7 Tips for Reaching Your Peak Productivity

Nearly everyone on this planet wishes there were more hours in the day. Most of us have experienced that feeling of waking up in the morning, excited to conquer the day; sadly, this feeling often fades as we find ourselves bogged down by emails, errands, and unexpected difficulties throughout the workday.

Though the minutes may tick on at the same rate as always, it is important to occasionally re-evaluate our daily routines in order to improve our workflow. Consider re-structuring your schedule with these great tips for improving your daily productivity.

1. Make Things Visual

Everyone knows that goals are crucial to long-term success. For many people, however, setting these goals is not enough. Lists and check-boxes can seem ominous, and can easily be pushed aside. Instead, create a colourful visual chart that you must engage with on a daily basis. Print or draw up a chart of fundamental daily goals and chores and post it in a visible place, on the wall above your desk or near your kitchen table. Mark off each task as you accomplish it, and leave blank boxes for the areas you're struggling with. In such a way, you'll be able to concretely chart your accomplishments throughout the week and re-evaluate the areas you're struggling with.

By visually charting your goals, you will force yourself to constantly re-evaluate your actions and daily schedule. Though simple, this trick can work wonders for getting you to commit to your plans.

2. Check Those Notifications Later

Most working adults spending hours each day replying to emails and other perfunctory messages. When possible, limit your interactions with these sources during the workday. Shut off all pop-up notifications on your phone that aren't absolutely critical. Answer emails shortly before your lunch break or before leaving for the day. Play with your apps and catch up with pop culture as you're waiting for dinner to cook. Push all of these necessary but less productive activities into the corners of your day, the times when you're generally less productive anyway. In doing so, you'll free up your key working hours for more useful interactions and activities.

3. Do A Technology Detox

In the past five years, many of us have acquired smartphones, tablets, fitness monitors, and a host of other technological devices that enable us to be online almost 24/7. Consider monitoring your interactions with your technology for a week. Do you find yourself watching television with your laptop in front of you, phone in hand? If so, find a way to limit yourself to one stream of digital information at a time. If you're watching television, commit yourself to it. If you're at your computer, avoid constantly checking your phone. This sort of multi-tasking has been proven to reduce our working IQs by an average of five points. By committing your brain to only one thing at a time, you'll be able to focus better and improve your productivity tremendously.

4. Be True to Yourself

Many productivity gurus claim that sleeping in late is the number-one killer of personal success. Though sleeping in past noon doesn't work for many, it is more important to identify your hours of key productivity rather than focusing on a 4 am wake-up. Do you get a tremendous second wind at 10 pm? Instead of berating yourself for your night-owl tendencies, embrace them. Studies have shown that there is no single schedule that is guaranteed to maximize personal success. If you're unsure of where to start, check out the schedules of some of the most productive, creative individuals in history. In short, find what works for you and stick to it. If it works for you, you're doing something right.

5. Banish "Binge-Watching" & DVR Marathons

Television and video streaming services, though great for relaxation, often threaten to destroy our daily productivity. Though cutting out TV altogether is unnecessary, consider reducing your live TV viewing; you'll save yourself precious minutes of time by recording your programs and watching them later.

Though online streaming and DVRs can be great for commercial-free viewing, limit yourself to a maximum of one episode per sitting. It's all too tempting to let two episodes become three, and three become a marathon. If you're a die-hard fan of "binge-watching" your favourite shows, consider limiting your viewing times to the weekends only. This way, you can satisfy your guilty pleasure without sacrificing your peak hours of productivity.

6. Get Moving

Though it's simple and well-known advice, many of us fail to get physically active during the week. Fitness, however, can be one of the best ways to sharpen the mind and refresh the body during the workday. If you're tight on time, consider incorporating 5-10 minute mini-workouts into your day. For city-dwellers, consider switching over to a biking or walking commute, if possible. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, and use five minutes of your lunch break to take a walk outside. Consciously taking a few minutes to get active during the day will refresh your body and mind, boosting your creativity and reducing your fatigue during the workday.

7. Prevent Procrastination

In the 21st century it's become easier than ever to procrastinate, thanks to a wealth of technological distractions. If you know your weaknesses, however, you can learn to work with your procrastination, rather than against it. For Google Chrome users looking to prevent themselves from hours of mindless social networking, an extension called StayFocusd may be the solution to their problems. Users can limit the minutes they spend on certain sites throughout the day, and can additionally use a "nuclear" option to block any or all websites for a given period of time.

Others may also find the application/extension Pocket to be particularly useful for boosting productivity. Have you stumbled across an article you'd like to read, or a website you'd love to explore? Save the page to your Pocket and revisit it during non-working hours. For curious minds who find that one tab just leads to another, Pocket is the answer to your problems.

Though there's no miracle clock that can add more hours to the day, these simple changes to your daily schedule can make your days more fulfilling and productive.

Get started with your new routine today!