24 Quick Tips to Stay Productive All Day
Productivity Tips
Gentle productivity is one of my favourite things to talk about. Why? Because being productive isn’t about being the fastest person to hit their goals – it’s about working in a way that means you are working as efficiently as possible for YOU!
It’s also not about working super-slowly (sorry!), but finding a way that energises and encourages focus. Being able to be consistent in your approach is far more effective than going hell for leather and burning yourself out before you reach the final step.
These tips can be applied to general productivity or gentle productivity – so if you're looking for quick tips to increase your productivity – you're in the right place!
*Affiliate Disclosure: Some links in this post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something via the link, I may receive a small commission. This doesn't affect the price you pay.
If you have any questions, reach out for a chat [email protected] or check out my other blogs
Table of Contents
Creating a Productive Environment
If you work from home, choosing a space to work can be challenging. But here is a great article that walks you through how to set up your office – Workspace Inspiration.
Here are some other environment-based productivity tips:
1. Declutter Your Space – Your environment has a huge influence on your mood, ability to focus and overall feeling of being calm and in control of where your attention is going. This includes both the area or room you’re working in and your desk! If you regularly pack things away, organise paper and files, and clear your desk at the end of each day, this will be much easier to maintain.
2. Minimise Distractions – This can be achieved through decluttering your desk and workspace. Also having clear boundaries (especially if you work from home), to not disturb when working. Noise cancelling headphones are a good option, as well as activating Do Not Disturb on your phone. Further down you can find some apps to help with this as well!
3. Good lighting – Natural light has lots of benefits, including minimising risk of headaches and tired eyes. When you’re looking at a screen for a long time, giving your eyes a rest for a minute can make a big difference.I have my desk next to my window, and it’s made a difference. If this isn’t possible, use daylight light bulbs, keep your space light.
4. Have Your Tools Ready – A great way to start your work is to prepare what you need the evening before. Or, as part of your morning routine. Check what files you’ll need access to, planners, equipment etc.
This will save you a ton of time and will limit start-stop in those first few minutes. I find it gives me a mental boost because I'm grateful to myself for planning ahead and making the transition to work easier.
Goal Setting & Planning
5. Set Achievable Goals – That doesn’t mean don’t dream big! Achievable goals means you’re not setting yourself to become overwhelmed when you look at what you want / need to achieve.
Have your big dream, then think about how realistic this would be over the next 12 months – 3 years. It makes it feel more realistic and achievable – which is very motivating!
6. Break Down Goals – Following on from achievable goals, break these bigger (long term) goals into monthly, weekly, and then daily achievable goals.
Backwards planning is great for this, leaving you with a roadmap showing you exactly what you need to focus on to reach specific milestones along the way. Smaller goals build confidence and momentum.
The Goal to Action Worksheet.
Break your bigger goals into smaller steps with this single handy worksheet!
7. Prioritise Tasks – When you want to do it all it’s vital that you learn how to prioritise, or nothing will get done at all. It’s also likely that things will be forgotten (usually the less fun and more challenging tasks that are essential).
Anti Procrastination Worksheet Bundle
The Get it Done Anti-Procrastination Bundle is available via my Etsy store. It includes a priority matrix to help you organise your tasks and focus.
8. Plan Breaks – Plan your breaks as you would do your meetings with clients. Use weekly planners and each week when you plan your focus, block out your break times so they don’t become lost to other things.
How often you take breaks will depend on your daily working patterns. If you time block, you may have shorter, more frequent breaks. Be clear on this and get those slots marked as unavailable!
9. Focus on one thing at a time – Multitasking isn’t something that we’re actually very good at, and when you focus on one thing at a time, you’re stopping the stop/start pattern and saving lots of time. This study, carried out by the University of California, Irvine that claims it takes over 23 minutes to refocus on a task after you step away – that's a lot of time wasted!
10. Flexible Planning – Learn how to plan in a way that supports your energy and your learning style. Easily adapt your plans when you need to take extra time to rest and recharge. This way of working not only increases your productivity long term, but it increases your confidence as you approach your work.
Creating Habits & Routines
11. Morning Routine – Morning routines can be a great way to set your day up well. How you approach this will depend on your personal circumstances, time and working patterns. But, essentially, morning routines can have a huge impact on your mood and energy going into the day ahead.
Short on time? This post has some quick and easy ideas + how you can use habit stacking to make it work for you!
12. Evening Routine – As per morning routines, evening routines can improve your mood, energy, focus and productivity. By preparing the day before for what you’ll be working on the following day, you’re making life for your future-self easier – and believe me, she will thank you for it!
Mel Robbins talks about this, and gives the example about feeling reluctant to work out in the morning. If you prepare by getting your kit ready to go – it’s easier to just automatically change into them without needing to engage in that inner battle of “Can I really be bothered today?!”
This podcast episode by Mel Robbins discusses how evening routines can help you maximise your productivity each day.
13. Focus on Wellness – Improve your sleep, nourish your body and take time out for you that’s nothing to do with work. Sleep has a massive influence on your overall physical and mental health.
As a recovering insomniac who lived on 2-3 hours sleep for years, the difference in me today is huge. It will also improve your ability to focus and feel confident as you approach your work.
14. Journaling Practice – I love journaling! Journaling is fabulous, it’s so versatile and has so many functions. Whether you’re studying and keeping a journal for your research / process your mental health / keep it for memories – or to increase your gratitude – it really is a great tool.
Rest & Recharge
15. Self Care – Taking care of you is vital. Not just for personal reasons, but also as the face of your business! There isn’t a standard self-care practice that I recommend, because it’s very personal to you.
Also – let's bust a myth or two when it comes to self-care… You do not need to be money or time rich to practice self-care. It’s simply about taking care of yourself. Whether that’s a daily walk, improved sleep, connecting with loved ones, listening to music or yes, going away for a break!
It's essential for your overall well-being, and key in preventing burnout, stress and mental wellness.
16. Working with your Energy – When you work with your natural energy cycle, you can improve your productivity substantially. I’m passionate about this one because it’s changed my life and enabled me to achieve what I have over the past 8 years. Once I began to manage my health conditions and energy more effectively, I was able to look forward once again.
17. Take a Real Break – Step away for a few days. If you screw your nose up to this in a “No way!” kind of way – I hear you! But in all honesty, when you are 100% focused for weeks and months on end, it’s natural that you’ll begin to lose your spark , your creativity and enthusiasm for your work.
I had to do this when I was carrying out heuristic research for my Masters degree. It felt so odd to not be working on it for those 3 days. But, this break gives your brain the chance to percolate all of those thoughts, ideas, things you’ve learned and researched.
Taking a few days break will enable that tacit knowledge to come into your consciousness, suddenly giving you the clarity you were looking for. It happens all the time – you know that age-old advice “Stop thinking about it & it will come to you”.. Well there's an actual reason behind it – who knew?!
Productivity Tips, Tools & Techniques
18. Do a Time Audit – Do you really know where your time is going each day? Carrying out a time audit can help you work out exactly where wasted energy is being directed, and the activities that are being neglected.
This free download includes charts you can use to monitor your activities and your energy. Honestly – each time I do it I’m always shocked (and a tad embarrassed about where I’m wasting time…!) But, knowledge is power – once you know, you can make changes!
Free Time Audit Download
Discover exactly where your time goes each day!
Also includes space to monitor your energy & schedule your week using time blocking.
19. Time Blocking – A brilliant way to visualise and manage your weekly and daily schedules. Time blocking is my go-to when I’m mid-project because I easily get bored and easily become distracted, especially if the work I’m doing isn’t fun.
Time blocking gives me a visual idea of what needs to be addressed over the week and how to map this with my natural energy cycles and more.
20. Task Batching – As with time batching, task batching is a highly effective method for keeping your mind in flow. You can learn more in this blog:
21. The Pomodoro Technique – The Pomodoro technique is perfect if you prefer to work in smaller, more focused sessions. If you’ve been struggling with staying focused, and noticing yourself getting distracted after 30 – 40 minutes, it’s definitely worth looking into.
In essence, it’s a way of working where you have focused sessions for short periods of time, followed by a break, and then repeat throughout the day.
22. Productivity & Time Management Apps – Just to prewarn, if you’re someone who procrastinates a lot, be mindful that you’re not simply jumping from one app to another in search of the gold star solution. (Because hint: that’s you!)But, there are some great tools out there, and these are some of my favourites:
*Sunsama – My favourite planner / time management app I’ve used so far. It does cost a little, but for me it’s worth it due to the increase in productivity over the past few months.
Trello – Trello is great for mapping out projects because of how easy it is to drag and drop lists and cards. If you’re a visual learner, it’s definitely worth checking out.
ToDoist – Simple, easy to use app to help you manage your daily tasks, workflows and more. It has a great free version, and a relatively cheap option if you choose to upgrade.
Toby – Toby is a chrome extension that helps you organise your tabs, files, reading materials. It’s an upgraded bookmark system where you can organise and store all of the things you need easy access to, saving time by housing it in one space. I use the free version and I use mini-Toby which allows me to have it open, but leaves Google as my main desktop.
Notion – A brilliant all-in-one style workspace for productivity, project management and planning. It’s very intuitive, offering free and paid subscriptions.
Mindset & Mental Health
23. Anti-Perfectionism – Letting go of needing things to be perfect, or waiting for the time to feel right will change your life! I mentor university students, and when they come to me feeling stressed out because they cannot get their brains to function or mind to focus, it’s often because they’re scared of not doing well.
My advice is always, aim for a crappy first draft, or if this feels uncomfortable, aim for just good enough. Then you can just go back and improve it. This works so well, because thinking like this helps them to come out of the freeze fear response.
Plus – if you worry about perfectionism, the chances are you’re a high achiever, so your take on “good enough” is likely to be a high standard anyway!
24. Mental Health Focus – Managing your mental health and wellness is crucial, whether you’re knee-deep in work, or living day-to-day life. When your mental health dips, it can impact your overall energy, as well as your belief in what you’re doing. Learn to challenge negative thoughts like “I’ll never do this”, and prioritise your mental health always.
Tools Resources & Support
Some of my favourite productivity & business tools are:
Sunsama – A brilliant task management that is perfect for busy and neurodiverse minds who easily find themselves overwhelmed and distracted. grab a free 2 week trial and free month!
Time Audit – Gain a clear understanding of exactly where your time and your energy is spent. Highly recommend doing this if you're planning to focus on increased productivity. *Free download!
Tailwind – Fantastic scheduling tool. Great for Pinterest and repurposing across different social media platforms.
Canva Pro – Upgrade your content design with Canva Pro. Explore the enhanced features available in Pro. Grab your free trial here!
Etsy – Are you ready to create your own online store? Etsy is a brilliant shopping platform that's used by millions. Setting up your store is simple, and when you sign up with this link we both get 40 free listings!
Goal Worksheet – *Free download. Plan your big goal & break it down into smaller steps with this handy PDF.
Pinterest Guide – If you're looking to get into Pinterest, I highly recommend Amy's free guide and Pinterest course. It's up-to-date for 2024 & she also has a brilliant course for only $67 that's updated frequently. (I have a 50% discount on the course using this link SEO and the code RANK making it only $33.50!)
Final Thoughts
Being productive isn't about doing as much as possible as quickly as you can. It's about working efficiently, and in a way that doesn't drain your energy every day. This collection of productivity tips are designed to help you find a way that works for you.
Learning how to work in a way that energises you and helps you to make the most out of the time that you have to focus on your goals is key.
If you find it hard to keep the momentum going, you might be interested in a brand new offer that I'm launching very soon. It's a monthly rolling membership of sorts where you'll get accountability, support, motivation, co-working and more!
To register your interest, add your details below and you'll be among the first to know all about it. I will also be offering it free for the first 10 people who signup who have already registered their interest – so it's worth doing now if you'd like to grab your free spot!
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Meet Lynsey
Hey there! I'm Lynsey, a coach, counsellor, and mentor for low energy, introverted or low confident female coaches & small business owners. With over 5 years’ experience of running businesses, and over a decade as a tutor and trainer, I've learned the value of effective time management that energises you through working with your energy.
I've lived with chronic illness – ME/CFS since 2011 and since then I re-trained as a counsellor, and achieved a distinction for my MA in Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice; all while running 4 businesses! I want that for you as well & it is possible with the right support and pathway to success.
Improving your mindset, finding acceptance and developing a solution-focused approach to achieving your goals is my passion. Blending mental health support where needed, as well as a supportive space and methods to manage your work more effectively.
If you'd like to know more about working with me, you can email [email protected] or find me on socials (links in the menu)
Have you seen my online store Shop.QuietlyConquer? Find DFY templates, downloads & more!
