Certain people are known for their high levels of productivity. They always seem to get more done than the average person. How do they do it? The keys to any productivity hack are the removal of distractions and the automation of tedious activities. There are a lot of productivity hacks that some swear by as the keys to increased productivity. Here are five that we want to share with you.
Wake up early
Many entrepreneurs believe that getting up super-early (think 4 a.m.) is the key to their success. Stories abound, such as this article by entrepreneur Scott Vollero. The reason it works? A lack of distraction. Working when there are zero distractions from family or co-workers or email gives early risers an edge.
Some entrepreneurs don’t use this time for work productivity but to pursue personal activities or spend quality time with their families with no work distractions. Depending on your needs, this may be a more fulfilling use of early morning time than producing better work. Paradoxically, giving yourself space to fulfill those parts of your life can make your work better. Give it a try and find out.
Make checklists
A checklist system is another tool used by productive entrepreneurs. The idea is to let the checklist free your mind from having to think about everything you need to get done. Some use a simple to-do list for their work; others use huge checklist systems like the famous Getting Things Done system, though some argue that maintaining a system like this takes more time than it is worth. Experiment!
There is one idea in GTD that many entrepreneurs agree is very useful: If a task comes up that will take less than two minutes, do it immediately in order to get it out of your mind. Most people have two minutes to spare for small things. This prevents your checklist from getting cluttered with a lot of easy tasks.
Delegate
Once your business grows to a certain size, it’s impossible to handle everything on your own. But some entrepreneurs insist on having their fingers in every part of the business. There comes a point where delegation is necessary. If you can trust that your employees have your back and you can confidently give them responsibilities, that frees up more time for you to do what you do best.
Remove common distractions
Many of the worst distractions are things that you can’t avoid easily. If you do work on a computer, the siren call of web browsing and social media is constantly there. Smartphones have wired us to respond to every beep and vibration. Entrepreneurs have used different techniques to remove these distractions, such as shutting off phones at the desk, blocking time-sucking websites, or even working as if on an airplane with no internet access at all.
Do the worst task first
Most people put off the worst item on their tasklists until the afternoon, but smart entrepreneurs do the toughest task first thing in the morning when their minds are sharpest. This prevents anxiety about the hard task from weighing down the rest of the day and makes everything else seem easy by comparison.
The only way to know which hacks will work for you is to experiment. Measure your current level of productivity, then give one of these a try for the next month and measure again. We think you’ll see some improvement.