7 Productivity Hacks to Make You Work Smarter

Whether you’re working from home or in the office, there are a few things you can do that will mean you enhance your productivity levels without experiencing burnout. As well as that, some of these productivity hacks will set you up to have a great, efficient day. So with this in mind, here are seven productivity hacks to make you work smarter today:

1. Have breakfast

According to the Harvard Business Review, the amount of food we consume, or don’t consume, affects our cognitive performance. This is because what we eat and drink is converted into glucose which supplies our brain with the energy needed to be able to carry out everyday tasks effectively and without a struggle. 

When our bodies run low on glucose, we find it difficult to focus and to pay attention. This makes breakfast one of the most important meals of the day as it provides you with the energy needed to get the job done, at least up until lunchtime, when it’s time to replenish energy levels yet again.

2. Do some form of exercise

Healthline states that exercise is beneficial as it pumps oxygen and nutrients directly to the heart and lungs which, in turn, improves the cardiovascular system, your stamina and your endurance levels. The same source also claims that just 30-minutes of exercise can boost someone’s energy just enough to improve alertness and focus, much like when you eat a proper breakfast before work.

3. Make a plan for the day

Having a list of jobs to do that are as long as your arm can be overwhelming. Instead of looking at your tasks over the course of a month, look at them over a day. Take a small batch of jobs and plan to do them over the course of a day. In the morning, you could dedicate some time to sending some emails or getting some administration work done. Planning your work for the day is a lot more manageable and realistic than planning it for the entirety of the month.

4.Take regular breaks

Where this might seem counter-productive, it will actually help to boost your productivity. When you spend hours at a time sitting down, doing the same thing on repeat, it can actually cause productivity levels to fall as you flag. If you take regular breaks, even if it’s just for five minutes at a time, it helps your brain to refocus as well as reset your eyes, if you spend most of your time looking at a screen. Most people use their small breaks throughout the day to: 

• Go for a walk
• Make a drink
• Stretch
• Meditate
• Have a chat with a colleague, a friend or a family member
• Have something to eat
• To do some pottering around the house

5. Create your own deadlines

This is somewhat related to planning for the day ahead, but deadlines can be set at any time, whether it’s on the same day or a month from now. If you’re in charge of your own workload, then setting your own deadlines is a great way of being disciplined without being micromanaged. It creates a healthy sense of urgency as well as being a great way to effectively manage your time. Regularly audit your tasks and put some time against a job that is reflective of how long you think it will take you to complete.

6. Have a dedicated workspace

If you work in the office, then you’ll have a dedicated workspace, even if you have a hot-desk. However, if you work from home, doing so at your kitchen table might seem fine, but you’ll likely notice a difference if you replace that working area for one that’s dedicated to doing your job. Many people, after the pandemic, have moved house or created a space that’s just for working remotely. Some of the things you could do, aside from move to a larger house, includes:

• Sectioning off a part of your living room or dining room
• Building a temporary structure at the bottom of your garden 
• Spending your time in another location, like a coffee shop or a library
• Transforming an existing room in house into an office space

7. Refrain from multitasking

Multitasking isn’t actually as productive as you might think it is. It paves the way for jobs to be started and not finished and before you know it, you’ve lost track of everything. According to the most recent studies, only 2.5% of people can actually multitask effectively. For the rest of us, multitasking only slows us down and makes us feel more overwhelmed than when we started. Instead of multitasking, group similar jobs together and complete them one-by-one, ticking them off the list as you go.

Kumo is a highly-experienced digital marketing agency with over two decades of knowledge and expertise to draw upon. Providing clients with a wide range of dedicated marketing services, including SEO, PPC, content writing, website design and more, we can always be counted upon to propel your business into the spotlight, setting you apart from your competitors. For more information about how we can help you today, get in touch with a member of our professional, friendly team – we’re always happy to hear from you.