Get Your Head Out of Your Apps:
Top 5 Ways to Stay Focused This Summer
Nothing’s worse than when a task you expected to take an hour or two ends up consuming your whole day! That time was going to be for relaxing, but now your day is over and you still have to do work tomorrow!
It’s always a bummer when tasks drag on way longer than they should. Lucky for you I’ve got some solutions to that issue that will ensure your workflow is as effective and efficient as possible! These tips will help you find more time for yourself, letting you spend your summer how YOU want to spend it!
The Pomodoro Technique
There’s a method called the pomodoro technique used to get work done effectively. The method works like this: you do completely focused work with no distractions for 25 minutes, and then take a 5 minute break. One of these sessions is called a pomodoro, or pom. After 4 poms you take a longer, 15 minute break.
Poms allow you to break large tasks into smaller pieces. This makes a 3 hour task look less daunting because you don’t have to complete the task all at once. You work on it pieces at a time.
It’s easier to stay on task with poms because you always know a break is right around the corner. If you get a text during a pom you can easily set it aside because you know in 12 minutes you can respond to the text during your break. And when work starts feeling tedious you can rely on the knowledge that you have the 15 minute break waiting for you.
Poms are a great technique to split up your workload. The breaks provide helpful breathers that make the completion of tasks less tedious.
Time Management
Taking the time to set up a proper schedule or to-do list for yourself goes a long way. By setting up tasks to complete within the week you ensure that each time you begin work you know exactly what you need to do. This helps you stay on task while working, and will also let you know when you’re allowed to fully relax. You’ll no longer have to feel guilty for relaxing because you’ll know at the end of the day you’re on pace and completed everything you needed to for the day.
By writing down your schedule you take out the guessing involved in keeping track of everything you need to get to. You remove the hassle of having to mentally juggle tasks as you try to remember what needs done and by when. No longer will you have to worry that an important task slipped between the cracks. Plus, nothing beats the feeling of striking a dash through completed to-do’s! By writing down a schedule for yourself you bring more order to your work and life.
Set Goals
Another effective way to add structure to your workflow is to set goals for yourself to work towards. These goals allow you to create detailed tasks that work towards the bigger picture. Your work will gain more meaning, and you’ll have something to push yourself towards.
Set specific, realistic goals to strive towards. If you’re just getting started set some short term (3 months to 1 year) and medium term (1-5 years) goals. These are goals you can immediately start working towards. After getting those written down you can set some long term goals (5 years or longer) to reach for.
Setting goals gives your work and life direction. Setting up small to long term goals gives you an idea where you are at, and where you want to go with your business. This sense of the big picture will bring meaning to your day to day work, and direction to the tasks you set up for yourself.
Focus on the big wins
After setting your goals you can start learning how to prevent wasting your time with busy work. You want to make your time working as efficient as possible. The tasks that make large strides towards your goals should be the ones you give the highest priority.
For a lot of tasks it’s easy to get caught up trying to complete it perfectly, and spending hours and hours trying to polish it up. You have to know when you’re actually making progress by touching your work up. Eventually it reaches the point where you’re just wasting time making miniscule tweaks to your work when you could be spending the same time on something more important.
By focusing on the big wins you’ll keep the time you spend working efficient, saving you time down the line.
Get Proper R&R
Often overlooked by the workaholics, proper rest is imperative to working efficiently. You must know when to call it a day and get back to the task tomorrow. As you get more exhausted, stressed, and burnt out your efficiency begins to dip and what would normally take you 45 minutes to complete is now taking you 2 hours.
By getting enough sleep, getting proper exercise, eating right, and managing your stress levels you maintain a well of energy to draw upon. When you start slacking on your health that pool of energy drains up and you’re stuck trying to drink from an empty tap. The more you let your health slip, the harder it gets to keep focused when it’s time to work.
Keep healthy so you have the willpower required to knock out your work as efficiently and effectively as possible!
Conclusion
During the summer it’s especially hard to stay on task. The sun is practically demanding you go outside and do something! That’s why now is the perfect time to practice your willpower and take action to ensure you stay laser focused all summer long!
If you would like a break from advertising contact us at All Things Advertising to set up a consultation so we can handle your advertising needs for you!