2 Tricks That Made Me Super Productive

Confession time. I struggle to be productive at work – especially when I have to work from home. As much as I try to do all the right things – get up on time, sit at a designated workspace, set aside time to time work on emails – I still never get to everything on my to-do. What mom does?

And the less productive I am, the worse I feel. I’m not saying you should measure your worth by how much you can accomplish in a day. I’m talking about basic productivity, as in being productive enough to do your job and do your job well.

For instance, studies have found, “most workers are no more than 50 percent productive at work!” That means half of the day we spend at work, we aren’t productive. Instead, we are falling into rabbit holes on the internet or doing other tasks unrelated to work. When you add in having to work from home during the pandemic, it is even harder to be productive.

I talked to a friend recently, and she shared some of her best productivity tips. I decided to give her tips a try, and I am happy to report that they actually work! These two tips have radically changed how much I can get accomplished during the day and have made me super productive.

Getting Rid of Distractions

You hear all the time about the importance of getting rid of distractions, but there are so many things vying for our attention. Instead of saying you’ll simply avoid checking your email, scrolling through your social feeds, or exploring random topics on the internet, do something to force yourself to block these distractions.

For instance, the Freedom productivity blocker allows you to set up a personalized block lists of the websites that tempt you. Then, you can block yourself from these sites for a set amount of time across your devices. In other words, you can’t cheat and scroll on your phone when you are supposed to be working on your computer.

Embracing the Pomodoro Technique

Even if you have gotten rid of the distractions, it is still easy for your mind to wander. I don’t know how many times I have just wasted time doing nothing. But I have found a technique that works wonders. It is called the Pomodoro Technique.

The Muse explains, “The Pomodoro Technique is a time management system that encourages people to work with the time they have—rather than against it. Using this method, you break your workday into 25-minute chunks separated by five-minute breaks. These intervals are referred to as pomodoro. After about four pomodoros, you take a longer break of about 15 to 20 minutes.”

It works wonders for me because it brings out my can-do competitive nature. I know I’ve only got 25 minutes in a pomodoro, so I stay focused on the task at hand to see how much I can accomplish before 25 minutes is over. It shocks me how much I can actually get done in 25 minutes when I am focused!

Plus, it both rewards my focus and gives me a short distraction break. I know at the end of the pomodoro that I get a five-minute break to check my notifications or scroll. And those five-minutes ae a great way to keep me in check. I mean, how many times do we tell ourselves we are just going to play around on our phones for a few minutes before it turns into 45 minutes?

Don’t worry if this sounds too complicated for you to keep track of yourself – there are tons of pomodoro productivity apps available that can track them for you!