Are you struggling to get things done at home or at work? Do you make to-do lists that you plan to power through and find that you can only get through the first couple of items? There are a lot of reasons that your productivity may suffer, and it isn’t just because you lack the willpower. The tips below can help you jump-start your productivity when all else fails.
Power Through the Small Stuff
Sometimes, your to-do list that seems like it’s miles long really just has a lot of small items on it that you could, theoretically, get through quickly. However, there’s a good chance you feel overwhelmed by the list itself. To perform this fix, it’s important that you don’t linger too long over any part of it.
First, quickly skim your list and choose about four or five items that you know will take less than five minutes each. Don’t spend too much time worrying about whether these are the most important items or whether you should be doing something else instead. Now, do them quickly, one after the other. It shouldn’t take more than half an hour for all of them. This can create a little break in your mental logjam and get you moving on the other items.
Tackle Your Big Worries
Sometimes, it is genuinely not the small stuff but one or two items that is making you feel overwhelmed. When this is the case, the only way out is through. Set aside a day or whatever big chunk of time that you need to devote to it and look at what you need to do. For example, maybe you are stuck at one item because you need money to address it, and you don’t know how you are going to get the money.
Promise yourself that you will work your way through this issue. There may be options you have not considered. If you need money, you may be stuck on how to move forward because you cannot take on a second job or get a better paying job. However, you might not realize you could get cash for your life insurance policy. You can discover the value of your policy and see if it is enough to cover what you need. With this big issue addressed, you may find that your focus and drive have returned.
Figure Out Your Best Time
You might have read a lot of productivity advice that tells you to get up early and start when you are fresh. But what if you aren’t fresh in the morning? A better approach would be to find out when you are at your best, whether that’s 6 a.m., 6 p.m. or only as the night comes on. Of course, this doesn’t always line up with your job or family obligations, but in some cases, it might be possible to shift some of your most intensive work around so that you are tackling it when you feel most alert and creative. This might be all that you need to do to see a significant boost in your productivity.
