PRODUCTIVITY SPECIAL.............. COUNTERINTUITIVE SECRETS TO BEING INSANELY PRODUCTIVE

 COUNTERINTUITIVE SECRETS TO BEING INSANELY PRODUCTIVE



Impress your coworkers with how much you accomplish without breaking into a sweat

Contrary to popular belief, the key to productivity is not working yourself to the bone. In fact, there are plenty of proven strategies for getting more done while staying happy and healthy.

To find out what those strategies are, we checked out the Quora thread What is the secret to insane productivity? and some other research, and picked out our favourite techniques.

Work less

A Quora user says that when she was younger, she used to work and study for about 20 hours a day. “As I got older,“ she writes, “I realised that working harder is not always the right path to success. Sometimes, working less can actually produce better results.“

More recently, research has found that we can tolerate working 60-hour weeks for three weeks -after that we become less productive.

Get rid of your current to-do list

If your to-do list is brimming with items you didn't get to last week, or month, or year, it's time to make a change. Limit your list to three to five items every day to be more productive. Make a promise to yourself that you will not move on to any other work without completing the important ones that you listed.

Don't manage your time -manage your energy

“You need to align your work schedule with your energy level fluctuations,“ writes a Quora user. He suggests tracking your energy levels throughout the day for a few days. Then schedule your workday according to when you're the most focused.

Don't do the work yourself

“Learning to delegate effectively is the best thing you can do to free up your time as a manager,“ says another Quora user. She identifies four spheres of work: total autonomy, heads up, checkpoints and collaboration. Being aware of what's stopping you from delegating is the first step to addressing the issue and boosting your personal productivity.

Take a long lunch break

It's tempting to power through the day and feel productive, but that's not always wise. According to some psychologists, taking a long lunch allows you to step back and remember your most important priorities. Moreover, a long lunch gives your brain a chance to recover from mental fatigue, so that you don't lose steam later in the afternoon.

Don't plan every hour of your day

Etienne Garbugli, a Montreal-based product and marketing consultant, has 26 great pieces of timemanagement advice for those who are just starting out. Here's one, which heat tributes to David Heinemeier Hansson at 37 Signals: “Only plan for 4-5 hours of real work per day. Days always fill up.“ In other words, schedule some buffer time
around tasks in case they take longer than you think .

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