Emily Price - Productivity Hacks: 500+ Easy Ways to Accomplish More at Work--That Actually Work!

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Trying to get a major project done but distracted by a growing list of smaller to-dos? Outsource.

Working from home but cant stay focused? Take a quick shower to boost concentration.

Ready to disconnect from the office but still getting work messages at eight p.m.? Get a separate work number.

Productivity Hacks is packed with more than 500 simple productivity-boosting hacks just like these, and more than twenty hack lists to help you become a productivity proor at least a little better at warding off procrastination. Broken up into chapters based on your needs, youll find hacks on everything from productively working from home, to productive business travel, to holding office meetings that leave everyone energized and ready to workinstead of ready for a nap. Youll also find great online resources and apps for making the most of your time.

And productivity isnt just for work! Your personal life also requires organization and carethings that can easily get lost in the shuffle of a hectic workweek. Productivity Hacks has a chapter on striking that delicate balance between your work life and home life, so you can leave the office at the office.

With Productivity Hacks , theres advice for every get-it-done-now situation, so you can read the section where you need the most help or flip to any page for a quick fix. Wherever you need to get things done, weve got you covered, so lets start improving your productivity right now!

1. Plan your week on Sunday night. You dont need to come up with a detailed hour-by-hour schedule, but spending a few minutes on the weekend planning what you hope to accomplish during the week can be a great way to set yourself up for success come Monday morning. Divide the responsibilities you have for the week onto specific days. This practice will give you a good idea of what your workweek will look like, and it will help you know whether or not you have time to take on additional projects.

2. Prep, prep, prep. Before you go to bed each night, set yourself up for success in the morning by prepping things youll need when you wake up. This can be as simple as laying out your outfit for the next day and putting your workbag by the door, or as involved as planning out exactly what time you aim to do each part of your routine and grinding beans for your morning cup of joe. When you wake up groggy in the morning, youll thank yourself for making things a little easier.

3. Start the day with water. Your first instinct in the morning might be to reach for a cup of coffee, but youre much better off if you reach for a glass of water instead. When you first wake up, youre often dehydrated because you spent the whole night not consuming any fluids. Add a cup of coffee on top of that, and youre actually becoming more dehydrated, thanks to the diuretic effect of all that much-needed caffeinemaking it even harder for your body to get going. Kick things off with a big glass of water in the morning before making the switch to coffeeyoull feel refreshed and get your day off to a much better start.

4. Eat breakfast. You know how your mom always told you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? She was right. Having breakfast jump-starts your metabolism and lets your body know that its time to get things done. Beyond helping you wake up and ease into the day, a good breakfast will give you the energy you need to be productive in the morning, and it will help keep your mind off food until lunchtime.

5. Keep your alarm clock away from the bed so you cant hit that snooze button. You may think youre getting some much-needed extra sleep with those five more minutes in dreamland, but youre actually resetting yourself to the beginning of your sleep cycle, which means youll be even more tired when you do get out of bed. Snoozing also takes time away that you could be using to handle your morning routine. Those minutes could be used for a quick breakfast that you usually dont have time for!

6. Schedule a weekly or biweekly maintenance day where you say no to additional commitments and instead focus on tasks you need to finish for your home. You can use this day to tidy up your home, pay bills, do laundry... anything you need to set yourself up to be successful. For instance, you might assign the first and last Sunday of the month as maintenance days. When you know you have a maintenance day coming up, its much easier to prioritize other commitments during the week without that stress about a home project.

7. Create a visual chain of consistency. Back when Jerry Seinfeld was a touring comic, he used a calendar system called Dont break the chain. He marked each day on a calendar that he worked toward a goal. As you mark the days, you will not only track your progress but also appreciate the daily work you have put into your aspirations. After a while youll have a long chain of days where youve completed a specific task or taken another step toward your goals. The aim here is to not break the chain by not missing days along the way.

8. Kick-start the morning with exercise. Exercising in the morning can be a quick way to get your blood moving and your brain awake and ready for action. You dont have to go to the gym for a full-on early morning workout, but even something as simple as a fifteen-minute run around your neighborhood or a brief cardio routine at home is enough to get your heart rate up and let your body know that its time to be up and moving.

TIPS FOR EARLIER MORNINGS

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Waking up earlier gives you more hours in the day and consequently more time to accomplish everything you want to. While you know that you should get out of bed at a decent time in the morning, actually doing so is easier said than done. Here are a few ways to make it happen:

9. Sleep with your curtains open. The natural sunlight will help gently wake you up in the morning.10. If your bed isnt in direct view of a window (or you need to rise before the sun), use a dawn simulator to mimic the sun rising in your bedroom.11. Going from waking up at eight a.m. to waking up at five a.m. is hard. Try gradually adjusting your wake-up time (fifteen minutes earlier each day, for example) until you reach your ideal.12. Have a schedule of things you want to do once you get up. If you have specific tasks that need to be accomplished, youll be less likely to snooze and miss them.13. Stay off your phone before bed. Going immediately from your phone to bed will prevent you from falling asleep, which means you wont get all that precious beauty sleep you need.14. Avoid alcohol before bed, as it can disrupt your sleep and make it harder to get up in the morning.15. Have a definitive reason why you plan to get up earlier. Will it make you healthier? Give you more time with your kids? When you know the reason for doing something, it can be a powerful motivator in actually doing it.16. Limit your caffeine intake after lunch so youre not still going strong late at night when you should be sleeping.17. Adjust the thermostat in your bedroom to get warmer (during warm months) or colder (during cold months) when its time for you to wake up. The change in temperature will make you want to get up and move elsewhere.18. Set two alarms: one to wake you up and one to get you out of bed. Use the time between the two to reflect and mentally prepare for the day ahead.19. Create six big picture goals for the day. These can include both professional and personal goals. For instance, one of your goals might be to finish a big work project, while another might be to start planning your upcoming family vacation. The idea here is for you to give yourself a big picture vision of what you hope to accomplish so you can better steer your daily schedule and yourself toward those goals.Next page