Navigating the New Year - Productivity

January 16, 2024 Chloe Lim

Hey there 🤗

Welcome to the final chapter in our Navigating the New Year guide! In this part, we’ll be discussing effective time management techniques, and explore tools and resources for productivity. Join us as we get things done and achieve our work goals this upcoming year! 🚀⏰✨

Time Management Techniques ⌛

We all want to get more done in less time. That’s where the magic of time management comes into play 🪄 Time management involves strategically planning how to use and deliberately control your time to maximise productivity.

To manage your time and enhance productivity, follow these steps:

Track Your Time ⌚

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If your productivity is measured by how much you can get done over a period of time, lost time can mean getting less done. To reveal any areas or habits that are blocking you from reaching your goals, you have to track what you’re actually spending your time on.

❗Challenge Yourself

Here’s what you need to do:

Download and print our ‘time tracker’ worksheet
Set a timer for each task you set out to complete, whether it’s work, exercise, or browsing social media
Record the time spent on each activity in the worksheet – no cheating allowed!

This can help you with visualising your daily productivity hours versus the time allocated to non-work-related activities such as shopping or mindless scrolling on social media!

Stick to a Daily Schedule 📆

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Create a daily schedule with allotted time blocks for different tasks and stick to it! When making a daily schedule, remember to give yourself realistic timelines. People often overestimate their ability to get things done, leading to overly optimistic estimates for delivery. Incorporate time buffers between tasks to ensure the overall schedule remains intact, even if one takes surpasses the allotted time limit.

Additionally, give your undivided attention to your work by refraining from indulging in non-work-related websites or activities during designated work hours. Turn off your phone or place it out of reach until break times 📵 Self-discipline is the key to a productive work environment.

Prioritise❕

To-do lists are invaluable for boosting productivity, but if you’re not careful, they can become so overwhelming that starting becomes a daunting task 😟 Enter the Eisenhower Matrix, a tool designed to guide you with prioritising tasks based on importance and urgency. Your to-do list can be broken down by:

Do Immediately - Important tasks with defined deadlines
Schedule For Later - Important tasks with no defined deadlines
Delegate - Tasks someone else can do
Delete - Tasks that can be eliminated

Complete the Most Challenging Task First 💼

Starting a task is almost always the most difficult part of getting things done, especially if you tend to procrastinate or find yourself easily distracted. So, tackle the task that you’re likely to put off for later – it’s usually the biggest, most difficult, and most important one 😫 Only transition to other tasks once you’ve completed this initial hurdle. The sense of accomplishment will boost your motivation and encourage you to tackle the remaining tasks! 🎉

Fun Fact: This technique is also known as ‘Eat The Frog’ 🐸

Batch-Process Tasks 🖨️

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Batch processing is a productivity technique that involves grouping similar tasks together to streamline and enhance efficiency. You can group tasks based on objective or function.

For example:

For Content Creation - Dedicate specific days or time blocks to brainstorming, writing, editing, and publishing content
For Administrative Tasks - Check and respond to emails, organise and file documents, and schedule meetings first thing at work

Productivity Tools 🛠️

💪🔧✨Gear up to transform your productivity with these tools. Get ready to conquer your tasks like never before!

Notion 💡

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Ever wished for a personalised tracking system that adapts to your workflow? Notion is just right for you! This versatile tool lets you take notes, track your progress, organise projects, create schedules, and so much more 🤩 The exciting part is that you have the freedom to unleash your creativity and make your Notion aesthetic 😉

Website: https://www.notion.so/

Focus Booster 💻

Focus Booster is a tool that empowers you to stay focused and fend off distractions using the Pomodoro Technique. 🍅 The Pomodoro Technique breaks down your tasks into stretches of focus work, with short breaks in between. Focus Better encourages better work habits and provides focus when you need it!

Website: https://www.focusboosterapp.com/

Forest 🌲

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Get your work done without distractions with Forest – a tool designed to help you focus on what matters. Plant a tree (virtually) when you’re ready to concentrate on a task, but here’s the catch, the tree will wither away if you leave the app!

Website: https://www.forestapp.cc/

❗Challenge Yourself

Here’s what you need to do: