How I Increased My Productivity

Productivity is quite a buzz word nowadays. And I totally get it, since we’ve all had days where we wish we had more hours to get work done. But the reality is that we all have 24 hours in a day – no more or less.

Because time is so limited, I’m constantly on my own quest to find ways to maximize my time and make it as productive as possible because every second counts.

The problem is that I get easily distracted and start clicking around the interwebs to procrastinate, especially when I should be working on tasks don’t particularly enjoy or look forward to, like reading my school textbook (Please tell me I’m not the only one who does this. If you don’t do that to procrastinate, please share with me how you stay focused and get work done!).

To curb my procrastinating tendencies, I recently adopted the method of setting a timer and working in increments on whatever I need to do. This is one of the biggest changes I’ve made that has helped me to increase by productivity throughout the day by leaps and bounds!

Your phone timer could totally suffice for this task. But through the recommendation of fellow blogger Pam, I started using the ClearFocus app for Android. By limiting my time and turning off all distractions, I force myself to truly maximize my time to the fullest. There is no second or minute to waste on frivolous clicking. The break time at the end of each session is one I look forward to where I get to check Instagram, reply any messages I receive, or read blogs, until the cycle starts again.

This method also helps me to really separate work/study time from other miscellaneous tasks I might need to complete. I also avoid the pitfall of multi-tasking (which really could be a whole other blog post on it’s own) and allow myself to be focused where I need to be.

I’ve found that I’m much less motivated and productive when I don’t use the app, than when I actually do. I also love that it works on my Android, which can sometimes be lacking in apps that iTunes may have.

Overall, my favorite features of the ClearFocus app include:

• the option to disable wireless so you can stay super focused!
• being able to customize the timer by choosing the length of work sessions and breaks
• the clean user interface

This app isn’t without its quirks, such as the ads and the inability to pause the timer when you really need to. But otherwise, I love how it works for me.

Obviously, this idea isn’t anything novel or even original to me, but it’s been so incredibly life-changing for my productivity that I just had to share.

Now tell me, what are your tips for increasing productivity?