10 tips to sustain your productivity

In a digital and distracting world, finding your focus and getting things done can be a challenge. You may be motivated and focused one day and struggling to get anything done the next. The challenge isn't just being productive - it's staying productive.

Sustainable productivity isn't about working harder or longer. It's about working smarter and building productive habits into the way you work and live.

In this post, I'll share 10 practical tips that you can integrate into your daily routine to sustain your productivity.

1. Schedule your work around your attention levels

There may be times in your day when you’re feeling alert, ticking lots of items off your to-do list and feeling in flow.

There may also be times when starting, continuing or completing a task feels like a struggle.

By paying attention to these peaks and troughs, you can then schedule your work around them.

Use your peak times of productivity for your most important tasks and your less productive times for tackling easy or quick-to-complete tasks.

2. Eat the frog

This technique encourages you to tackle your most challenging or important task (your frog!) first.

This helps create momentum, reduce procrastination and encourage further wins throughout the day.

Share your frogs with colleagues and update them on your progress in a daily or weekly huddle. If you work on your own, share your progress and achievements with a coach or friend for accountability.

3. Practise time blocking

Time blocking involves scheduling your daily tasks into half-hour to two-hour blocks of time. 

Block important tasks during your peak productive times and other tasks like email and admin during your less productive times.

Remember to add time blocks for breaks, lunch and between meetings to stay energised.

4. Practise batching

Batching is where you group similar tasks together and complete them in one focused session. This reduces time spent switching between different types of work and helps you stay in the zone.

Some examples of batching are:

• Checking and responding to emails
• Making all your phone calls in one block
• Creating social media posts or content pieces
• Processing invoices

5. Monotasking instead of multitasking

Research shows that multitasking reduces efficiency and productivity by 40%.

Instead of multitasking, practise monotasking. This involves tackling one task at a time, rather than flitting between tasks or trying to do more than one task at a time.

6. Reduce distractions

Did you know people get distracted every 3 minutes and it takes an average of 10-15 minutes to return to a task?

Phones, email, the internet, people, social media and notifications are common distractions.

To reduce distractions, try turning off email and phone notifications, putting your phone out of sight or using noise-cancelling headphones. Use your distractions as a reward!

7. Take regular breaks

Breaks help improve your focus, creativity and productivity and reduce stress.

The Pomodoro Technique helps you focus on a single task for 25 minutes, followed by a 5-minute break. After four cycles, take a longer 30-minute break.

Incorporate movement breaks into your day by stretching at your desk, walking up and down stairs, taking an exercise class or having walking meetings.

Make sure to have lunch away from your desk.

Holidays and annual leave are wonderful opportunities to re-energise, restore and refocus.

8. Optimize your work environment

A tidy, clutter-free desk will help you to stay focused.

As the saying goes: “A tidy desk is a tidy mind.”

Use drawers or shelves to store items and use an in-tray to collate outstanding tasks.

Remove unwanted tabs and folders from your desktop to create more mental clarity.

Use noise-cancelling headphones to block out background noise or try working in a quieter part of your workspace during deep work times.

9. Create accountability checkpoints

It is easy for priorities to slip, deadlines to drift and good intentions to get buried under daily demands.

Accountability checkpoints keep you focused on your priorities and moving forward toward your goals.

These could be through weekly reviews, sharing updates with your team, business partner or coach.

10. Celebrate your progress

It’s easy to move through the day ticking items off your to-do list and moving from task to task without reaping rewards.

Take time to celebrate your progress, key milestones and when you achieve your goals.

How about writing a ta-da list? It’s a bit like writing a to-do list but in reverse! It’s a great way to finish your week on a high.

Sustainable productivity isn't about perfection or pushing yourself to the limit every single day. It's about working with intention and building productive habits that support you and your goals.

Choose one or two tips that resonate with you, experiment with them for a few weeks and notice what changes.

Which tip will you try first? 

Lyndsey Segal is a business coach, trainer and speaker and the Founder of Heads-up Coaching. Find out more on her website here. 

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk