Source: wikiHow
Being efficient can be a struggle. Fatigue, anxiety, procrastination, and the barrage of daily distractions stifle productivity. Although the obstacles to greater efficiency are imposing, you can take some simple steps to improve your efficiency. Getting enough rest every night, dividing large projects into smaller and more manageable tasks, and setting time limits and deadlines for yourself are simple steps you can take to make yourself more efficient.
- 1 Get 7 – 9 hours of sleep every night to stay alert and relaxed. Inadequate sleep can lead to fatigue, which can sabotage your productivity. Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day.[1]
- To help yourself establish a healthy sleep routine, set an alarm to remind yourself to go to sleep at the same time every night.
- If you find that you are still fatigued after getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night, you may want to consider consulting a doctor, as daytime fatigue may be a symptom of sleep apnea or another underlying health condition.
- 2 Eat healthy snacks throughout the day to provide your brain with fuel. If your body is hungry when you work, your productivity will suffer. Healthy snacks like almonds and chia seeds have fatty acids that will keep your mind alert and focused. Fruits and vegetables are also healthy options.[3]
- Avoid snacking on carbohydrates or junk food. These foods can drain you of energy.
- 3 Save important and difficult tasks for times when you feel energized. If you feel most focused and energized in the morning, work on your most important or difficult task then. And, if you’re a night owl, use your mornings to work on simple and unimportant tasks. Trying to complete important or difficult tasks when you feel fatigued will reduce your overall productivity.[4]
- Everybody works best at different times of the day, so experiment with your schedule to find out when you work most efficiently.
- 4 Adopt a confident and relaxed posture to increase your confidence. The physical posture you assume can have a psychosomatic and neurological effect on you. Imitating a confident smile and posture, for example, can spur your brain to feel confident, which can lead to gains in productivity.[5]
- Forcing yourself to smile, for example, can lead to the release of endorphins, which will help you feel less stressed about a project.
- 5 Try to say no at least once a week. If you’re the type of person who is always saying yes to your coworkers, friends, and family members, you may find yourself in the position of having trouble finishing important tasks because you’re always doing things for other people.[6]
- Saying no can be difficult, but committing yourself to turning down at least 1 request from a friend, coworker, or family member a week will free up additional time for you to finish an important project or progress toward one of your long-term goals.
- When deciding whether to say no to a request, ask yourself the following questions: Can the requester finish the task on their own? Is there anyone else available to help? What are the consequences if the task isn’t completed?
- 1 Write down your short-term and long-term goals so you can prioritize. Rank your goals and tasks for the next decade, year, month, week, and day. Having this list nearby will allow you to stay focused on the most important tasks before you.[7]
- When setting goals, start by imagining where you want to be in 5, 10, or 20 years, and then create an outline of the shorter-term goals you’ll need to accomplish to reach this goal.
- Be as precise as possible when you’re setting your goals….
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