Five Fantastic Productivity Hacks for the Terminally Busy

Are you as productive as you want to be at work? Are there too many distractions that knock you off schedule? Is the temptation of surfing the web at work too difficult to withstand? Do you wish there was literally a Cone of Silence that you could lock yourself into to eliminate the outside world, noisy co-workers, phone calls, emails and meetings? Never fear, trusted reader. While I don’t have a Cone of Silence to give you, I DO have some productivity hacks that can help you get rid of some of the distractions and let you get your work done.

Here are my five favorite hacks that work for me:

1. Crank up the music

As a writer, my Kryptonite is noisy co-workers that unintentionally disturb my train of thought. Or, in my case, my little choo-choo of thought. As a member of the cubicle farm of the Third Floor, just having co-workers doing their jobs is noisy. Printers, copiers, talking to customers or trainers gets noisy even at normal levels. So, I invested in a nice pair of ear-covering headphones and when on deadline, I have my go-to writing playlist of music that I use to block the world out.

Science tells us that softer music with no words and lyrics will help you concentrate better since your brain doesn’t have to multi-task my comprehending the words. Talk radio or podcasts are a definite no-no when trying to be productive.

2. Take a hike

Ok, well, maybe not a hike, but how about a walk? Studies show that people who exercise perform markedly better than those who don’t. Bristol University conducted a famous study that showed on workout days, participants’ scores were 21% higher for concentration on work, 22% higher for finishing their work on time, 25% higher for working without unscheduled breaks, and an incredible 41% for feeling motivated to work.

The key here is to do some low-impact exercise such as yoga or walking. Research shows that intense workouts actually impede attention, memory and problem solving for people.

3. Tame your mailbox

It’s no shock that dealing with emails can be a colossal waste of time. Some productivity experts say that an average worker can spend nearly 33 percent of their day dealing with emails. I can believe it. But here’s a great hack that will allow you to get only the most important emails into your main folder. To unclutter your inbox, create a filter for the word, “unsubscribe” and make a special folder for all those emails that contain that word to go in it. Easy peasy!

4. Say “No”

I know … wild, right? For many of us, we feel obliged or even pressured to accept every task we’re asked to do no matter what our workload is. The problem, obviously, is that you’re basically getting someone else’s work done while consigning your stack of projects to the “On Hold” bin. Don’t be afraid to say “no” to unnecessary favors and tasks if you’re in danger of falling behind. If a superior asks you to do it and you can’t—and you have a legitimate reason to decline—explain to them why you can’t. If it’s your boss that’s asking, explain how it will affect the rest of your work and ask him or her to move the deadlines on your current workload. If it’s not your boss asking, tell the other person that he or she will have to go through your boss. I’ve found that stops probably 99 percent of these “requests” but then I am blessed to have an incredibly awesome boss who always has my back. (Thanks, Katie!)

5. Get plenty of sleep. At home, not at your desk

Hey, I could write another blog entirely on the science supporting nap time at work, but that’s for another time. I did recently write a blog on the effects fatigue has on all of us, and you can read it here)

There is no substitute for a good night’s sleep. According to a survey of 7,400 individuals by Harvard University, sleep deprivation costs companies $2,280 per employee, or 11.3 days of productivity, each year. In the U.S., that runs about $411 billion or, 2.28 percent of our GDP. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that more than one-third of American workers get less than six hours of sleep per night, leading them to declare sleep deprivation as a public health issue. Wow ….

For most of us, seven to nine hours of sleep each night is the best productivity hack there is. Even better, if you go to bed and get up about the same time each day and keep to that schedule most days, sleep becomes even more effective.  

I’ve been using these five hacks for the past few years and they work wonders for me—especially the one on sleep. Of course, being in your mid-50’s means your social life isn’t what it used to be so getting seven or eight hours of sleep is fairly easy. Hopefully, one or more of these will help you gain control over your workday and get your productivity kicked into high gear.