Distracted, tired, can’t focus? This seems to be a typical morning for most of us at work. This was me a couple of years ago at work. I found it difficult to focus on my work. I was distracted and therefore was unable to maximize my productivity. I thought to myself, surely, there was a way to overcome this problem. I decided to look into this and may some changes to my workday.
After doing some digging online and some reading a few books, I found various ideas and concepts for improving productivity. I decided to slowly incorporate these ideas into my workday and I now operate completely differently for the better. I decided to share this with you and have documented a day in a life structure so it’s easier for you to follow.
Let’s get started!
1. Plan The Day Before and Prioritize
I find without a plan and writing it down, I don’t end up following through with it. By creating a TO-DO list at the end of each day, I am able to think ahead and plan for the following day. This may sound simple but there is a method behind it and have proven to in companies that have adopted this practice.
The Ivy Lee Method
I borrowed this concept from the Ivy Lee Method. The method involves writing down a list of 6 To-Dos the day before in order of importance. The rule is not to move on to the next task until the current task is done. This sounds simple and is because of the simplicity that it works. The beauty of this method is you know what you are doing the moment you arrive to work and can focus from the get-go.
Eisenhower Box
You may ask how do I determine the order of importance? I use the Eisenhower Box Method as a guide and divide my work into four buckets.
1. Urgent and important (tasks you will do immediately).
2. Important, but not urgent (tasks you will schedule to do later).
3. Urgent, but not important (tasks you will delegate to someone else).
4. Neither urgent nor important (tasks that you will drop).
By combining the Ivy League Method for listing down the TO-DO list and combining it with the Eisenhower Matrix where we prioritize how we do things from the task we should focus on first to the task we delegate greatly keeps us on track. Focus on what is important (and things that I can control) and ignore or delegate the rest. That’s how I approach things now.
2. Limit Distractions In the Morning
Using “Deep Work” To Focus
Focus is very important to me. A lot of my work involves deep focus and requires long periods of time of not been distracted. To avoid distraction, I will turn my phone on silent and put it away during the first 90 minutes of my workday. In addition, I switch off my email notifications to avoid distractions. Imagine going into the quiet area of a library. Do you keep your phone on? How can you concentrate when you get an email pops up on your screen every few minutes?
Go Into The Office Early
I would even go as far as going into the office earlier to get some quiet time. before other colleagues come in. By starting early, it enables me to have this time to conduct Deep Work. I adopted this practice after reading Deep Work by Cal Newport. What I learned from this book is we have periods of Deep Work and Shallow Work. Being able to focus for a 90 minute period distraction-free can improve your productivity and push your cognitive capabilities to the limit and produce your best work. The output from Deep Work can be greater than spending a few hours of shallow work. If you are wondering, Shallow work is non-cognitively demanding, logical-style tasks, often performed while distracted. The takeaway is to block out time to be totally distraction-free.
3. Multi-tasking is a Myth – Don’t Do it!
Switching focus from one task to another will divert your attention from your first task to the next. A study at Standford found that people who multitask are less productive than those who do one thing at a time. Think about it? if you are focusing on one thing and switching to the next; doesn’t this take up energy to re-focus? So being able to multi-task is a myth. I am not saying something like listening to music and walking. I am talking about writing a business plan and working on a spreadsheet model simultaneously. Switching from one task to another consumes a lot of our brainpower and is not optimal.
4. Using Music to Boost Focus & Brain Power
Have you ever use music to help you relax. When you go to a hotel lobby or a restaurant, sometimes the background music can change your mood. Music can also help you focus and can improve your brainpower.
Choose The Type of Music Depending on the Type of Work
There are two key points here I want to talk about. I choose the type of music I listen to depending on the task I am working on. I have a playlist saved on my YouTube account and will play it depending on what I am working on. For example, if I want to be in a deep focus state, I choose a particular playlist that relates to the type of state I want to be in. Usually Classical Music, for example, Bach or Mozart. When I am working on something more creative I play some upbeat music. The key point is I associate the playlist to the type of work I am doing.
1.Classical Piano Music for Brain Power
I find Classic Music and Nature Music tend to help focus and I would avoid any music with Lyrics. Using music to block noise or distractions is also a good way to maintain your focus. A point to remember is music with lyrics tend to be distracting. I have included two types of music that can boost your Brain Power, perfect for work.
2. Quantum Focus – Increase Focus, Concentration, Memory – Binaural Beats – Focus Music
My Ultimate formula for productivity
I’ve come up with a formula for productivity. Here it is.
Basically, we need to know what to do and focusing on one thing at a time. The next things are to have a period of distraction-free time for Deep work and music that boost brainpower.
My Ultimate formula for productivity = Laser Focus (To do List using Ivy League Method/Eisenhower Box Method) + Dedicated & Disruption-Free Time for Deep Work + Music to boost concentration.
Tip 1: Do not disturb – I put on earphones to try to focus on my screen. It’s a way to tell people in the office to do not disturb.
Tip 2: Book a meeting room – I do this to focus on my work and to limit distractions.
Tip 3: Go to a Cafe – I also do this when I have a chance to get out of the office.
5. Batch Your Work for Maximum Productivity
I’ve adopted batching my work. What I mean here is saving a series of small related tasks and churning them in a dedicated block of time. To illustrate this, I set aside 2 to 3 blocks of 20 to 30 minutes a day to respond to my emails and complete administrative tasks.
I will wait for all the emails to pile up until mid-morning and set aside 20 to 30 minutes to respond. I will also respond to my emails in the afternoon before I leave work. I find this the most efficient way and if something is urgent someone will go to my desk and look for me or call me.
6. Learning to say No to Non-Urgent Request
To be honest, I am still implementing this concept. I will say no to people if they are asking me for something during my Deep Work (or in general). I will ask them to email me or come back during my batch work time, I blocked for the administrative tasks. I only respond to absolutely urgent tasks other that I push all other distractions to my Batch Zone.
Think about it. If someone comes to you it’s they are pushing their urgent work to you. Yes, we should always help others but not at the expense of what is important to us. We are still helping others but during our time allocated to this responding to email, calls and administrative tasks and not the time we need to focus.
7. Move every 25 minutes
I find my focus tends to wane after 25 minutes (except when I am in deep concentration). I aim to go for a quick walk or at least stretch myself every 30 minutes. Humans are not sedentary creatures and sit too much. Sitting is the new smoking and increased our risk of death. When I work, I listen to a 30-minute Youtube Music Clip (I use Youtube Red to download videos) and when the video finishes its a sign for me to get up and go for a walk.
There is actually a name for this – Pomodoro Technique.
Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals around 25 minutes. Each interval is called a Pomodoro and is named after the word for tomato in Italian, after the kitchen timer used by Cirillo as a student
8. Schedule Meetings in the Afternoon
I prefer to get most of my work done in the morning and block out this time. Whenever I can, I organize meetings in the afternoon. Some people focus better in the morning, while others focus better in the afternoon. This may depend on your Chronotype and I will cover this in a future post.
By scheduling meetings in the afternoon, I am able to keep my mornings mostly free from distraction and use time of the day where I can focus best on my Deep Work. In the afternoon, I use the time I can least focus on less focus intensive tasks like meetings or administrative tasks.
9. Having Lunch Early to Save Time and Maximize Productivity
To save time lining up at the food court or finding a table, I will go to lunch early to avoid the crowds. I try to get at least out 30 minutes early. Once I am back in the office, I will have my second period of deep work. This is around 12:30 to 2 pm. Most people are still at lunch and most likely will not distract me. My logic here is why waste time lining up or be stressed about trying to find a table for lunch. I don’t want to be in a crowd during lunchtime, and rather relax and enjoy my break. When back at the office, I can go about doing my work when most people are out. How good is this? Limited distractions during lunch and work time.
10. Make Phone Calls and Walks
This sounds weird at first, but what I am getting at is, we not only need to walk more but also for less urgent calls I return calls in the afternoon while I go for a quick walk outside the office. This is a good chance to get out of the office and it gives me a bit of sunlight. Exposure to sunlight is thought to increase the brain’s release of a hormone called serotonin. Serotonin helps boost mood and helps a person to stay focus. I also add a flight of stairs in the afternoon in my walk to boost my alertness.
Plan for Tomorrow at the End of the Day
I will check my emails around 4 pm and finish off any administrative tasks during this time. At this point, I would have read all the emails and attended all the necessary meetings to determine my To-Do list for the next day. I will then review my list of 6 To-Dos for the day. I will determine if I need to move any unfinished task to the next day. I also take this time of reflecting on how productive I was today and what can I change to improve for my productivity for tomorrow.
Just to Recap…
The following are the is the principles and activities I used in my to boost my productivity at work
- Ivy League Method
- Eisenhower Box
- Go to work early and home early to avoid traffic and anxiety
- Deep Work
- No Phone and Emails
- Music to boost focus
- Go to lunch early to avoid the crowds
- Say No to people
- Batch emails and administrative tasks
- Sun breaks and physical exercise to get the heart rate up
- Revisit my To-Do List at the end of the day and plan for the next day
- Reflect on the day’s work and see if any improvements can be made the next day
Next Step
This is an example of an ideal day where I have control over my work. This may not be possible for everyone depending on their work situation. I would suggest starting with one of these steps at a time so slowly trying and add more once you have developed them into your routine.
For starters, why don’t you try getting to the office 1 hour early and block all your distractions for that hour? You will find the roads will be less congested (Depending on where you live) and you will mentally feel better when you achieve something in the morning before your colleagues arrive at work. Shifting your day earlier has huge benefits and I keep encouraging people to try. Why not yourself a 5-day challenge and see how you go be going in 1 hour earlier. I am assuming you’re workplace has a degree of flexibility here. If this is not the case, you can try other ideas in this post to help you improve your workday.
The key is to just do it and start now!