In these times of hustling and capitalism, we’ve all tried, more or less, or taken an interest in productivity techniques and hacks that promise, through simple steps, immediate productivity bursts that quickly make you imagine yourself being Bradley Cooper in Limitless.
For those of you unfamiliar with this particular film, just switch the character with another one hooked on Adderall to finish that one important task the night before the deadline.
Limitless lists of productivity hacks are plenty on the internet. What I’ve put together here is nothing new, but rather tried-tested-worked ways in how anyone can be more productive. I find longer lists to be too granular, and messy in a way. And I always got lost in them. So they never really worked for me.
Now, without further ado, steal my top 5 productivity hacks:
🔕 Get Rid Of Distractions
Seems too obvious, right? It is but so many of us do this badly. Especially when working as a freelancer there are so many platforms to be juggling. And they’re all ringing, pinging and notifying you. ALL THE TIME.
On top of that, try working in marketing or more specifically social media and have notifications CONSTANTLY from Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn.
Tune everything out.
I personally mute any distractions while I work something that requires me to stay focused and maybe also quick.
The quickest way to mute distractions is to hit Do Not Disturb on your Mac (if you have one) or go more granular and mute for an hour or two (or your estimation of how long it will take you to complete the task) your Slack/Teams/Whatsapp etc. Works wonders for me. I am not interrupted anymore, or tempted to check that notification because I don’t know it’s there.
🐸 “Eat The Frog” Technique
Unpleasant way to call it, I know, but it works. It’s a term often attributed to Mark Twain.
Basically what it means in productivity hacks terms is to start with your hardest task first. Bleah, I know, as unpleasant as its name. But tackling first the hardest, biggest and/or most annoying task you make sure to not lose productivity to procrastination.
Just thinking about it makes me want to do anything else than that one hard task. But it’s a necessary evil, isn’t it?
By “eating the frog” first, we can save ourselves a lot of wasted time and energy later on!
🗓 Time Blocking
I’m a big fan of time blocking and calendars. Though I am not overdoing it. My calendar is not planned to the most detailed activity, though I’ve tried it before when I was still working in corporate (and there it has worked). But now as a freelancer, my routine has changed while also not working the classic 9 to 5.
Time blocking is blocking time in your calendar for any or all tasks. And now that you know about eating the frog, you can plan your days and block the biggest chuck first in your calendar for your hardest task.
🍅 Pomodoro Technique
Apparently this productivity hack has been around since the 80’s, but I was today’s years old when I learned about this fact, minus another year when I first heard of the technique.
Super simple to use and highly effective for me, especially for smaller tasks:
- Set a timer for 25 minutes
- Work on the task until the timer goes off
- Take a 5 minute break
- Repeat or mark the task complete and carry on to another task
*after 4 sprints, take longer breaks of 15-30 minutes
👥 Body Doubling
No, it doesn’t mean to spawn yourself or become an octopus. Though I wish I were an octopus several times a day, in order to get more work done. It only means working or doing a task in the presence of someone else.
I’ve heard of people doing this virtually, as well, though I only use it physically in the presence of another person.
How does it work? You feel accountable for doing that annoying task because someone is watching you.
The idea isn’t someone actually watching you work or you feeling watched by an authority, but rather using this technique collaboratively. You can get together with a friend to work, at home or a cafe – this way you can hold yourselves accountable into getting that work done.
What do you think about these hacks? Which one(s) will you try? Or do you know others that have proved effective for you? Let us know, we’re crazy curious! We’re waiting for your DM on Instagram.
Your social fairy and mental health advocate,
Madalina Muntean.
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