Being highly productive is essential, regardless of what industry you are in or what career track you are following. The more you can get done in a given amount of time, the more progress you will make towards your goals. However, that is easier said than done. To be at your best, you will need to use a few tips and tricks. Here, Founder and former CEO of UE.co, Jason Kulpa, outlines five great ways to get high productivity levels consistently:
- Put Your Phone Away
Your phone is one of the biggest distractions that will detract from your productivity. It is designed to get your attention at the smallest bit of news, whether it’s celebrity gossip or a video of a dog your friend posted. Keeping it away from you is the first step towards becoming more productive. If you are working at a computer, there is nothing urgent that can only be accessed through your phone, so you won’t miss work-related alerts.
- Don’t Multitask – Get One Task Done at a Time
Multi-tasking, while seemingly allowing you to move at your mood and pace, actually reduces your productivity. Switching from one job to the other repeatedly negatively impacts your rhythm and how much you can get done. Instead, choose and finish one task at a time.
- Go with the Worst Task First
When planning your daily schedule, it is recommended that you go with the goal you despise the most. It does not have to be the most challenging goal; it just has to be the one you like the least. Getting that out of the way first ensures that the rest of your day has nothing dark hanging over it. Putting that daunting task or goal first also ensures that the rest of the day does not get bogged down to avoid doing that task at the end, making you more productive as a whole.
- Learn While Eating
Productivity isn’t just about getting the job done. It’s about making sure that each minute of your day is as valuable as possible. For example, your mealtimes are usually blank mental spaces. All you are doing is eating, and while that is OK, you can make those times more productive. Putting on an educational video or podcast while you eat can teach you new lessons, keeps you from mentally vegetating, and keeps the gears going.
- Organize Your Tasks According to Urgency
Scheduling your tasks is a great way to ensure that you can get everything you need to be done and delegate tasks if there are not enough hours in the day. However, scheduling tasks is only the start. You also need to rank them accordingly to urgency and importance. That will help you prioritize which tasks you should do yourself and which ones could be left to another person, or even to another day.
Those are far from the only productivity hacks you employ, but they should get you off to a good start. Remember, it does not matter what industry you are in – competition is fierce. The more productive you are, the better the odds you will get ahead and beat the competition.
About Jason Kulpa:
Jason Kulpa is a serial entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of UE.co, San Diego’s Fastest Growing Business multi-year award winner, and a Certified Great Place to Work multi-year winner. Mr. Kulpa is a San Diego’s two-time winner of the Most Admired CEO Award of the San Diego Business Journal and also a semi-finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur award. Under Jason Kulpa’s leadership, in 2018, his teams volunteered at over 24 events and worked side-by-side to improve the San Diego community. They hosted a gala dinner benefiting individuals with autism, cheered on Special Olympic athletes as they broke their records on the track, and brought school supplies and cold-weather gear to students impacted by homelessness. Jason’s mission is to bring awareness, support, and inclusion for special needs causes.
