Looking for easy ways to be more productive? You’ve come to the right place!
We all know that there are only so many hours in a day to get things done. While you and I have the same 24 hours each day, that doesn’t mean that our 24 hours look anything alike! I may have a few extra hours before the sun comes up, you may be working a job during 4-7 am or need to enjoy those hours of sleep because you have all the things to do later in your day.
Regardless of those differences, since you’re reading this post, we likely have the same goal of wanting to be productive with what time we do have to work with! So I wanted to put together this blog post to give you some quick tips for how to be more productive in the easiest way possible!
I hope you’ll find a little golden nugget somewhere in this post to help you and can’t wait to hear your thoughts – let’s dive in!
2 Minute or Less Rule
I cannot remember where or when I discovered this rule, but it’s been so impactful for me! It’s as simple as if a task would take you two minutes or less to complete it, just go ahead and knock it out! This way, you don’t spend any extra energy worrying about when you’ll get it done or trying to remind yourself that it still needs to get done by a certain time.
Press Start on Automated Tasks
This sounds more like technology (and certainly it could go for that!), but I’m talking about starting those things that work while you work too, just on other things! My best home examples are laundry and dishwasher. When I’m wanting to get things done, I go ahead and throw in the laundry and start my washer. It can be working for the 15 or so minutes while I’m doing something else. Our dishwasher takes around 3 hours for some unknown reason, but it can be cleaning my dishes while I work on other things.
It’s all about starting those things that basically do the work themselves so you can free up your time and get other things done too!
Have Designated Days for Tasks
A good routine is always a good idea! One easy way to be a productive is to have a designated day or time for doing certain tasks. For example, my MIL always cleans her bathrooms every Wednesday morning. While it probably isn’t the most fun thing to do, it gets the job done weekly and it’s knocked out early so it isn’t something to worry about after work.
Write it Down
You won’t remember it! Okay, even if you do remember it (I’m jealous if you do!), it’s so helpful to jot down things that you want or need to get done as it comes to your mind. Not only does this help you get a plan together to get it ticked of your to-do list, it also frees your mind of worrying about whatever it is! Think of it as a brain dump, you’re releasing it onto paper.
There are a ton of ways to jot down important reminders, but some of my favorites are using sticky notes until I can place them in my planner for a date/time, or even using Siri on my phone to write a note for me or add something to my grocery list. It’s so helpful and takes just a few seconds!
Limit Distractions
I could probably write an entire blog post on just this topic, haha! Let me know if that’s something you’d like to read about. For now, I just want to mention how important it is to recognize what your typical distractions are and then think about ways to limit them or even remove them completely. It often depends on what’s within your control and what isn’t.
My phone notifications are a really good example of distractions that are within my control! I can either limit them during certain hours (the phone can automatically do that for me!) or I can even get rid of notifications entirely if I want! Now I love getting updates on certain things so that’s not going to happen, but my point is that there are options out there. 🙂
Know Your Best Times
This will be different for each of us, but for me, I am so much better at accomplishing all the things in the morning versus literally any other time of day. I go to bed early, I get up early, and my mind and body don’t love doing hard things past the afternoon time, haha! Because of this, I plan all my must-do’s first thing in the morning so that way they’re all knocked out and I don’t have to spend all day worrying about certain tasks (hello, anxiety!).
Tidy Up Before Bed
Speaking of mornings, I cannot focus on anything if I wake up to a sink full of dishes, random stuff on the countertops, laundry scattered throughout the house, etc. A good way I’ve found to combat this issue is to always tidy up the house before bed! It doesn’t have to be perfect. I just take care of those things that I know would give me anxiety the next morning if I were to let them go. It really helps!
That’s a wrap on how to be productive, the easy way, sweet friends! I hope you enjoyed this quick read and found it helpful. I would love to hear some of your productivity tips and if you follow any of the ones I listed too!
P.S. Happy Halloween! Hope you’re having a fun day so far and enjoy all of the yummy treats and coffee today, and maybe some spooky movies! I’m going to watch Hocus Pocus soon!
In my home one of our rules is never to have a full sink of dishes. I just cannot have that unless we have a party and even then I make sure it is cleaned. Great suggestions and tips!
FASHION TALES
I love that rule, friend! I definitely get that, sometimes it gets a little harder to get things done when you have parties or holiday get-togethers. I try to make sure I still get things done too, and usually we just have my parents over and they’re so sweet to actually help me finish the dishes before they leave! Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting!!
Morning is def. my most productive time of the entire day. I start to wear out by afternoon and by evening I’m useless! Ha, ha! I do like to tidy up the evening before, it makes the morning so much better. I feel like my mornings are hectic enough as it is!!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Haha, yes, I can absolutely relate to that! You have so much to juggle in the mornings, that’s definitely understandable and you don’t need extra things to have to deal with!
These are great tips Ashley! I’m most productive in the morning too and I can’t go to bed at night with a messy kitchen. I think my problem is distractions. I start working on something and then end up doing 5 other things at and nothing gets done.
Jill – Doused in Pink
Thank you tons, Jill! I’m so with you, and I can absolutely relate on distractions. Sometimes everything seems important all at the same time.
These are great tips!!
Jennifer
https://curatedbyjennifer.com
Aww, thank you so much Jennifer!! 🙂 Happy November!
These are good tips! I almost always never have my notifications on my phone, it can be too distracting otherwise! Although it does make me terribly bad at responding to messages, ha!
I do the “reset to 0” in the kitchen for the next day too, dishes washed, lunch boxes for the kids clean and empty ready to be filled in the morning, no dishes in the sink. Although I am definitely not as good at the 2 minute rule for tasks as I should be! I put things off more than I should.
Haha, I love that you turn off your notifications though, that’s better overall that getting super distracted throughout the day! 🙂 So glad you find it helpful to get all the things done the night before too, and I totally get the two minute rule, it can be hard, especially if a task doesn’t seem that important at the time.
These tips are really great! Wonderful Post! Have a great day!
Rampdiary
Aww thank you so much Jyoti, I hope you have a fantastic day and so happy you enjoyed these tips! 🙂
So many great ideas here! I’m all about the automated tasks – yes to knocking out a load of laundry while you do something else!
Thanks so much Lindsay, and you are always super productive with all the things, always love reading on your blog or over on your stories! 🙂
Loved these tips! The 2-minute rule is definitely a lifesaver—why let little tasks pile up? Also, totally relate to tidying up before bed; waking up to a clean space makes such a difference! xx
Lenne | http://www.lennezulkiflly.com
So happy you loved these tips Lenne, thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a sweet comment! 🙂 You are so right, those little tasks can become big overwhelm if we put them off for too long. Love that tidy up all the things before bed too!
Love this! I tend to get distracted a lot, so I try not to be on my phone early in the morning so I can attend to small tasks that I can get done fast.
ereen | https://www.everydayereen.com
Thank you so much Ereen, so happy you loved this one and that is such a smart idea for making your mornings more productive! 🙂
All such great things!
Danielle Writes | https://danielle-writes.co.uk
Aww, thank you so so much Danielle!!
Such great tips Ashley! Limiting distractions is what I need to focus on. I am a morning gal as well which helps me knock out most of my to-do list.
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Thanks so much my dear friend! 🙂 It can be so difficult, it’s a daily thing for me to try to keep in check over here, haha!