People always want to be more productive at work, and this year, you can learn how to change your lifestyle to achieve this.

We outline the best ways to become more productive this year—not all the steps will be easy, but they will produce results.

Many of us want to be more productive at work. Change your lifestyle to achieve this goal by applying these 9 great productivity tips

Plan Your Day the Night Before

To be your most productive self every day, you need to plan ahead. The key to being more organized is utilizing your time correctly.

In the mornings, when you’re still a bit groggy from sleep and just want to get on with your day, the worst thing you can do is waste time putting clothes, shoes, and plate settings together.

Instead, plan all this out the night before—check the temperature for the next day and lay out your clothes accordingly.

Set the table or keep the necessary dishes out on the counter so you can put your breakfast together quickly.

Nothing slows down productivity like having to ponder over small decisions first thing in the morning, so save yourself the trouble and organize yourself the night before.

Use DnD on Your Devices

Most smart devices have a Do Not Disturb option that you can switch on whenever you need to—many can be programmed to go into DnD mode during set hours.

So why aren’t you using it to be more productive?

Program DnD on your devices during sleeping hours—this will allow you to sleep completely uninterrupted, without notifications from your many apps going off all night.

You can also use the DnD during working hours—this depends on the kind of job you have, but it could be useful to decrease digital distractions.

Use the DnD judiciously to improve your productivity during the day and night.

Start Your Day Early

For most people, waking up in the morning is a chore—the alarm rings and all you want to do is turn it off and go back to bed.

First up, don’t hit the snooze button—it makes you feel even more sleepy and decreases your productivity.

But to really feel awake and productive in the mornings, try to wake up earlier than usual.

The mornings are a great time to finish a lot of work—not many people are awake at the same time so you can work without distractions.

This is going to take some practice, but with time and dedication you can accomplish waking up early.

Limit Phone Use

We are so reliant on our phone, and other smart devices, but they are diminishing our productivity.

Whenever you find a lull in your workflow, you reach for your phone, and before you know it, you’ve lost 45 minutes scrolling through your Twitter feed.

Save yourself the trouble of phone distractions—limit how much time you spend on your phones during work and especially before bedtime.

You will need an iron resolve to stay away from your phone, but there is a way to make the process easier.

Try turning off notifications from your apps—this has a similar impact as DnD, but is more long-lasting.

And you will find that you don’t need all those phone notifications anyway—they were merely distractions and you can be more productive without them.

Make Tasks Lists

A great way to be productive is by making task lists. As your day wears on, you can often forget what you have to do, or how urgent it is. A task list will help you work smart.

Try creating a task list that is divided into four sections:

High priority and urgent
Low priority but urgent
High priority but not urgent
Low priority and not urgent

You will know what is a high priority versus a low priority task—something that you need to complete so others can work on it, or something that will lead to positive results.

Urgent and not urgent tasks are easy to identify—tasks that need to be completed within a short time frame qualify as urgent. Those without deadlines can be left for later.

A task list will improve your productivity by helping you be more organized, so you can accomplish more work in a timely fashion.

Listen to Music at Work

I know what you’re thinking—isn’t music distracting? Actually it isn’t—music can be quite calming and help you work better.

There are different kinds of music that you can listen to—you will have to try them all to decide which works best for you.

Some people prefer songs with lyrics, while others find them distracting. You may prefer classical or instrumental music, or lounge music, that just plays on in the background.

Music can also act as white noise so you don’t get distracted by the sounds of your colleagues or the world outside your window.

Experiment with music and you will find yourself being more productive during your workday.

Don’t Multitask

In the current work climate, it always seems like there’s more work to do than there are hours in the day. The only way one can get through it is multitasking, isn’t it?

But as anyone who has tried multitasking knows, it actually doesn’t help your productivity that much—in fact, it has the opposite effect.

Think of multitasking like trying to read several browser tabs at the same time—you’re not going to finish anything, nor are you going to retain any knowledge. That’s multitasking for you.

Instead, try and pick one task and finish it to completion, then move on to the next one—that is how you can be productive and feel happy at work.

And if you feel like you have too much on your plate, it is perfectly fine to say ‘no’ every once in a while. An overworked employee isn’t going to be productive, after all.

Take Breaks

How can taking a break make you more productive? By revitalizing your mind so you can generate more presentation ideas.

You may think that working non-stop will help you achieve more, but it will actually burn you out.

Take short breaks every hour or so and let your mind think of something else—do not go on social media, because that will only dull your mind.

Instead, go on a walk, read an e-book, listen to a podcast, or the radio—do something that takes you away from where you are and then come back to work rejuvenated.

Take a Remote Work Day

Some companies allow their employees to take a remote work day, and if yours does offer this, you should take advantage of it.

A remote work day is a great way to be productive—you can spend the day in your pajamas, work without distractions, and complete more tasks.

And knowing that you will have one entire day to yourself at home will make you more productive for the rest of the week—the change of scenery is also a help.

If you can take a day to work remotely, do it—you will be so much more productive.

Conclusion

We have outlined nine ways that you can become more productive in 2020. While most of these will take time to implement in your life, you shouldn’t be afraid of trying them.

Yes, they may be difficult and trying, but once you get into the routine outlined above, you will have the most productive year yet.

About the Author

Ronita Mohan is a content marketer at Venngage, an infographic and design platform. She enjoys writing about digital marketing, sharing productivity tips, examining pop culture, and championing the need for representation. Twitter: @Venngage