emails from late in the week or the weekend on Mondays. For example, I am on my local Board of Education, which meets bi-monthly on Wednesdays. So, the Monday before the meeting I make sure I have my agenda and packet for review, write down any questions for the upcoming meeting and make any notes I have. That way I’m not scrambling on Wednesday to remember to read the packet before the meeting.

Focus and track your time

Another option for tackling tasks is the Pomodoro method, where you set an alarm and focus on one task for a period of time and take scheduled breaks. There are timers and apps that help if you want to go the high-tech route, but the general theory is to set a timer for 25 minutes to focus on a task, then take a 5-minute break, then stay focused for another 25 minutes. After four consecutive working blocks, or about two hours, you then take a longer break of about 15-20 minutes.

You can use this method to limit your time on certain tasks and focus on only that task or devote a full Pomodoro of two hours to a more involved task. Part of the goal of this method is to really stay focused on what you are working on, no jumping on social media just to look around or trying to do three things at once. It also has proven to be important to take breaks, rather than just sitting at your desk for four hours. During the longer break, grab a snack or take a quick walk outside.

This can also help track times for clients, if you keep track or use an app to track time spent on specific tasks or projects. It also helps you audit your own time and have a better idea of how long tasks take you. When you sit down to write a blog or article, how long does it take? Or if you want to plan out social media posts for two weeks, do you need just 25 minutes, or longer?

Also, you can set up tasks consecutively, so one day you are writing blogs, another day you are proofreading, another day you are posting to your website or on social media. This helps you break down and schedule tasks better, so you aren’t scrambling at the last minute to write and post a blog in the same day.

You can make notes of other tasks, such as gathering photos for social media posts versus writing content as you go but try to segment them out to see where your time is being used. Sometimes searching for a specific photo or doing invoices can take longer than you expect.

Also, this method can help you break up bigger tasks, just take one block a day to attack your emails if you need to delete e-mails regularly, rather than doing it for a huge chunk of time one day. That way you know you are making progress, and you will set aside 25 minutes the next day to work on it again, but you aren’t losing a whole morning to deleting emails.

What tips and tricks do you use to organize your time? Do you use a lot of apps or are you more of a planner person?

In an upcoming column, I’ll explore social media planning and ways to organize your content for different platforms, so let me know what your favorite social media scheduling tools are and how you use them.