Do you feel overwhelmed by your work? Do you feel that time is simply slipping away and you are not able to make the most of it? Don’t panic.

Follow These 10 Points, And You Will See Your Productivity Sky-Rocketing

1) Tune Out Of Daily Newspaper Or News

I have been off the news for the last few years, and as an added benefit, I do not have any negativity in my life. Sometimes when I feel too out of touch with current day-to-day events, I ask my wife for a news update 🙂

I know most people spend an hour going through the morning paper – that is something I simply do not understand! Maybe they like the idea of sipping tea while reading the paper or something like that, but for me, it’s a waste of time.

2) Stop Answering Your Phone (Or Minimize It)

I divide my work day into 2 to 2.5-hour slots. At this time, if I am disturbed by a phone call, I get distracted, and my flow goes for a spin. The phone is for your convenience. If someone wants something from you, then tell them to email you or simply text you. When you are taking a break, you can call them back at your convenience.

3) Always, Always Plan The Next Day

What gets scheduled gets done. This way, you can accomplish more. Other people’s priorities won’t take over because you know your own priorities.

4) Get Up Early Or Not

Most successful people get a lot of things done before the time most people eat their breakfast. Ideally, I want to get up by 6 am and write for a few hours before everyone in the house is out and about.

Currently, I have been managing around 7 am as I sleep by 12-12:30 am. But this is not to say that working into the night is bad either. Over the past few years, I have been observing my sleep cycle and realized that my best work hours fluctuate every 3 months or so. I go from being an early morning person to being nocturnal.

There are phases in my life when my best work happens from 11 pm to 3 am, and as a result, I get up in the morning at 10 am. The whole idea is not to obsess about waking time but to get enough restful sleep.

Update- However, I still feel waking up early in the morning is best, as there are absolutely no distractions. It’s just you; you’re breathing and your work:)

5) Apply The 80/20 Percentage Rule To Everything In Your Life

I have applied this rule to my workouts, work, and even wardrobe. The idea is to do less but to do it effectively. In my workouts, I focus on only performing 4% of the exercises that most people do (with only 4-6 movements in one workout), which gives me over 64% results.

If I work 10 hours a day, I know that only 2-3 hours worth of it is going to be productive and high quality. So that slot of time for me is sacrosanct. At this time, I shut myself off from the outside world (phones, emails, social media, and visitors).

I need this time to create; that’s my main job as the creator of fabulousbody.com, and right now, producing good content is the most important thing to me.

Also, I have arranged my cupboard where only five of my best outfits/combinations are on the main rack; the rest I have stacked in the lower drawer. I don’t want to spend more than 2 minutes selecting what I want to wear. Indeed Less is more!

6) Taking Power Naps

There is tremendous power in power naps. So if you feel low on energy, take a nap.

7) Sleep More

Sleeping enough is an investment. Don’t think that by sleeping more, you are wasting your time. If you get 8 hours of sleep every day, your mind is clear, which enables you to be more productive throughout the day. Some people do well on 7 hours or even 6, but that’s about it.

8) Outsource And Delegate Almost Everything

Sometimes, I love to cook an Egg Benedict or pasta in pesto sauce. I like to cook for my 2-year-old boy almost daily. This is something that I feel good about, and it rejuvenates me.

What about laundry? Washing dishes? No way!! I almost delegate literally everything that doesn’t engage me on my soul level, something which are mundane bores me! I am very ruthless about the time I spend on these things.

9) Ignore Most Things And Let Go

Your customer /client treated you badly, oh, poor you! Stop, don’t be oversensitive about it. Learn from the experience and let go. Not taking things personally can make you go a long way. It saves heartaches, frustrations or even possibly a court case!

In my experience, most issues start as petty matters. One should have the tact and patience to deal with frustrations. Ignore them if it seems too stupid to you; well, there are more fools around than you can think.

10) Limit Your Coffee Intake To 1-2 Cups

I look forward to my daily cuppa. But there are days when I am not able to get enough done, or sometimes when I feel I can’t concentrate; I make the mistake of making a third cup of coffee for myself (in fact, I am aware its a mistake while I am sipping that third cup of coffee!).

So don’t be addicted/dependent on anything to increase your productivity. The downfall of the third cup is that I feel worse after an hour or so, especially when it is around evening time.

A few alternate drinks you can use for amazing instant energy: are veggie juice, tulsi tea, ginger tea with unprocessed honey, and coconut water. If all these things don’t work, then I take a power nap 🙂

So these are my 10 points to ensure you have the most productive day!

What do you think about productivity? Have anything you like to add? Let me know in the comments below.