Productivity - Developing a Better Daily Workflow

It's right around this time of year that I find myself becoming more and more distracted at work. From travel concerns, to keeping up with family & friends, to visions of sugar plumb fairies, my brain has a lot of ammunition to keep me from performing the work that I set out to do each day.

Ok, so maybe it's not just this time of year. More like a constant battle for me (and for many of you reading this, I wager). However, throughout college and my time working a full-time job, I've continued to find new life hacks for staying focused and increasing productivity. I will try to keep this objective, because the method that works for me may not be the best method for you. Regardless, I hope that this helps you on your journey to the pinnacle of productivity!

So here is what I do to structure an efficient daily workflow:

Create Tasks

The first step happens when I am assigned to or take on a new project. As soon as I know enough of the details, I immediately put it into a task manager (to-do list). For all tasks, I've found it very important to assign a due date. Even if it's arbitrary, I give everything a timeline to be completed. Without holding myself accountable to getting it done by a certain day, the task can end up tucked away and forgotten amid other priorities. Additionally, projects that have a larger scope are broken down into smaller tasks that lead up to the completion of the entire project (each with a due date).

The app that I use for holding my tasks is Habitica. Essentially this turns your life into a Role Playing Game by rewarding you with coins and experience points as you accomplish tasks, make habits, and work with others. Here is a little snapshot of the To-Do list portion:

When choosing this tool (pen and paper, mobile app, web software), this is what I took into consideration:

• Due dates - Given what I just said, this is an essential feature
• Sorting and filters - Not only can you move tasks around in a custom order, you can also sort by due date (very important for prioritization), and filter by custom tags (which I recommend using for classes, clients, or projects depending on what you do)
• Aesthetic - I enjoy using apps with beautiful design, and this one has the added benefit of fun!

Keep A Daily Agenda

Now that all of my tasks are staring me square in the face with deadlines and boss battles (oh yea, that's also a thing), it's time to plan the day and start knocking them out. I use Google Calendar for my daily agenda, but I know plenty of productive people that use old-school planners, and I suppose there's iCal or other Apple apps if you can't manage the switch over to the wonderful world of Google.

Before I begin working in the morning, I schedule my entire day (every day).

• Ensure that every block of time is accounted for. When done planning, there should be no empty time slots from the beginning to the end of your work day.
• It's usually a good idea to group similar types of tasks together in a day (i.e. analytical, creative, rinse&repeat, communication), while also trying to balance the day so you don't get burnt out working on the same thing for 8 hours.
• Reference this agenda during the day. This prevents having to make too many decisions, like what to work on, which saves mental energy. It also keeps you from feeling overwhelmed by remaining focused on one task at a time.

Work Smart, and Use Life Hacks

One of the most beneficial practices that I've found is using the Pomodoro technique (or some variation of it). The two main parts that make this technique helpful are:

• Timing - This technique involves setting productivity timers. In other words, working in bursts of 30 minutes (let's say) at a time. All I know is that it works, I can't explain the science why (so look to a search engine for that knowledge).
• Frequent & intentional breaks - At the end of those bursts of work you get to take brief rests. The app that I use to work with Pomodoro timers is called Brain Focus,

which gives you 25 minute work timers followed by 5 minute break timers. After four sets of these, you get a 20 minute rest!

For anyone who thinks that resting during the work day sounds counter-productive, I would challenge you to keep a timer on hand and track how much time you spend on productive work, and how much time you are distracted or un-focused. You will probably find that you get less done with more time than if you can stay focused by taking frequent breaks.

A friend of mine told me once:

"I found that I was a lot happier when I intentionally decided to procrastinate instead of feeling guilty for accidentally doing it."

Additional Thoughts

There are multitudes of hacks for a productive work day that alter your ergonomics, social setting, and work-space environment. Mostly, I don't think these hacks get at the heart of the issues preventing focused and productive work. That being said, my thoughts are that you should always be willing to try new things. Ultimately, you will be productive in an environment where you are happy, comfortable, and free of unnecessary distractions.

For instance, today I've tried using f.lux's grayscale mode on my computer in an attempt to keep from being overstimulated by vibrant colors.

Again, this doesn't really solve the heart of the issue which is that I let myself become distracted when working. All of these tips and tricks are part of a massive equation for efficiency and productivity, and every individual's equation is a little bit different. You have to find the workflow that is the best for you!

I hope that this article has been helpful, and that we can together make our offices more productive spaces. Also, message me if you join Habitica so that we can go on quests together :D!

Happy working,

Levi Bailey