8 Simple Habits To Make You More Productive in the New Year
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The time has come when we evaluate ourselves on an annual basis and make a list of ways we may improve our attitude, parenting, health, or any number of other areas. Losing weight, improving one’s diet, becoming more arranged, living life to the fullest, picking up new activities, and cutting back on spending are some of the most well-liked New Year’s resolutions (or saving more).
One resolve may include all of these changes: to be more productive. Getting things done quickly and effectively encourages us to try new things, manage our money, get organized, and live a little more fully.
It’s not necessary to completely rearrange our schedules and priorities in order to become more productive. Not even more time or effort is needed. By adopting a few easy behaviors into our hours and days, we can increase our productivity. Here are a few simple changes you may make in the new year to help you complete more tasks and feel more productive and successful in 2023.
1. Track Your Accomplishments
A body in motion continues to move, thus someone who feels accomplished and successful will be much more productive than someone who is disheartened by her progress or doubts her capacity to complete a task. A crucial exercise that increases productivity and tells your brain the train is moving toward your next goal is recording your accomplishments every day in an app or a traditional journal.
Some organizations even have acknowledgment boards, which serve as a communal area for celebrating team achievements and expressing gratitude.
2. Dress Up
What your mother told you about dressing for the job you want is supported by a growing body of research. It appears that the clothes we wear in the morning — pants, ties, shoes, dresses — have a biological effect on how we think and how productive we are.
For instance, five research revealed that dressing more formally was related to improved cognitive capacities, improved abstract thinking, and a sense of empowerment. These studies were published in Social Psychological and Personality Science. Our physical appearance does have an impact on how we think and feel, which increases productivity. Try it for yourself by donning the power suit.
3. Do One Thing at a Time
You might believe that creating a sales presentation while assisting your daughter with her schoolwork and making phone calls to your sister will save you time and make you more effective. However, a growing body of data indicates that multitasking actually lowers IQ and causes us to be less effective and make more mistakes. Our brains function best when we concentrate on a single task, which enables the left and right sides of the prefrontal cortex to cooperate. When we give the brain a new task, it splits in half, tantrums, and makes mistakes.
According to one study, employees who stopped checking their email for a few days were better able to concentrate on their work and felt less stressed. Even while the majority of us don’t have the means to turn off our email accounts for days at a time, we may set out time throughout the day to check our messages, lessening the impact of constantly switching tasks. We become more effective and productive the more we are able to focus on one task at a time.
4. Take Breaks
If you’re tempted to rush through an assignment by skipping lunch, you might want to think twice. Like every other organ in our body, our brains need to rest in order to function at their best. According to research from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, even small breaks from a task can significantly increase our capacity to concentrate for extended periods of time. Participants in the study completed a task that lasted 50 minutes.
Over time, there was no performance decline for the group that received two brief breaks (performance dropped for everyone else). In order to concentrate and perform, our brains require sleep. Rebooting your brain throughout the day with stretches, coffee breaks, or engaging in conversation near the water cooler will help you be more productive. then resume your work.
5. Hydrate
You are undoubtedly well aware of how crucial being hydrated is to both good health and sports performance. But did you know that staying hydrated all day might increase your productivity? According to a study done by academics at the University of East London, drinking adequate water each day increased productivity at both work and home by 14%. Our brains operate better and can better focus on activities when we are well hydrated. Dehydration causes fatigue and causes our brain to issue SOS signals that make it harder to focus. Drink enough water if you want to be more productive.
6. Be Prompt
Yes, being on time is pleasant. However, it goes beyond that. Your brain receives the message that you are the master of your world and an efficient manager of both your time and your life when you arrive on time. It results in a sense of self-respect, which in turn will increase your productivity at work, at home, and in other areas of your life.
Being late, especially frequently, causes tension and anxiety, which lowers performance. Even subconscious shame feeds a vicious cycle that undermines productivity. Set your alarm and arrive to your meeting on time if you want to be more productive.
7. Give Back
The biggest untapped source of productivity, according to organizational psychologist Adam Grant, is a sense of contribution to others. His book, “Give and Take,” contains studies and first-hand accounts that demonstrate how using our abilities to benefit others can inspire us to achieve even more. Though it might seem that this “other-directness” would divert our attention from our objectives, it actually helps us get there.
8. Pray
We don’t often link prayer to productivity, but establishing a regular prayer regimen improves focus and boosts output. Our work and personal lives can benefit from the discipline and focus that prayer requires. When we spend time alone with God, we exercise and build a resilience muscle that benefits every other aspect of our lives.
We are grounded and recharged by the time we set aside to order our thoughts, get a sight of the wider picture, and remain still. It offers a calm that makes it easier for us to focus on carrying out our everyday responsibilities. Exercising our spiritual muscles helps us get ready for the difficulties we will encounter throughout the day. Most significantly, prayer gives us hope, the strongest drive.
