Sarah Sharkey — February 20, 2019 Each week, your Calendar may be full of countless activities, tasks, and regular demands that add up. All of the little time wasters and demands can make your week less productive. By the time Friday rolls around, it can be frustrating to know that you did not get everything you wanted to accomplish on your Calendar completed.
If you have been struggling to make your week more productive, then you should try some tricks to make your week more productive. Avoiding certain time drains could help you to significantly increase your productivity.
Ways to Make Your Week Less Productive
Making small changes to your week could help you to significantly increase your productivity. You may be surprised that even small changes can make a large difference, but they can. You may need to try different tactics to find the best options for you.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common ways to make your week less productive. Hopefully, you can avoid these things and create a more productive week every week.
1. Don’t create a plan.
It is easy to forget to schedule your Calendar for the week. If you do not know what you should be doing, then it is hard to productivity fit everything into your week. Take a look at your Calendar before the week gets started to get all set up for the week.
2. Do not prioritize your tasks.
We all have a million things to get done every single week. However, if we just leave it all on one big list it can be difficult to determine what is actually important. If you set priorities for the tasks you need to get done during the week, then you are more likely to actually accomplish those things.
Before the week gets started, prioritize your tasks. Make sure to get everything important done. If you get other tasks done, then you should think of that a bonus.
3. Skip meal prepping.
Feeding yourself and your family is one day of every day that can take a lot of time. Of course, you still need to eat, but prepping your meals ahead of time can really help to save time. Choose one day of the week to make your meals ahead of time. You will be surprised at how much time you will save yourself each day. That extra time can be used to boost your productivity.
4. Leave no time for breaks.
It can be tempting to try and power through every task until you reach the weekend. However, you need to create time to relax and unwind each day. Even a small window of downtime can help to increase your overall productivity.
5. Say yes to everything.
Throughout the week, people will ask for even more of your time and attention. Instead of saying yes to everyone and everything, you should be more picky about the tasks you choose to take on. If you say yes to absolutely everything, then it is less likely that you will be able to get everything done.
6. Keep everything to yourself.
It is easy to keep all the details of your work to yourself. However, it may be a good idea to share what you are working on with your team members. You can ensure that everyone is on the same page and can help keep you more committed to your goals.
7. Try to do everything at once.
When you are planning out your week, try to schedule similar tasks together. Instead of jumping into a different mindset each time you change tasks, try to keep the flow of the day constant. Each day can have a different mindset. For example, Mondays could be about nitty-gritty details of your business and Tuesdays could be about big picture projects.
8. Try to accomplish too much.
It can be tempting to add a huge amount of tasks to your Calendar. However, focusing on priority tasks each week can help you to accomplish more overall.
9. Schedule priority takes for the end of the week.
Some tasks can be a huge challenge and many of us would like to push them off until the end of the week. However, getting big things done first can help the whole week go more smoothly. Otherwise you will be spending time and energy thinking about the big task that you are dreading at the end of the week.
10. Ignore the help of others.
Sometime people will offer to help you out. Do not always turn them down. Although you may want to finish everything by yourself, it is important to recognize that others can help you to succeed. Just be willing to return the favor when their Calendar is overflowing.
11. Push for perfection every time.
Perfection is a lofty goal that many of us strive to achieve. However, sometimes complete tasks are much better than perfect tasks. If you obsess over perfection on one task, then you will likely be unable to complete everything that you need to get done.
12. Get a late start.
If you wait to get started, then you will have even less time to accomplish everything.
13. Work full speed all day.
No one can stay on top of their game all day. Instead, try to work in intervals. Try 30 minutes or an hour with small breaks in between to accomplish more on your Calendar.
14. Criticize yourself.
Remember, there are only so many hours in a day. If you are over-scheduling yourself, then you should not be upset when you inevitably cannot accomplish every task. Take a close look at your tasks and decide what needs to go.
15. Never analyze your productivity.
You need to take a brutally honest look at your time management habits to truly improve your productivity. If you are not accomplishing what you hope to, then you need to be honest with yourself. Analyze your time management habits and try to find the room for improvement.
16. Perform repetitive tasks.
If you are wasting your time with the tasks that you can automate, then make the time to automate them. Once you set up the process, then you will not have to waste time on those tasks again. Try to set up automatic bill payments and more.
17. Check social media constantly.
Although many of us use social media for work in some way, it is distracting to check in all the time. Limit your check-ins to just once or twice a day.
18. Check your email constantly.
Just like with social media, constantly checking your email can break your productivity. Schedule specific times to check in each day to avoid letting email zap your productivity.
19. Leave your goals large.
We all have big goals. However, it may be more manageable to break these goals down into smaller goals.
20. Ignore the clutter on your desk.
Instead of spending valuable time searching through your office clutter, create an organization system that works for you. Stick to the system and spend less time looking for things.
21. Forget to mark your progress.
As you fight your way through the week, make sure that you are aware of what you have already accomplished. Keep checking tasks off your list. It can help remind you that you are actually accomplishing things and keep your motivation higher.
22. Ignore your body schedule.
Although many suggest an early start, you know your body best. If you cannot function in the morning, then find the time that works best for you and accomplish your goals then.
23. Forget about your body.
You need to take care of yourself if you want to accomplish anything. Remember to exercise and eat healthy throughout the week.
24. Overschedule yourself.
You want to accomplish everything, but you need to leave unplanned time on your Calendar. Things will come up and steal your attention. If you have some unplanned time available, then you will be less stressed out when these emergencies arise.
25. Let little things pile up.
Throughout the week, you will have the option to stick to your Calendar or push it back. Try your best to get things done every day. Otherwise, you will have a pile of tasks waiting for you on Friday.
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