15Quick Changes to Make You Instantly Productive

VISHALOSTWAL.COM

Turningoff notifications“If you crave your cellphone then you’ll find a way to use it”

Deactivating your Facebook account, uninstalling messengers or taking hard steps won’t help you end your relationship with your cellphone. You’ll find yourself staring at the screen a week later, in spite of using those cold-turkey kind of things.

So honestly saying, the most useful steps you can take to loosen your grip from your cellphone is to turn off notifications, or maybe putting it in a drawer. Just try to make it less accessible and try losing your interest in it.

Wearing a wristwatch“When I take out my cellphone to check time, I do almost everything except watching the time”

It’s almost the same story with everyone. You slide out the phone to ‘just check the time’ and suddenly get lost in the tiny wonderland of notifications, games and photos – then the daydream breaks.

It’s not your fault; your phone has interesting stuff in it. Here’s a little thing you can do to overcome this – buy a watch, and use it instead.

Watches look classy anyway.

Keeping a plain wallpaper“This idea is significant”

You might say I’m a moron to mention such a trivial and unrelated thing, but it worked for me. It has been months since I’ve changed my desktop wallpaper. It’s a solid shade of blue. The screen seems peaceful.

No clutter. No distractions. All that I see are the icons that suggest me what I should be doing in the moment.

A plain wallpaper can keep you more focused than any other kind. Maybe scientists should conduct a research on this.

Having a jotting paper “All minds wander”

You may get random ideas while working, and sometimes even come across meaningful work when daydreaming – you don’t want to forget or lose them – but it isn’t always a fair idea to quit the current job to switch to another task either.

So do this – keep a ‘jotting paper.’

Write whatever that comes to my mind on it, instead of acting on a thought right away. Once you jot down a thought on the paper, you don’t need to worry about forgetting something and can peacefully go back to what you were doing.

Creating references“Searching for the same thing a hundred times is just a waste of time”

There are books that I needed to read often, but I had to go through the index, every time. Every semester. It tired me. So I found a way out.

Once I find the things that I need, either in books or online, I keep a reference to them. For instance, I jot down the page number of certain sub-points so that I know exactly where they are. Also, I bookmark the websites I need often.

Keep a reference to something you need often and you barely need to search it again.

Keeping priorities visible“You might forget, so you need something to remind you of your priorities”

My computer screen tells me what I should be doing, and so do my lists.

If there’s an article I need to finish first, I put it on my screen. I do the same to the books I’m reading, projects I need to be working on. It’s easy to forget what matters in a world where you have enough things to do.

It’s better to keep your priorities visible to you, such that you can notice them, instead of anxiously thinking about them the whole day.

Subscribing to newsletters“Newsletters are still the best option for you”

I used to read news sites to read news, I then checked Facebook often for similar purposes, and I read random science stuff sometimes to update myself – in short, I wasted a lot of my time.

I got rid of doing this by subscribing to the newsletters of the websites that matter to me. Over. Now my inbox is a bit fuller, but there’s less disorganization. I saved my time.

News, updates, trends – all in your mail. You can spend time browsing and digging all those sites, but you shouldn’t.

Finishing chores at once“Small tasks are like itch, they don’t let you focus on bigger things until you end them”

You know what small tasks are.

Shopping groceries, fixing a leaking tap, or maybe something similar. Finish them all at once and make time for important things.

You need peace of mind and serenity to focus on important things, which can only be achieved by reducing the existing chaos in your life that your daily chores bring to you.

Using a minimal theme “If you want to use your cellphone less, make it less interesting”

I spent a lot of time beautifying my cellphone – nice colors, cooler themes, moving animations, I wanted to always play with it. What I did was useless. Now I don’t spend time doing that.

The point is simple, the more interesting the screen is, the more distracting it will be and the more time you’ll spend playing it.

Use a theme that’s simple and less distracting. See if this change works for you – switch to a minimal theme.

Quick Planning “You don’t get lost when you know where you’re heading to”

My work always used to be a bit of random. It still is, though, what I’ve known is that a bit of planning can help you stick to your plans.

So making a quick plan solves the problem.

Also, planning in your mind what you’re going to do on a particular day can vanish you confusions and make your actions clearer.

Understanding your choices “Once you figure out who you are, you can easily find out what you want”

It’s always confusing to choose. Whether it be clothes, movies to watch or something else. In fact, a lot of your time is spent on these things without you noticing them.

I used to be such. I never knew what to wear. I didn’t knew what I’d prefer eating. I stayed confused about most of my choices. To counter this, I learned more of what my identity is and what my preferences are.

Once I got a clear idea about what kind of a person I am, I’m able to make clearer decisions.

Asking for help“You can’t do everything. Ask for help”

I do what I’m good at. Meanwhile, I try to get good at what I’m bad at. It’s as if I’m fixing my flaws. But while I do so, I don’t pretend to be a superman.

I know what I suck at, so I’d rather ask for help instead of wasting my time without arriving on a conclusion.

I understand how useful this practice can be - we all could be usually compensating for each other’s weaknesses. We grow faster that way. So if you’re stuck in a certain situation and think that asking for a bit of help might rescue you, then be humble and ask for help.

Staying with the right people“You’re always being molded by those around you”

Stay with the right people, or at least, stay away from the wrong ones.

Staying with the right people can actually make you a better person. They believe in you, make you feel loved and valued. The existence of a handful of right people can act like a nitro to the pace at which you progress.

Opposite to this, having a wrong company can make you timid and shatter your self-esteem to pieces. I’ve seen this happen to people. It’s a truth.

Setting Little Milestones “When you’re willing to go from one point to another, you reach where you want to go”

Life can be somewhat blurred. You don’t always know where you might go next. So how do you go big? You don’t do it at once but keep travelling from one point to another. You do it by setting some milestones for yourself.

I may not know you should be doing, but you’re always in a state of doing little things. Take small step, towards your next success or dream. Then take another, and another. Setting milestones ensures that you’re moving in the right direction. That’s how you get what you want.

Staying organized“Worrying about and searching for the same things each day seems foolish”

I’m obsessed with this one – though, I can’t tell whether it’s good or bad.

I organize everything. And by everything, I mean my belongings, the stuff inside my bag, and even the order of icons on the taskbar in my laptop.

Similarly, most of the things I need are within my reach. That helps. I don’t have to waste my time hundreds of times a day. Think you waste a lot of your time searching for keys or wallet? This tip might be for you.

ABOUT AUTHOR

I’m Vishal Ostwal.

A writer, blogger, and the kind of person whose name rhymes with his surname.

Apart from that, I’m a dreamer, a fan of superheroes, and a storyteller who can talk about life tirelessly. I’m on a mission to “make life worth living.”

Visit my blog to find my online home, or to give me a virtual high five.

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