Staying on track when it comes to accomplishing business tasks and goals can feel like trying to walk in a straight line to pin the tail on the donkey after someone spun you around three times at a kid’s birthday party! Because let’s face it, sometimes you “try as you might,” but you just can’t seem to go in the right direction and get things done.
Especially when so much of business and marketing these days requires us to be on our phones and computers, there are like a million and five distractions and constant “squirrel” moments. We get it.
That’s why today we are rounding up these 3 tips to hopefully help you stay a little more focused and make a fewer mistakes because the truth is we are human and we are going to fall and have those “let me just see what’s happening on Instagram for like two minutes” moments.
So let’s jump right into 3 productivity tips and hacks to keep your business goals and tasks on track!
1. PRIORITIZE YOUR MOST IMPORTANT TASK AND DO IT FIRST
This can be so much easier said than done! Often it seems like the simpler route is to do all those little tasks first. We tell ourselves that if we get all the little things done, our brains will be clearer and we will be able to focus on that big task without any other distractions. But the trap in this method is that once we have completed all the little tasks, we are exhausted and decide to push back that huge task to the next day, when it really was the most important item to complete.
By determining your top priority and doing it first, it ensures that you are getting done what ACTUALLY matters. By completing your main task first, it will launch you into a movement of finishing the smaller tasks. Then they seem more manageable and attainable.
I know a lot of us use planners to prioritize and task our days. And we are guilty as charged to binge purchasing cute planners and notebooks in the name of “productivity” I mean who else has a million empty notebooks that they bought because it was going to help them “stay on track?” *Both hands raised over here!
We recently switched from physical notebooks and planners to ASANA and Google Cal to manage our tasks. Switching to digital formats has really helped us stay a lot more organized.
2. TRACK OR CHUNK YOUR TIME
One time management tool that we have taken from a previous business experience was using TIMER-TAB to manage our time and keep us on track. When you are doing computer work or staring at a screen, it can be harder to keep track of time. If you have a habit of getting sucked into “the zone,” Timer-tab is a website where you can set an alarm or count down and it visually appears as a tab in your browser so that you can easily keep track of how long you have spent on a task.
Time chunking is something that people have spoken about for a while. Designating certain times for specific tasks, allows you to maximize your focus and dedication to that one task. Another way to chunk your time is to use a TIMER CUBE. The benefit to using a cube instead of your phone timer, is to allow for the least amount of distraction. Who else is totally guilty of picking up their phone and grabbing it to check social media? This type of physical tool can be better for you because it gives you the ability to leave your phone in another room while you focus on a task.
3. REWARD YOURSELF WITH PLANNED BREAKS
Another aspect of productivity that can be a struggle is the temptation of doing the “fun” things first. It can be so easy to avoid doing your top priority task and start working on the “fun” or lower priority task. But like we mentioned in the first tip, these smaller more “fun tasks” can eat away at our time and keep us from doing what is really important.
Instead, try bribing yourself and say that you can have that reward, break, or do the more fun activity AFTER the top priority task is complete. Another thing to try is to schedule your breaks. We know with our new work-from-home schedule, we have to make sure that we are on task and according to schedule. So that can mean that you might have to actually schedule your breaks as well. Be intentional about how you spend that time. Without a structure or routine, it can be easy to get off task or fall down the rabbit hole of distractions.
So don’t be Alice in the Wonderland of distractions.
We hope you were able to pick up a few weapons to fight off those inevitable squirrel moments that pop up throughout your day. Check out our FREE RESOURCES page to keep you going with more free tips and downloads!