Mounting distractions, feeling overwhelmed, the temptation to procrastinate – these are just some of the things standing in the way of your meeting your productivity goals. But there is a way to overcome them and have your best workday yet.
It starts with reframing how you see and use your brain.
Focus on one thing at a time
Your brain is a muscle, and, like most muscles, becomes stronger with use. Speaking to The New York Times, Earl K Miller, a neuroscience professor at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, explained that you can accomplish much more, more efficiently, if you tackle one task at a time. The brain’s bandwidth is better applied if you allow it to monotask, rather than multi-tasking.
You may already know that, when you do two things simultaneously, both efforts suffer. Not only does multi-tasking impede creativity, Dr Miller says, but when, instead, we allow our brain to follow a logical path of associated thoughts and ideas, we can access genuinely innovative thinking.
Plan for success
The next step is determining what needs to be done and how much time is reasonably required to accomplish the tasks at hand. It can help to do your planning the day before. Schedule focus and break times, and allow yourself to do something enjoyable when you’re not working. Go for a walk, have coffee with a friend or colleague, get some fresh air or a change of scenery, so your brain can recharge and be ready for the next focus period.
In addition to planning for success, plan for reward. When you’ve achieved your goals, make sure to do something that signals to your brain that it did a good job – that way, you’ll stay motivated.
Remove distractions wherever possible
Dr Miller believes the tendency to become distracted is a primal one, stemming from the time in human history when we always needed to be on alert, so we could respond to predators. But while this may have been an efficient survival mechanism in the past, today it’s only getting in the way of getting you where you want to be.
If you find yourself checking social media or drifting off while trying to work, try installing anti-distraction programmes on your technology. Listen to music or sounds that will help your brain to concentrate on the task at hand, and don’t stop working until the time block is complete.
Bottom line
Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get it right immediately – you’ll probably make some mistakes along the way. Work to find your own productivity rhythm and flow. Your best workday will take effort and discipline, but the results are always worth it.
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Written by LifeAssist
