3 tips to improve your overall productivity

Either on the job or for a personal project, staying productive through a whole day can be difficult. This last year, we as developers have adopted a policy of "working-from-home." It became apparent that learning how to spend our time it's a necessity for staying productive.

Here, I share my piece of advice and tips that I've been using to stay productive while still having time to enjoy my hobbies (like farming on Genshin Impact).

1. Set your goals in stone.

It doesn't matter who you are: you have to know what goals you want to live for. Goals keep us on the grind for that next dopamine rush we get when we accomplish something. The first key to productivity is having those goals in clear sight.

If you feel like struggling or want to do nothing on a day, reconsider your goals to something more realistic. Maybe your goals are too broad, or you are not accomplishing small micro-goals.

On the topics of micro-goals, every big goal is composed of them. If you want to make 100k at the end of the year, you first have to do 10k. Subdividing gives you a small step to pursue. Small achievements sum up to a tremendous achievement in the future. Never forget that!

2. Plan your time, and get deadlines.

We all hate deadlines. They get on the way, make us stressed, and every time I see one on my calendar, I feel anxious. But, guess what, I always work harder when I know I have to meet a deadline.

Creating deadlines for our projects, the book we are reading, a course, or even cleaning the house gives us a feeling of urgency. "We have to finish this and then work on that, to make then this other thing.", we think. Planning how we are spending our day, it's great for productivity. I like to write down my tasks/things to do the night before. That way, I wake up ready to tackle one by one.

3. Take free time.

Productivity is a rabbit hole. Once you get started with one method (and find results), you'll wonder how much you can do. It can lead to over-work, under-accomplishment (even if you ARE doing a lot), feeling stressed and tired.

Great news! We have a way to work this through resting. Take time for yourself, go to the gym, watch that new Netflix show, or hike in the mountains. There's plenty of activities that we need to do to stay off that productivity zone.

It's counterintuitive resting to keep yourself productive. Whoever working non-stop can lead to some serious problems. Take your day off, cool down, and come back stronger to the job.

Now, what techniques can I use?

There is a ton of strategies for keeping yourself productive. For getting started, I like to do something like this:

• I create "blocks" of time on my calendar for activities like writing, reading, working, and taking rest. If you want, add your meals and other house-related activities to your calendar too. With this approach, you can see what you are doing in a time frame.
• I create "tasks" inside those blocks. Let's say I have a block for focus work. I add tasks I have to do and try to make them in the block scope. Because you'll focus only on work in this time block, you'll be more productive. When done with your tasks, you can either: take a break or tackle new work-related tasks until the block has ended.
• If you are studying or doing a course, try the Pomodoro technique. In your course or studying block of the day, follow this pattern: set a timer for 25 minutes and study as hard as you can. After those 25 minutes, rest 5 minutes; walk off your chair and do some stretches'. Go back to another 25 minutes of focus studying, rinse, and repeat. This technique is great for long sessions of studying. You keep more focus on your 25 minutes blocks, plus, you can sum a lot of hours this way. Give it a try!

After this article, you'll be more productive.

That's a lie. You won't be more productive until you take action. Remember that we all have a different life so, while these tips make me more productive, maybe it's not your cup of tea.

I would love to read what things you do to stay productive every day. Leave a comment with your input, and share with one friend that's struggling with day-to-day work! Thank you for reading.