9 Ways to Boost Your Productivity.

How to Boost Your Productivity at Work

Obviously, one of your main focuses is how to be productive at work. Luckily, there are tons of productivity tips, tricks, and tools to help you get the ball rolling while at the office:  

1. Stop Multitasking

This may seem counterintuitive, but if you want to get more done, stop trying to do everything at once. Humans aren't designed for multitasking. It makes it harder to focus, increases stress, and—you guessed it—completely jeopardizes productivity. If you want to boost your productivity this year, do yourself a favor and stop trying to do ten things at once. Instead, give your full attention to the task at hand. That's when you'll be amazed at how much more you get done.  

2. Track Your Time

One of the biggest productivity killers is completely losing track of where your time has gone. You sit down to get some work done, look up, and BAM! Two hours have passed… and you have no idea where they went—and more importantly, you have nothing to show for them. Tracking your time is a great way to keep tabs on how you spend the minutes of your day. Use tools like Toggl or TimeDoctor to track each task and how long it takes you to complete it. Then, you can view reports that show exactly how you spent your day and where your time went. You can identify time-suckers (like social media and too much email) and get rid of them, which seriously boosts your productivity.  

3. Tackle Small Tasks

We're all guilty of procrastinating from time to time. But if you want to boost your productivity, chronic procrastination won't work. Check off those small tasks on your list NOW. Want to start fighting the irresistible urge to procrastinate? Start small with the two-minute rule. It's pretty simple. If you start a task during the day that takes two minutes or less, just stop and do it. Send the email, organize the file, reply to the Facebook message from your client. By tackling all of these "two-minute tasks" as they pop up, you'll get more done throughout the day. And you won't be stuck at the end of the day with a long list of important tasks to handle.  

4. Cut Out the Distractions

There's no escape. We live in a culture of distraction. Cut out the distractions. It's hard to get anything done when your cell phone is buzzing with a new text every 30 seconds, you're getting alerts about new emails, or people are knocking on your office door a million times a day to ask questions. Interruptions and distractions have a serious impact on productivity. Research from UC Irvine found that the average worker is interrupted every 11 minutes—and it took them 25 minutes to get back to their original task. Responding to texts wasted a lot of time. If you want to boost your productivity, you need to eliminate as many of these distractions as possible. Put your phone on airplane mode. Use Freedom to block yourself from distracting websites or apps (looking at you, Facebook). When you're working on a project, put a "do not disturb" sign on your door or desk. The fewer distractions and interruptions you have throughout the day, the more you'll get done.  

How to Boost Your Productivity at Home

For many entrepreneurs and advertisers, their home life is just as busy as their work life. However, if you're tired of always feeling like you're playing catch-up and don't have time to actually enjoy your space, this is the year to change that. Whether you're running a household, raising a family, or just trying to make the most of the time you spend in your humble abode, here are some productivity tips to maximize your home life.  

5. Make Healthy Meals in Advance

Nothing kills productivity like very unhealthy food choices; it's hard to clean the house or spend quality time with your family if your system is bogged down with a sausage calzone, potato chips, and a two-liter Coke. Many people eat unhealthy because it's more convenient. They'd prefer to throw a packaged meal or ready product in the microwave instead of spending their time eating with fresh vegetables. But with a little planning, you can have the best of both worlds—health and convenience. Prepping meals for the week and having healthy food on hand is a great way to get the food your body needs to be productive without having to spend hours cooking every day. Set aside time on Sunday to prepare healthy meals and you'll thank yourself all week. Some meal planning suggestions for cooking delicious and nutritious meals for seven days: Roast a few chicken breasts to have as the main course of a dinner, or toss them on a salad for something a little lighter. Roast a big tray of mixed vegetables (like sweet potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower) and have them on hand as a healthy and filling side. Prep salad ingredients and put them in a container for a "grab and go" lunch. (be sure to put it bottom up so the salad dressing doesn't sog up). Use the rest of your containers for overnight oats. Put ½ cup rolled oats, 1 cup milk, and 1-2 teaspoons of sweetener into a jar. Add your favorite toppings (raspberries, chia seeds, almonds, blueberries) and enjoy hot or cold in the morning.

6. Leave Work at the Office

Work life and home life are two separate things. But when your work life starts bleeding into your home life, not only are you less productive at home, you're also less happy. People who never turn off the "work" switch and bring work-related stress home at the end of the day deal with many issues like anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, and low immune function. Not exactly a recipe for productivity and happiness. So if you want to be more productive and joyful at home, leave work at the office. When you're at work, make a commitment to yourself that you're at work, but when you're at home, you're at home. Set boundaries with clients and let them know you can't be available after hours. Turn off your email notifications and set an "away" message after 6pm. Put your office phone somewhere you can't see it until morning (like in a closet). The point is, when you're home, no work is allowed. You'll get more done, and you'll feel better doing it.  

7. Create a "No Phone" Zone

Ah, the smartphone. What a double-edged sword! While we don't deny the benefits of smartphone technology (we literally carry supercomputers in our pockets), we don't deny the downsides either. And one of the biggest downsides? Phones are the biggest productivity killer to emerge in the last 1000 years. If you're constantly working on your phone, you can't be present for your home life. You may be in the same room as your kids, but if you're playing "Candy Crush" on your phone instead of "Candy Land" on the floor, you're not really there. If you're so attached to your phone that you can never finish doing laundry, dishes, or any chores… Yes, that's a productivity issue. An easy way to free yourself from the phone and boost your productivity at home is to create a "no phone zone." Maybe it's your living room, maybe your entire first floor, maybe everywhere except your office. But having a no-phone zone allows you to disconnect from technology and pull yourself into your home life; this helps you get more done and feel more present.  

8. Use Technology to Make Home Life a Breeze

If you're trying to do everything at home yourself, guess what? You don't have to. A relief, right? Thanks to technology, you can boost your productivity, take a few tedious tasks off your plate, and free up more time to enjoy your time at home. Want to manage your home faster and more efficiently? Here are some ways to let technology keep your home in top shape:

• Don't have time to drop off your dry cleaning? Use mobile dry cleaning apps.
• Spend tons of time looking for your lost keys or the wallet your spouse loses twice a week.
• Get a MYNT Tracker that uses Bluetooth to find your lost items.
• Never know where your countless remote controls for the TV or stereo are stashed? Try the Harmony Home Hub, which turns your smartphone into an all-in-one remote and lets you control your TV, speakers, and other remote-controlled devices with just one tap.
• Always having to double back on the shopping trip because you forgot an item (or six)? Get an Amazon Echo. You can give voice commands ("Pick up 12 apples!") to virtual assistant Alexa, who will add it to a grocery list on your phone.

There's a lot to do at home, but with the right technology, you can take some things off your plate and free up your time to focus on what really matters.  

9. Establish a Morning Routine

Nothing kills productivity like waking up on the wrong side of the bed. The way you start your morning sets the tone for the rest of the day and can determine whether you have a productive day tackling home projects or whether the day will be spent watching Netflix wrapped in a fuzzy blanket. So why not start in a way that sets you up for success? Instead of hitting the snooze button and sleeping until the very last second possible, wake up an hour earlier and give yourself time to ease into the day. Create a morning routine that leaves you feeling satisfied and excited to start the day. Here are some things you might want to add to your morning routine:

• Exercise. It will not only make you feel great, but also give you a flood of endorphins that will help you better prioritize tasks, which is the key to being more productive.
• Meditation. Just taking a few minutes to meditate in the morning can lower stress levels, which can make it easier for you to be more successful throughout the workday.
• Write an article. Journaling can help you process your thoughts and create a plan to spend the day most productively.

Do whatever makes you feel inspired, but do it every day. Starting the day with purpose will help you spend the rest of the day with purpose. When you start the day with a productivity boost, you get into the rhythm of being productive—and as a result, you'll get more done as the day goes on.  

What's your productivity gain?

It's a great excuse to overhaul your habits and become a better, more productive version of yourself. And with these tips, you're on your way to seriously boosting your productivity at work and at home, and reaping the benefits as a result. What are your top productivity hacks? Let us know in the comments below!