5 Easy Steps To Be More Productive

If there is one thing that I give tips to people on productivity and organisation. This is my thing. It happened in my last two years of school, I was drowning over all of my projects, homework, extra-curricular activities, and university applications. I needed to find a routine that would not only make me do my work, but stay on top of it, and also enjoy it.

I discovered that I am a very visual person and that this is something that really helps me to stay on track.

DEVELOP HEALTHIER DAILY HABITS

This goes without saying, but I’ve found that this is a tip that a lot of people actually need to hear. I’ll give you an example: if Wednesday is usually your free day, are you going to spend it watching TV all day or start that project? Which of these two will give you a better result in the long term?

One of my daily habits that I enjoy following is keeping my spaces clean. My room clean, my workspace clean. Not only does this develop a routine, it also helps me to be a lot more productive.

HAVE AN INTERACTIVE VISUAL CALENDAR

Now, this is something that I always used to have in my room but I’ve recently switched to having it online. This really makes it easier for me to add to it when I’m on the go and also to have fun with colours!

I created a weekly schedule online on Google Excel that I can access anywhere and made sure that it pleased me aesthetically and it was easy to use. This way it’s easy for me to add things, but I can also colour code and if I’ve got a set week, I can print it out!

Daily schedule template excel pretty pink

+WRITE THINGS DOWN ON A PLANNER

This one is an extension of the previous point, but believe me when I say to do this. Physically writing things down helps you remember (yes, your teacher was right), and it won’t take much space in your bag.

My 2017 planner is small enough to carry in any purse. I also have always preferred to write things down on paper and believe that it looks more professional to write something down on a planner than to pull out your phone.

write down journal planner pinterest organise organize green

This lovely planner is from one of my favourite stationery brands Kikki.K, you can find the company on the link below:

http://www.kikki-k.com/

LEARN TO PRIORITISE

This goes hand in hand with scheduling. There are a few ways to go about this:

  • Timeline. Things that are due sooner rather than later.
  • Learn when to say no. Can you afford to go to that lunch on Tuesday, or would it be better to reschedule it for the weekend?
  • Try and get the hard things out of the way first, this way it will also decrease stress!
  • Sometimes slowly but surely works best, try and start things earlier and do them over a period of time instead of procrastinating and hurrying to finish something at the last minute!

HOW YOUR MIND WORKS 

Now. This is my number one. This is what changed the game for me. It’s so simple yet so effective for me and it’s changed my productivity entirely.

Sticky notes. Yes, you read that correctly. As I stated before, I am a visual person. From reading this blog post, I’m sure you can also tell that I’m a bit of a neat freak, so I decided to combine the two.

Directly in front of my desk, I have a calendar in which I will write my deadline on a sticky note and put it on top of the due date. By having these bright neon coloured pieces of paper right in front of me, it reminds me and brings me to continuously look at my deadlines.

The best part is, when I’ve completed a task, I can take off a sticky note and throw it away. Easily as that, and my goal is to always have that calendar as clear as possible! I actually found a way to manipulate my mind into having to do the work and used my weaknesses to turn them into a strength.

JUST SIT DOWN AND DO IT

A good practice that I’m (still) trying to develop is doing stuff as soon as I think of doing it and stop with the “I’ll do it in half an hour”. 9/10 I won’t do it, and my time will have gone by without any efficiency involved.

Most of the time, try to tell yourself you’ll do just “one bit” or a “part of it”. It’s more likely that once you get started, you’ll want to get a lot more done!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my suggestions! If you’re looking for another lifestyle post, you can check out my Beauty Travel Essentials!

how to be more organized pinterest flowers flatlay

 

What are your top tips for staying organised?

59 thoughts on “5 Easy Steps To Be More Productive”

  3. I’m so bad for the ‘just half hour more’ thing! Or, ‘I’ll just sit with a coffee first’, or my personal favorite ‘just one more episode!’ Netflix has a lot to answer for in our house!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Ah I know! What I mean mainly is, for example, if I’ve got an essay I’ll just tell myself I’ll do the introduction. Then it’s easier for me to keep going afterwards as I’m already ‘in the groove’ per se. It’s easier this way to continue doing work as I told myself I’d only do a little! x

      Like

  4. I love this because this is the type of stuff I used to do at uni! The main thing that keeps me productive these days is reminders on my phone! I set a time and date for it to pop up on my phone and honestly reminders run my life 🙈 x

    Liked by 1 person

  5. OMG this is just what I needed right now ❤ it's really helpful, seen how I'm having the baccalaureate at the end of the year… I'll try to follow your example and get some work done, I'm sure things will go much more smoothly once I put into practice these tips 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  10. This will be helpful to me 😊. I am new blogger and would love if you check my work ..Follow You are already aware about my Writeups and Blogs so here I go with my Blog page 😀.
    Please visit -https://brindamadhaniblog.wordpress.com

    Like

  19. Completely agree with all of these! I’m a total planner addict. It is extremely important to prioritize, because there are always things that need to be done. Thanks for tips!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. If you read the following paragraph below I speak of starting small. If you’ve got an essay, tell yourself you’ll only write the introduction. This will make it easier for you to start if you know you’re doing a small task. x

      Liked by 1 person

  21. This is awesome! Virtual planners are the best. But those sticky notes… I’m definitely going to start using those! My only comment would be to mix it up a little! A routine is great at keeping you on track, but if you’re doing the same thing for months on in, that creative part of you gets too comfortable. I think comfort is the enemy of creativity!

    Like

  25. This is a really great post! I love organising things that I’m going to do, for example having set schedules for trips, and planning times etc. However organising my daily life is so hard and I often have no motivation to do it. Any tips on motivation? Xx

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks! Im glad ypu enjoyed it! I understand where youre coming from, its hard to stay motivated, I will actually be doing a post on this within the next couple of weeks BUT I do find that having one big goal and creating short term goals that lead to this helps a lot! It makes you feel like youre actually getting stuff done and moving towards success! Ill keep you updated on my motivation blog post! 🙂 xx

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks a lot! Dont be afraid to mess with colours as this is what motivates me to keep up with it and makes it a little more fun rather than just boring old scheduling!

      Like

    2. Yes! I used to be th3 same! Thats why i would always start with telling myself id just do an introduction! This way once i got into it it was 10 times easier to keep going! 🙂 x

      Like

  29. I also prefer to write things down on paper! I write myself a To Do list every week during my school semesters. Nice and helpful tips you’ve provided!
    ~ A.R.
    rosearianna.com

    Liked by 1 person

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s