Are you struggling to be productive and focused? We set forth 10 important steps which will boost your productivity.
These steps center around bringing structure and consistency to your day. Before you begin the steps, think about developing a routine that you can stick with. Identify your priorities and make sure you develop a routine that allows time for breaks and activities that make you happy. This will help you stay energized and keep you in a positive frame of mind.
Our habits stress the importance of taking care of both body and mind. We highlight the importance of sleep, meditation, exercise, and other ways to help you stay focused and energized.
By implementing these strategies and sticking with them consistently, you can create a daily routine with habits that will make you more productive and help you achieve your goals.
As always, we added some great tech gadgets to help you achieve your goals.
1. Get Enough Sleep
It is essential for our physical and emotional balance that we get enough sleep. During sleep, our bodies carry out essential restorative activities, such as repairing damaged cells, storing memories, and releasing hormones that manage growth and appetite.
If you are sleep deprived, your physical and mental health will suffer and your ability to function day-to-day will be negatively impacted. Sleep deprivation will cause fatigue, lack of concentration, an increased risk of accidents. It can also have a negative effect on your mood, leading to irritability, anxiety, and depression.
Getting enough sleep must be a priority. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults should strive for 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
Here are a few gadgets to help you accomplish habit 1:
2. Get Up Early and Start The Day With Calming Music
Early in the morning you will usually have uninterrupted time to finish a few tasks. It’s a great time to accomplish some work and you’ll feel a mental boost from getting a head start.
There is also some science which suggests that not only will you be more productive by getting up early, but it will also positively affect your level of happiness.
According to a recent study published in JAMA Psychiatry, which was conducted by University of Pittsburgh researchers, waking up early can improve mental health and overall productivity. Also, a University of Toronto study, found that morning people reported higher levels of happiness.
You can get additional benefits if you add some good music when you rise. There has been research showing that music can trigger dopamine production in your brain, a chemical that helps regulate pleasure and improve your mood. Another study showed that music can even increase your productivity under certain circumstances.
Here are a few gadgets to help you accomplish habit 2:
3. Practice Meditation
Cultivating a meditation practice can bring advantages, both mentally and physically. To begin with, meditation can reduce stress and anxiety. In fact, there is scientific evidence that meditation can lower levels of cortisol, which is the hormone responsible for stress. In addition, the regular practice of meditation can enhance our concentration and focus, allowing us to stay in the present moment and be more productive.
A Study published by the National Library of Medicine found that meditators enjoyed a heightened ability to focus and thus an increase in productivity. Meditation can also promote emotional balance and well-being, as it encourages individuals to become more mindful of their thoughts and feelings. Furthermore, studies have found that it can help lower symptoms of depression, as it boosts feelings of comfort and reduces tension.
Here are a few gadgets to help you accomplish habit 3:
MUSE 2: The Brain Sensing Headband – Meditation Tracker Multi Sensor Headset Device $195.99
4. Get Up And Move Around
It is essential to keep your body moving. Research has shown that sitting for long periods of time has been linked to health issues like obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer.
By getting off your chair and moving you can improve circulation and increase joint mobility. Also, staying active will enhance cognitive functions like attention, memory, and learning. This will help boost productivity by decreasing mental exhaustion, enhancing energy levels, and sharpening focus.
Here is a gadget that will remind you to get up and move and accomplish habit 4:
5. Eat A Nutritious Breakfast
It’s important to eat a nutritious breakfast. To begin with, it provides your mind and body with the energy it needs to make it through the day. Also, your glucose levels are usually quite low in the morning and so eating something nutritious will help your blood chemistry.
Additionally, eating breakfast can help sharpen cognitive function, allowing you to be more productive and focused. Plus, it can kickstart the metabolism and help regulate appetite, so that we don’t overindulge later in the day.
Ultimately, a good breakfast can really set the tone for a great day, so it’s definitely worth making it part of your daily routine.
Here is a gadget that will help you accomplish habit 5:
6. Keep A To-Do List and Notes
To-do lists are an excellent way to stay organized and be productive. For one, they let you assign priorities to your tasks and ensure that you get the most pressing jobs done first.
Additionally, they help you remain focused on the task at hand and avoid getting sidetracked. Plus, writing down your tasks gives you a sense of responsibility and encourages you to finish them. Moreover, to-do lists provide structure to your day and can help reduce stress. Finally, they help you make the most of your time, resulting in increased productivity.
All in all, to-do lists can be super helpful in staying organized and productive, while making sure you stay accountable and reducing stress.
Here is a gadget that will help you accomplish habit 6:
7. Stay Hydrated
Keeping your body hydrated during the day is extremely important. Staying hydrated can help your body to regulate its temperature, especially when you are active or when it is hot outside.
Additionally, water is the main part of the blood which transports oxygen and nutrients to the cells and organs. It also helps to get rid of waste, primarily through sweating and urinating.
There are studies that show dehydration can lead to reduced physical performance, decreased strength, power, and endurance. Furthermore, not drinking enough water can trigger headaches, fatigue, and other issues that may affect your daily life.
Here is a gadget that will help you with habit 7:
8. De-Clutter and Clean Your Workspace
There are many advantages to having an orderly work and living environment. By getting rid of clutter, you won’t be distracted by a messy desk, and you can save valuable time by avoiding the search for misplaced items. If you can keep items in a designated spot you will increase efficiency and even elevate your spirits by giving you a sense of control and peace.
Here is a gadget that will clean up your desk and help you with habit 8:
9. Exercise
It should be obvious to anyone that exercise can yield a wide range of health benefits, both physical and mentally. To start, you can increase cardiovascular health, enhanced muscle strength, and decrease the risk of serious illnesses like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension.
Many studies have shown that exercise improves cognitive performance. Exercise will also promote the release of endorphins, which can help boost mood, reduce stress and anxiety, and promote overall mental well-being. These benefits will no doubt increase your productivity.
Here is an exercise gadget for the lazy person that will help with habit 9:
10. Curtail Distractions
It’s essential that you curtail distractions. Constant distractions will cause stress and increase feelings of being overwhelmed and anxious. By limiting distractions, you will increase your concentration, creative thinking and problem solving.
Find ways to designate certain times for social media and emails. Use the tools that we provided in this article to help you stay focused throughout the day. If you can limit the number of distractions throughout the day you will not only feel better, but you will be more productive.
Here are some apps that will help you accomplish habit 10:
- Freedom reduces digital distraction across all of your devices. If the entire Internet is distracting you, you have the option to block the whole thing. You can start sessions one at a time, or plan your “distraction-free” time in advance. This app that will help you stay focused if you find yourself frequently distracted by social media and web browsing.
- Rescue Time has been around for a while and that’s because it is so genuinely useful. This app will give you an accurate picture of how you spend your time. Some of their premium features include the ability to block distracting sites during certain parts of the day, track offline activity (like meetings and phone calls), and log your daily accomplishments. You can also set alerts.
- Escape is a simple app that tracks how many times you open your email, a social network, or other distracting websites. Each day, you’ll get a report letting you know how many times your work was interrupted by a distracting site during the day, as well as how much time lapsed in between each distraction.
References
1. 2020, October 1. How Much Sleep Do We Really Need? National Sleep Foundation. https://www.thensf.org/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-really-need/
2. Smagula, Zhang, Gujral. 2022. Association of 24-Hour Activity Pattern Phenotypes With Depression Symptoms and Cognitive Performance in Aging. Jama Psychiatry. Https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2795951
3. Au-Yeung. 2012, June 18. Early To Bed, Early To Rise? University Of Toronto. https://www.utoronto.ca/news/early-bed-early-rise
4. Wan, Schlaug. 2010, Oct 16. Music-making as a tool to promote brain plasticity across the life span. National Library of Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20889966/
5. Oldham, G. R., Cummings, A., Mischel, L. J., Schmidtke, J. M., & Zhou, J. (1995). Listen while you work? Quasi-experimental relations between personal-stereo headset use and employee work responses. Journal of Applied Psychology, 80(5), 547–564. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.80.5.547
6. Turakitwanakan W, Mekseepralard C, Busarakumtragul P. Effects of mindfulness meditation on serum cortisol of medical students. J Med Assoc Thai. 2013 Jan;96 Suppl 1:S90-5. PMID: 23724462. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23724462/
7. 2011, Jan 30. Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density. National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3004979/
8. Kuyken, W., Warren, F. C., Taylor, R. S., Whalley, B., Crane, C., Bondolfi, G., Hayes, R., Huijbers, M., Ma, H., Schweizer, S., Segal, Z., Speckens, A., Teasdale, J. D., Van Heeringen, K., Williams, M., Byford, S., & Byng, R. 2016 Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse: An Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis From Randomized Trials. JAMA Psychiatry, 73(6), 565–574. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.0076
9. Daneshmandi H, Choobineh A, Ghaem H, Karimi M. Adverse Effects of Prolonged Sitting Behavior on the General Health of Office Workers. J Lifestyle Med. 2017 Jul;7(2):69-75. doi: 10.15280/jlm.2017.7.2.69. Epub 2017 Jul 31. PMID: 29026727; PMCID: PMC5618737. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5618737/
10. Popkin BM, D’Anci KE, Rosenberg IH. Water, hydration, and health. Nutr Rev. 2010 Aug;68(8):439-58. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00304.x. PMID: 20646222; PMCID: PMC2908954. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2908954/
11. Mandolesi L, Polverino A, Montuori S, Foti F, Ferraioli G, Sorrentino P, Sorrentino G. Effects of Physical Exercise on Cognitive Functioning and Wellbeing: Biological and Psychological Benefits. Front Psychol. 2018 Apr 27;9:509. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00509. PMID: 29755380; PMCID: PMC5934999. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5934999/
