by Caryl Teh

 

Some of us are early birds, others are night owls; some people love working in a team while others prefer tackling tasks solo. It’s not about “right” or “wrong”; the more important question is, “How do YOU work best?”. And just to clarify, “work best” is not just about getting things done; it’s also about sustainable healthy mental wellbeing, stress levels and quality of work.  

 

In this article, we’ll be exploring four productivity strategies, and another three in the next, that could be the key to unleashing your best performance yet.  

 

1. Eat The Frog: For Big-Task Procrastinators 

Mark Twain said, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the BIGGEST one first.” (emphasis added). How does this apply to your work strategy? 

 

Look at your to-do list for the day. There’s probably that ONE thing that you’ve been “working on” for about… a month now. That’s your frog. The longer you wait, the longer that “not done yet” cloud will hang over you, affecting your motivation to get other things done. 

 

Don’t let that frog psych you out! Get it over with and out of the way first. When you do, you’ll be surprised how much energy that sense of achievement will give you to knock the rest of your to-do’s out of the park (thank you, dopamine)! 

 

In short, write down your task list, circle your frog(s), and eat them first. 

 

2. Time Blocking: For Mapping Out Busy Schedules  

Maybe your struggle is losing track of your many little to-do’s and feeling guilty when you want to take a break. Take a page out of Bill Gate’s book and try this energy management technique called time blocking. Here’s how it works: 

• Whatever meetings you have, put them on your calendar. 
• As much as possible,  block off 20 minutes after any meeting to give yourself time to recharge. 
• If you tend to feel an after-lunch lull, then schedule 30 minutes for checking and replying emails before attempting a 90-minute block of focused, productive “power hour”. 

 

Your brain takes time to shift its focus from one task to another. If your to-do list is overflowing, taking 5 minutes to map out your day in blocks of time will save you a lot of wasted energy trying to switch between contexts. 

 

In short, put EVERYTHING as a block of time on your calendar – including admin and breaks – then tick each item off as you go. 

 

3. Pomodoro: For Focused Work Sprints And Breaks 

Maybe you’re the type who needs more than just a single “end goal” that isn’t HOURS away (ie. the end of the work day) because the countdown is what motivates you to really get stuff done. Try the Pomodoro technique. 

 

This strategy will train you to do sprints of 25 minutes of work + a 5 minute break. After four sprints (120 minutes), reward yourself with a 20-minute break before starting all over again. 

 

You might feel tempted to skip the breaks, but don’t. They make a HUGE difference.“But what can I do in just 5 minutes?” Here are some suggestions: 

• Hydrate yourself! – refill your water glass 

• Get some fresh air – take a walk around the block 
• Loosen your joints – do some light stretches  
• Remind yourself that you have some fantastic teammates – chat with a colleague 

 

In short, your challenge is to finish 1 task before the timer goes off. 

 

4. Biological Prime Time: For Your Best Productivity Times 

Your biological prime time is exactly what it sounds like: the time of the day when you personally are the most clear-headed and best at getting work done. Some possible factors: inherent dips and peaks in energy levels and motivation, what you ate, how you slept, whether you exercised. 

 

Tip: Take a quick note of your energy level every hour. Once you’ve mapped it out, you’ll be able to schedule high-energy and focus tasks during your biological prime times, and keep your downtimes for low-energy tasks or just rest and recovery. 

 

Disclaimer: Any single productivity strategy might not work for you ALL the time so feel free to switch it up based on how you’re feeling that day and the task at hand. But whatever the case, it helps to understand yourself and how you work best so you can better plan your day. Up next, three more productivity strategies to empower your daily performance! 

 

Source:
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