6 Productivity Tips to Supercharge Your Efficiency

Most of the productivity tips in this list are about on par with each other in terms of effectiveness depending on what works for you. This one, however, is number one for everyone.

Unfortunately, many people neglect it, often coming up with excuses as to why they don’t have time or resources. But the reality is, you absolutely must take care of your health in order to get the most from your brain.

Personal health is a monster subject and I have built a whole program for it which you can get at www.StackHealthyHabits.com, but for now, here are my top 3 tips:

1․ Get 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night

2․ Exercise daily

3․ Eat well with a focus on protein and vegetables

Planning is another thing people often say they don’t have time for. But like personal care, the reality is you don’t have time not to do it.

Taking the time to plan out a project or task before you start will not only prevent you from making unnecessary errors, but also allows you to think things through properly before starting. You often discover more efficient ways to do things or realize you don’t have to do them at all.

Planning also prevents overwhelm and stress. Break big tasks down into smaller manageable tasks and regular habits.

By deep work I mean things that take mental creativity. For example, I always write in the morning while my brain is fresh. If I put it off until the afternoon it will take me twice as long to do the same task.

Along the same lines, I leave repetitive or low mental tasks until after lunch since I don’t function as well.

Of course everyone is different, but most people will benefit from getting deep work done by 11am.

Taking regular breaks throughout the day allows your mind and body to refresh. Just 5 minutes away from your desk to have a little stretch, grab a glass of water, or have a quick chat can do wonders.

You may even find that during that break you come up with a more efficient way to do the task you are on.

If you often check your phone or email, then taking regular breaks will be particularly beneficial. Put your phone on silent and close your email browser while you are working. You can fire them back up during your break. Trust me, there is hardly anything that can’t wait for 30 to 60 minutes.

So the question is, how often should you break, and for how long?

This depends on the individual. I know that I can work for about 40 to 60 minutes before I need a break and then I just take a couple of minutes. The Pomodoro Technique, which is where this stems from, says to work in 25-minute sessions, with five-minute breaks after each session.

I don’t keep a timer on but many people benefit from that.

You should also take extended breaks of several days, weeks, or even months away from work.

Whenever I have a repetitive task my primary aim is to figure out the best way to automate it. I consider the following methods in this order.

1. Deletion. Is the task even necessary? You’ll be surprised how often something can just not be done with little to no effect on the desired final outcome.

2. Automation Tools. I even often tweak tasks to fit the capabilities of available tools.

3. Freelancers. In order to do this I advise creating a workflow, which is basically a set of instructions on how to complete a given task. This can be written down, as a video tutorial, or both.

Closely related to this is the use of AI. I love AI. Whenever I have a task, the first thing I ask myself is “How could AI help me with this?”

Parkinson's Law is the idea that work will expand to fill the time allotted for its completion.

Most people take this to mean that if you set shorter deadlines the work will get done faster. While this may be true, I don’t like the stress.

Instead, I tend not to set deadlines. I just try to do every task as efficiently as possible. But that doesn’t mean I rush things.

For me, productivity isn’t about getting as much done as possible in the shortest amount of time. Rather, it is about consistency and patience.

Know your goal and identify those few tasks that when done regularly over time will get you the results you want.