The 7 Best Productivity Hacks of 2024

Wow, summer 2022 has already started and it feels like new years's eve was just a couple days ago. Regardless of how fast time flies, I’m sure we could all use a nice vacation and/or a relaxing massage!

I get it, most of the world dreaded the pandemic. But some people decided to take this opportunity to make drastic and incredible changes in their lives. Some quit a bad habit while others took on a good habit.

There is still time to join the small percentage of the population that drastically improved the quality of their lives. For some, becoming more productive and efficient with their time at work or school is a major step towards improving the quality of their lives. You can’t always be productive but you can definitely improve your overall productivity.

Below are tips and tricks that we believe are important to master in order to become a productivity guru!

Table of ultimate productivity:

1. Remove distractions in a smart way

2. Start the workday with the most challenging task

3. End the day with a list for the next day

4. Be transparent with your stresses

5. Chunk your time

6. Keep your motivation up

7. Get help from a productivity coach

1. Remove distractions in a smart way

Distractions is the ultimate enemy of momentum and deep work. Did you know that according to the University of London:

Online distraction (even when ignored) reduces your IQ by 10 points on average."

In other words, our ability to remove distractions will dictate how long we're able to focus, the quality of our work & our 🧠. What's even worse is that every time we get distracted, our brain takes at least 20 minutes to regain focus let alone the time we already wasted that we would never get back.

You might ask yourself: Ok, I get it. But I can't use blocker apps, cause:

1. A. I still have to stay connected with my friends & colleagues on social media platforms

1. B. Even if I block social media, it will make me want to visit it even more (#FOMO)

1. C. I still need to visit Youtube to for educational purposes

And because of those exact reason, we recommend you to use BeTimeful browser plugin. BeTimeful doesn't block your social media but just make them less addictive by removing the distracting newsfeeds & recommendation videos. You can also download Betimeful on your phone and enjoy using social media without getting distracted. With BeTimeful, you don't need to block apps on your phone. 

BeTimeful is available on IOS & Android to hide your News Feed so You Stay Connected, Not distracted Unless you need a timed break before your time is up!

1. Hide News Feed of You Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin 🔥
2. Hide Any Apps From Your Phone 📱
3. Take Timed Breaks Before Your Time is Out ⏱
4. Available Across All Your devices 📱💻

So try out BeTimeful for Free!

This tip comes from Brian Tracy, one of the most renown productivity coaches. Brian Tracy paraphrased Mark Twain’s words, stating that if you “eat a big frog” first thing in the morning, you can be proud the rest of the day knowing that you accomplished the most challenging task. Looking back, my most productive days were the days that I accomplished my most challenging task first.

I established this habit because when we start the day, we have the most amount of energy. I suggest that you use that energy to knock off the most challenging task on your agenda. Start slow and steady but with enough persistence and consistency, you’ll build the habit of tackling the hardest challenge first thing in the morning. Knowing about the productivity pyramid can help you stay motivated all the way through, as you'll meet challenges that push you to focus on your core goals for motivation. Not only will you feel proud of yourself for the rest of the day, with success, you’ll build momentum and cement the habit for the rest of your life. Success will come if you are willing to consistently ask yourself the question of what is the hardest and most important thing to do on your agenda. Sometimes it will take a bit of brainstorming and sometimes it will be very clear to you. However, once you have your answer, get working on it. Turning this into a habit will lead to a fruitful and productive day, and eventually month and year.

3. End the day with a list for the next day

This is one of my favorite habits. I think the day is never truly done until I have written down or scheduled some tasks on the next day’s calendar.

It’s a type of reward that I give my future self. I wake up in the morning a little lighter on my feet knowing that I have a list of tasks ready and I don’t need to go through the annoying process of figuring out what needs to be done.

With your tasks scheduled, you can go ahead and tackle your most challenging task first.

4. Be transparent with your stresses

Let people know about the stressors that you are going through. You might feel like you are burdening them with your sob story but most often they will acknowledge that they are going through something similar. Furthermore, it will help to build trust and trust is vital for support. Support is important when you are trying to do something that is challenging. By being transparent you have the opportunity to build new connections of support.

However, avoid complaining for the sake of attention. It’s a fine line, but be cognizant of your intentions when talking about your stressors. Are you sharing this information because you need an external opinion OR are you just sharing this information to get more attention. Nonetheless, being open about your major stressors will feel good and give you the energy to keep moving forward with your tasks.

5. Chunk your time

Chunking your time is a great way to increase your productivity because you’ll allow yourself more time to dive deeper into your work without getting distracted. You will have more energy by the end of the day because time chunking allows you to prevent unnecessary task switching. We wrote an entire blog just on this topic of staying productive with time chunking.

Also, don’t forget to take breaks between your sprint of prolonged effort. Taking frequent breaks will allow your brain to destress and regain focus. You will also fight off brain fatigue and be able to work longer and harder. So, break your workday into 1-2 hour “sprints” and take breaks between your sprints.

6. Keep your motivation up

One of the best ways to stay productive is to maintain motivation. This is no easy task and requires a level of self-awareness and concentrated effort. Humans are emotional creatures and emotions are what keeps our motivation going. If you are getting too negative, pessimistic or you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s time to take a break and re-strategize.

Once you’ve rested and recovered, take the time to go over your goals. Regain the positive energy that you get when you think about achieving your goals. Use that energy to tackle your work with a positive outlook. Lastly, do everything you can to not dig yourself into a negative loop again, take frequent breaks

For more tips and tricks, read this blog on how to stay motivated.

7. Get help from a productivity coach

If you are being unproductive and need a bit of motivation you can always get inspiration from some of the top productivity coaches. Many of these coaches have free content that you can read and get inspired from. If that doesn’t work, perhaps you can even hire a productivity or accountability coach. If a productivity coach is not enough, then we recommend reading this summary of Deep Work by Cal Newport or any of the books on our best focus books list: consider reading this review of Atomic Habits.

Nonetheless, you should always seek help from people who have been in your shoes and have succeeded. Always be willing to learn! 

Conclusion:

You can’t be productive always. Productivity ebbs and flows; however, when it’s time to get things done you need to have all the tips and tricks to help you. It’s during times of need that you should remember the tips talked about in this blog. First, build a community of support by being transparent with your goals and stresses. Next, get started with the most challenging task of the day and finish the day with a list of tasks for the next day. Stay focused and productive during the day by removing distractions and chunking your workday into spurts of work. Lastly, keep your motivation up by being positive and get inspired by productivity coaches.

Lastly, remember to take breaks and that you’re only human and BeTimeful.com is always here to help!