8 tips to create a productive day routine
In this article on how to make a productive day, I will offer some very effective tips to improve your productivity and daily satisfaction.
Learn now how to apply my tips right away.
1 – Plan your day in advance
In order to have a well-organized day, you need to plan your day in advance.
According to Hisrich and Peters’ (2002) rule of effective or essential time management, 10% of the time spent planning tasks in advance saves 90% of the effort needed to achieve the goal later on.
By planning your tasks at night before you go to sleep, you will save time and take care of your tasks right away.
You will also be less exposed to distractions and less or unimportant tasks.
You will see that by applying this first tip you will become much more efficient.
2 – Schedule your most important activities
You don’t need to schedule all of your activities, but spend some time scheduling the most important ones, i.e. the ones that will get you closest to your goals.
If you do this, you will only need 5 to 10 minutes to plan the most important tasks in your schedule.
The remaining time can be used to deal with emergencies and less important work activities of the day.
Don’t limit yourself exclusively to work assignments; plan your personal appointments as well.
To ensure that the tasks you schedule are worthwhile, link each activity to a goal that is important to you.
If you have the opportunity, try to plan your most important activities according to your energy level, which is dependent on:
- your chronotype
- your lifestyle
- your ability to cope effectively with daily stress
3 – Prepare your tasks in advance
After writing down all the major tasks in your agenda, you can close your eyes and visualize how you want to perform each of those tasks.
This is a form of mental preparation that will allow you to see ahead of time if you are ready to perform each task to the best of your ability or if you are not.
In some cases, you might even postpone one of these activities to give yourself more time to further prepare.
Then, if you realize that you are prepared enough, think about what you need to do to save time the next day.
If it is a repetitive task, think of new ways to accomplish the same task in less time.
4 – Prepare alternative solutions
You are ready, you have planned your most important tasks and you have started preparing yourself mentally for your work.
But are you ready to handle all the unexpected events?
If not, start thinking about what would happen if your work tools stop working or any other unforeseen event occurs.
The purpose of this reasoning is not to be pessimistic, but rather to solve in advance a number of problems that are likely to occur, especially if you are self-employed and work remotely.
Typical examples of these situations are the computer breaking down, the internet not working, a client canceling an appointment at the last minute, an unexpected family situation that requires your presence, etc.
You can’t anticipate everything, but you can find solutions in advance to the difficulties you may encounter in the course of your work activities.
5 – Limit distractions
Do everything possible to avoid being interrupted during your work.
Eliminate all distractions that are dependent on you such as your smartphone, social and professional networks, etc.
Avoid answering your phone and switching from your main activity to doing something unimportant.
If you’re feeling tired, it’s best to take a break that allows you to completely disconnect from your work.
That way you will find that it will be easier to refocus.
If you keep switching from one activity to another, try to understand the reasons for this without criticizing yourself.
The goal is to understand what is causing these deficits in concentration.
Often the difficulty in concentrating on a task can be due to its complexity but also to a high level of physical or psychological fatigue.
In these cases, if you have the opportunity, take a short rest and go back to work, but also try to regain a good duration and quality of sleep.
6 – Take regular breaks
In order to organize your day and maintain productivity, you need to take breaks.
Ideally, you should move from your workspace, get outside and walk around.
Take a break that allows you to completely disconnect from your work activity.
Doing this will keep you productive, satisfied, and in a good mood until the evening.
This means that you need to plan your breaks and take them even if you think you don’t need them.
Take them and don’t make excuses like: I have too much work, I can’t take a break now because my boss expects me to finish this task.
Take a break because it’s good for you and for your manager.
7 – Review your day
Take five minutes each evening to review the key events of your day.
Focus first on what went as expected and note the choices that helped you perform well.
Take time to congratulate yourself on these accomplishments, as this builds confidence and self-esteem.
Then think about what didn’t work so well and focus on what you learned from that situation.
Think about what you could do better quickly so that you can begin to overcome these obstacles once and for all.
Make time to say to yourself with great kindness: I will do better next time.
Then imagine yourself mentally reliving that same day and think about what you would do differently if you could repeat the experience.
Try to integrate what you learned with the things you can improve upon.
8 – Overcome procrastination
Do you tend to put off important tasks for days, weeks, or months?
If so, it is essential to understand what makes you procrastinate.
There are many reasons why people procrastinate; here are just a few.
Some people procrastinate because they are excessively perfectionists, and in this case, it is essential to understand how to stop being a perfectionist.
Other people procrastinate because they have difficulty managing their emotions or because they consider the task to be too boring.
Once you have identified this reason or reasons, you will need to create a tailored strategy to stop procrastinating.
Conclusion on how to make a productive day
In this article, I have shared with you 8 tips on how to organize your day and move towards greater productivity, well-being, and professional fulfillment.
If you are interested in the topic of productivity, I invite you to discover all my articles on productivity.
If you are looking for tools to improve your time management skills, I recommend you read my article on the best time management apps.
If you want to learn how to manage your time, I invite you to find out more about our online time management course.
To take advantage of the expertise of a time management coach, write to us now using our contact form, call us at +33 6 69 46 03 79 or contact us on WhatsApp at +33 6 69 46 03 79.
If you are ready to take action, check out our life coaching packages:
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Read this article in other languages
Français : Comment organiser sa journée : plus de productivité et moins de stress
Italiano: Come organizzare efficacemente una giornata produttiva