5 Things I Do Each Day to Increase Productivity

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO!

Hi lovelies!

It’s HUMPPP DAYYYYYYY! We’re officially halfway through the week, which means we’re halfway to the weekend. Is everyday pretty much a weekend for you now or do weekends still hold a special place in your heart?? For me, weekends are still the days I look forward to, even though I’m working from home now. I’m pretty sure though I’ll just always look forward to the weekends to be honest!

Today I wanted to share a post that talks about productivity. If there is one thing this quarantine/stay-at-home order has taught me, it’s how to manage my time to be productive and still make sure I’m getting done the things I need to accomplish, whether it be for work, blogging, or just things around the house. I’ve compiled a list of the top 5 things that I’ve been doing each day that I feel have helped increase my productivity levels and help keep me on track. I hope you guys find these as helpful with keeping you productive as I do!

 

1. Wake up early

I’ll be the first to admit that I am NOT a morning person. I’ve never been one to sleep until noon or anything, but I certainly do like taking my time getting out of bed on the weekends. However, this fact has certainly changed since I graduated college and started working. I have learned to really value the time off that I have and make the best of it, since it’s so much less than it used to be.

So now, I’m more likely to sleep in once every few weeks or so, because I can get so much more done if I just bite the bullet and wake up early! I also have become more keen on waking up early on the weekdays especially so that I have more time in the morning to get ready, enjoy my coffee and spend time watching tv with J and the cats before I leave for work. I feel like starting my day off like this relaxes me more and allows me to have a less-stressful day overall, which leads to me getting more done.

2. Make daily lists

Where are all my list makers out there?? I can’t start my day without making a list. It helps keep me focused throughout the day and know what I need to take care of. This can be used both for personal life as well as work tasks that you need to get done.

I start each day by making two lists: one for work and one for home. I’m currently working my 9-5 job from home given the COVID-19 regulations and state of things, so making a list helps me stay focused on what I need to get done for my job so I don’t get distracted by other things happening around the house. I also make a list for things I need to get done that day around the house and for the blog. This way, I have in my mind from the start of the day what I want to get accomplished and I can know how to spend my breaks or free time. I also want to make sure I point out that this has helped significantly with having a full-time job while also trying to run my blog. Time management is something of HUGE importance when you’re trying to work full-time while also having another “job” on the side. I couldn’t have done it without making lists and knowing how to manage my time each day!

3. Tackle harder tasks first

No one likes handling the hard-to-do stuff. It isn’t fun, takes a lot of energy and honestly just isn’t really the way you really want to start your day. Here’s why you SHOULD.

I know when I wait to tackle harder and more difficult tasks at the end of the day versus taking care of them at the beginning of the day, I always feel like I have this dark cloud looming over me. Feeling like you have something looming over your shoulder makes the day go by much slower and will make you more stressed and tense throughout the day. Not to mention, there’s a larger chance that you might not even get the task accomplished if you wait until later in the day to tackle it (aka you might be more apt to put it off until the next day).

It might be a pain in the royal rear to take care of it first thing in the morning (pain in the royal rear? royal pain in the rear?) but I can promise you that it will make your day so much easier overall and will make the day more productive right from the start.

4. Set daily workouts

I always feel 10 times more productive when I workout versus when I don’t. I feel like my day is complete if I workout and just get my body moving in some way during the day. This has been especially true during this quarantine when we are stuck in the house with limited access outside. I hate feeling cooped up and I think it’s easy to feel lethargic during this time. I’ve been trying to at least move in some way every day. I’ve either been doing a home workout with some equipment such as my mini stair stepper and my exercise bands to get my heart-rate up or J and I have been taking a walk late at night so we have less of a chance of running into people. Whatever your preferred method of exercising, do your best to set a daily workout and stick to it! It will make you feel more productive and help you stay healthy and fit.

5. Get things in order for the next day

Last but not least, end the day by getting things prepared for the following day. It’s so easy to just want to throw in the towel at the end of a workday and leave everything just as it is so you can leave and get home (or in the current case, log off and go do whatever else you have on a different list!) But I always try to fight the urge to do this and instead, spend just a few minutes after I get off, trying to pick up and organize everything so it’s neat and ready for me the next morning. That way, the following morning when I wake up and head downstairs to get to work, I’m not greeted with an incomplete mess from the following day. Let’s be honest, any day that you start with having to pick up or organize things from a previous day isn’t going to be a great start. So bottomline, just take 10-15 minutes at the end of each day to think about what you need to do the next day and get everything organized and in line for the next morning. Your future-self will thank you, I promise!!

 

So that’s it! Those are 5 things I do everyday that help me remain productive (both during this quarantine period, as well as just in general). I hope you guys all find these helpful and find ways to apply them to your lives as well! If you have any additional tips that you have found help you increase productivity, feel free to share them below in the comments! I’d love to hear them and try them out myself. 🙂

Thanks for reading lovelies and until next post, Xx.

---