Here are my proven tips on how to increase your everyday productivity, whether it has to do with work or anything else. 

These awesome tips helped me stay consistent to build this website from scratch, to start a blog all by myself without any previous experience or help. And I managed to pull it off without being tech-savvy, at all. Imagine that! 

An enormous amount of work can be done very quickly if you only stay organized, consistent and of course, willing to learn and achieve something big!

So here are my top 16 ways to become and stay productive, every day.

Increase your productivity and let it stay that way!

1. TO-DO LISTS

You can either make a to-do list an evening earlier or first thing in the morning while drinking coffee. If I’m too tired in the evening, I write it down first thing in the morning when rested. That’s totally up to you.

But the main point is that you do this regularly. To-do lists are a way of organizing your daily tasks so you don’t feel lost and overwhelmed.

2. TAKE QUALITY BREAKS

This, I must admit in my no. 1 problem from the list. An everyday battle for me. After working for a few hours in a row I start feeling anxious and nervous and I can feel a lack of focus but still keep pushing myself because I want to finish this and that…

Mistake.

Do you want to know how are the results? Awful. Writing in this kind of state leads to a terrible content. When I take photos feeling like that, you better not see them.

Don’t push yourself too hard. Take regular breaks, every hour or every two hours just for a quick walk outside or around the house, drink a glass of water, a cup of coffee or tea, or simply listen to some music and dance like crazy for a few minutes. Or enjoy some silence.

Yup, silence is also pretty good.

3. SAY NO TO THE TV

TV was a hypocritical thing in our house. One short episode can quickly turn into the whole afternoon of lying in front of it, feeling lazier every minute.

Next, we feel guilty for it and consequently, it drains our energy and the day ends without any productivity. That is why I stopped watching TV. Fort he past 5 years or so I don’t even own it anymore. Best decision of my life! I have a computer and that’s enough for me.

But if you do have a TV at home and aren’t ready to give it up, you can still settle some make rules. For instance, you can watch 3 times per week for 1-2 hours. Or only on Sundays. 

If you’re a blogger and have many other hobbies watching a TV can really damage your work-plan. Eliminating TV is one the first and main things to do in order to gain more time for useful and productive tasks.

4. PREPARE A WEEKLY SCHEDULE (AND MONTHLY GOALS)

I couldn’t recommend this more! But you’ll probably have to experiment a little bit in this area to see what suits you best.

I used to have a detailed schedule for the whole week in advance. I’ve had it all written down by the hour. It didn’t suit me because I couldn’t tell in advance how long will it take me to finish a certain task and if I’ll be up to doing something in that particular hour.

So now I prepare a weekly schedule only by the day, not by the hour. My list is always written in order of importance.

Monday: {insert tasks}

Tuesday: {insert tasks}

…and so on…

I also create a wider list of things I need to finish by the end of the month.

Yes I know, a lot of writing going on here! But that is what helps me to stay productive and I’ll keep on having it this way.

5. REWARD YOURSELF AT THE END OF EACH WEEK

This one’s my favorite 🙂 You need to reward yourself for doing well and completing your goals. This is what motivated us as kids, in school and everywhere in life. Now as a grown up it is all on you, my friend.

Whether it’s a nice trip, relaxation day, a dinner party or a movie marathon, shopping or anything else that comes to your mind. Set a nice reward for yourself on accomplishing your weekly tasks.

If you don’t have many ideas what to on weekend, I’m here to tell you there are tons of awesome activites that i colledted in this post: 

List of 112 Insanely Fun Activities You Can Do Each Weekend

6. SLEEP EARLY, GET UP EARLY

You won’t believe the effect this has on your body, your physical and mental energy. I used to be a night owl but after I created a habit of going to bed early and waking up early after a good night sleep, I’ve never been more productive in my life.

So try going to sleep at 10-11PM and get up at 6AM for best results possible.

There is no comparison between working in the evening or working in the morning. I can do the same things twice as fast in the morning than in the evening. Try it but if you’re not a morning person you’ll need a great portion of willpower to adopt this habit. It will all be worth it in the end, I promise!

Ff you’re a blogger or have any other side job besides your day job then it is completely understandable to sometimes work in the evening. Just try to stay disciplined in the way that you stop working at 10 PM and have one more relaxing no-working hour left until your bed time. Your’ll have much more quality sleep and probably finish those uncompleted tasks early in the morning before your day job begins.

Related post: Best morning routine ever & 10 awesome ideas to start your day right

7. EAT HEALTHY, EXERCISE REGULARLY

If you already do this, skip this part. If not, start now. Start slow. Remember, it’s not easy changing everything at once.

For eating healthy it is best to have a meal plan and start taking one step at a time. As for the exercise I recommend downloading workout apps which will help you stay consistent in exercising. Even the 15-minute workout will do just fine in the beginning and eventually, you’ll be able to do more and more every day.

Related post: 10 ways to finally get your energy back

8. AVOID TELEPHONE AND OTHER DISTRACTIONS

Distractions are everywhere. As you probably spend the majority of your time behind the computer there is a good chance you’ll check social media from time to time and you’ll find yourself one hour later still doing the same thing. Don’t let that happen.

Computers can be huge distraction if you let it but most of us need it like bread so we must stay focused not to get carried away too often.

Set a rule, a certain hour of the day for social media. Set an alarm clock for when the time is up. Because it is easy to forget about time.

As for your phone, keep it silent while working.

Even one tiny message you read and reply within a minute takes away your focus for more than 5 minutes. It takes a long time to get back on track.

Disconnecting for a day (when you have a day-off), or even an entire weekend, if possible, can recharge you completely.

9. PRIORITISE YOUR MOST IMPORTANT TASKS FIRST THING IN THE MORNING

Don’t put off your most important task until last minute; instead, focus on the most important task first, complete it, and then start working on ‘secondary’ tasks. You know what they say:

‘If it’s your job to eat the frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning.’ – Mark Twain

What’s the point of leaving your most important things to do till the end if you carry them in your head (sometimes without realising) whole day long?

Completing the most daunting task first will help you feel less inner resistance towards tasks later in the day and your productivity will increase.

10. LEARN TO SAY NO

This one is related to point 8 when I spoke about distractions. If you’re planning to finish a blog post or do something else the next day and you’re friends want to grab a drink, what are you going to do?

I know many people that hardly ever say no to anything.

Well, how productive do you think they are? Everything falls behind for them.

Don’t let that happen to you.

Remember, you’ll have plenty of time for fun. Don’t forget about point 5, while we’re at it!

11. READ IN THE MORNING (OR BEFORE BEDTIME)

I know someone who had a really hard time sticking to this but what helped him was that he settled a rule to read 10 pages every day which is not much to stick to.

The result was that he managed to finish one book a month which is great considering he read only 10 pages per day.

So come on, you can handle that, don’t you?

12. HAVE RELAXING MUSIC PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND

Choose your style, don’t put on the music too loudly otherwise you’ll only create another distraction.

It has to sound like the music comes form somewhere far away, in the background.

You may like piano sounds or sounds of nature or maybe a simple meditation music. Find your own tune and enjoy.

Just choose the one that makes you focused and not sleepy!

13. NEVER MULTITASK

I know, I know…easier said than done, when you have 5 things in your head and you want to get done with them. Well, let me tell you that you’re not doing yourself any favour if you do all at once. Right on the contrary. 

Focus on one thing and one thing only. Then move to another when you’re finished with the first thing or you really can’t focus on the first thing anymore, no matter what.

Multitasking isn’t even a real thing. Even computers can’t multitask, they only switch from one task to another, only much faster than us.

So you can do three things ”at once” and in the end none of them will be done properly. Or you can do one thing how it’s supposed to be done. It’s your call.

14. SPEND MORE TIME OUTSIDE

Block at least 1-2 hours daily to be outside on a fresh air. If you really have so much work to do find a way to bring that work outside. Grab your laptop and take a walk to a park. Or you can go to a lokal coffee shop and sit outside.

If you work inside all day it affects your workflow. Your efficiency and productivity are suffering. You don’t want that.

15. DO THE MOST OF YOUR WORK BEFORE 12 AM

The more work is done before 12 AM, the less stressful your whole day will be. You’ll automatically become more relaxed in the afternoon knowing that the most important tasks are already done.

If you save those tasks for the evening you’re carrying that burden around from the morning until it is finished.

When you go to work it is easy to stick with the schedule because you have no other choice. Working at home takes a lot more willpower because, well, you’re at home! In that case, you really need a place in your apartment or house that is a working space.

This place has to be the office kind of environment (but much more cosy and nicely looking than the usual office) that inspires you to work without procrastination.

16. FIND AN INDIVIDUAL OR A SUPPORT GROUP OF PEOPLE TO MOTIVATE EACH OTHER ON A REGULAR BASIS

When you’re all by yourself it can be more difficult to stay consistent with your duties. Just remember how easier it was to study in a group than studying by yourself. (some people rather study alone but those people have no problem staying consistent and productive, in my opinion)

For instance, when you have to meet someone and you arrange something with another person, you’re not only responsible for yourself but to another person as well.

If you find yourself having this exact problem then call a friend or someone close to you who has the same issues. Motivate each other, let the other person know about your tasks or settled goals, tell this person what you’re planning to do in the following week.

I promise it’ll make your whole process of finishing a task a lot simpler if you do so.