The primary constraint we all face is time.  Most of us spend hours a day glued to our computer screens working on our business. Over time, we get overwhelmed and burned out.

Above all, to succeed, we must become as effective and productive as possible. Many people spend hours in front of the computer but get nothing done. They spin their wheels yet go nowhere. They mistake activity for work.  Time and energy is expended on things that don’t matter. They’re not productive where it matters and that’s why their efforts don’t generate the results they expect.

In this article, we outline 6 basic tips to help increase your productivity.  Put them into practice so that you can get more done in less time. Being productive is one of the most important skills to master.

1. Break Away From Social Media

Social Media is probably an important part of your digital marketing strategy, but you can also get easily distracted.  Create a social media schedule.  Set specific times of the day when you will check your social media sites like Facebook or Instagram.  You’ll be on the computer a lot.  It can be very tempting to sneak off and check your Facebook feed only to realize that you’ve just wasted 45 minutes reading political posts and the comments of people engaging in pointless debate.

Time is money.  And sites like Facebook can result in a lot of wasted time.  So, check your social media at specific times, and for a specific amounts of time.  If you’re addicted to it, you can enable the Chrome extension “Stay Focusd” on your browser. “Stay Focusd” will restrict the time that you spend on sites that distract you. There are other similar apps, too. Find one that works for you and limit your time on social media.

Your focus should be on income generating activities. The cat videos and political debates can wait.

2. The 2-Minute Rule

The 2-minute rule is a simple, but effective rule. If you have a task that can be completed in 2 minutes, get it done and over with.

If you have an email to answer and you can do it in 2 minutes, reply to that email.  If you have a quick post or updated on your website and it takes a minute or two, do it quickly. You do not need to add these quick tasks to your main to-do list.  Work through all the little tasks quickly.  This will reduce your feeling of being overwhelmed, and you’ll carry over less work to the next day.

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3. Delete, Delete, Delete

Deleting old emails and files off your computer is the digital version of decluttering your life. Delete whatever you do not need. If something catches your eye, move it to a “Keep In View” folder and come back to it when you have some free time.

Don’t turn your computer into a cemetery for digital information and products.  Delete old reports and information products once you have gone through them.  Ideally, you should take down written notes that summarize the information in these reports and create a streamlined blueprint for you to take action on.

Delete whatever you don’t need and be merciless about it. By removing all the ‘digital noise’ you’ll only have to face what you need to focus on.

4. Avoid “Multitasking”

You have to focus. With focus comes productivity.  Don’t have 20 tabs open in your browser trying to keep track of to many things at once.

If you’re writing a blog post, give it your full attention until it’s done. Checking your website statistics? Focus on that instead of trying to listen to an audio track about a piece of market research at the same time.

Your workflow should be based on focusing on the important income generating tasks that require your attention and the most time. These should be followed by completing secondary tasks that support your business. Then you can set aside time for training and development, and finally, everything else that is less important. Work on one task at a time and you’ll find that you complete them in record time.

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5. Remove Distractions

Some people work better with music, some prefer background noise, and others prefer total silence. Create a work environment that works best for you.

For example, many people prefer going to a café and working from there. They like the sound of the hustle and bustle. On the other hand, the constant movement of people around you can be very distracting. You may be better off using a site like https://coffitivity.com/ that recreates ambient noises, so that you have the background noise without the physical distractions.

If you work from home, make sure your family knows when to give you space to work on your business. You need to be able to focus when you’re working. That’s the only way to be productive.

6. Work in Batches

This is a very useful tip. It means doing several similar tasks at the same time. For example, if you have 5 blog posts to write per week, batching your work will mean doing research for all 5 posts at once. When you sit down to write, you’ll be able to write all 5 posts much faster. Instead of researching for one post then writing it and then researching the next one, and so on.

The same applies to all other tasks too. Doing video marketing? Edit all your videos at once. Upload all of them at once. Optimize all of them at once. Doing your tasks in batches will save you a lot of time spent going back and forth.

Batching is similar to doing work in a factory production line repeatedly. You’ll be doing the same task over and over. You’ll get faster at it since it will become a routine, and you don’t have to keep switching tasks and “shifting gears” in your mind.

Adopt these 6 productivity tips and you’ll notice that you get more done and have more time to work on other strategic elements of your business, or even for yourself.  Of course, there are other tips to improve your productivity such as other time management techniques, or outsourcing tasks.  However, for starters, implement the 6 tips listed above and then you can learn and move on to other productivity enhancing tips later.

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Remember, productivity is not just about doing more, it’s about creating a real impact on your business and life. Get more productive today!