How to be more productive in 2025
Do you want to get more done, or do you want to get the same work done with less time and effort?
KALPANA MAHENDRAN14 Jan 2025 02:30pm
If you cannot complete everything you’d planned in a day, reschedule some things. Pexels
While there may not be any one life hack to combat this, there are ways to help us streamline our schedules. Consider these tips to increase efficiency, free up time and energy, and ward off burnout.
Decide if your focus is productivity or efficiency
“Productivity refers to the amount of work you can complete in a specific amount of time. Efficiency, on the other hand, focuses on achieving the same amount of work with fewer resources,” says career coach Caroline Castrillon.
Therefore, it’s useful to ask yourself: do you want to get more done, or do you want to get the same work done with less time and effort?
Take note of your energy levels
Everyone’s focus waxes and wanes through the day, says productivity expert Dr Melissa Gratias. Some are early birds, some are night owls, and some peak in the middle of the day.
Castrillon suggests taking advantage of your brain by saving your highest-energy moments for the tasks that require the most focus (such as studying), and using low-energy moments to deal with less complex tasks (such as answering emails).
Start small
Sometimes procrastination happens because a project seems overwhelming. It can be useful to start with a less intimidating one first. This could mean doing a simple task before moving on to a hard one, or breaking a big project into manageable chunks.
Once you are in the correct mindset, you may find it easier to tackle the rest.
Know how you’ll keep going
Author Ernest Hemmingway would only stop writing a story at a point where he knew what would happen next. This way, when he picked it up again the next day, he would already know how to continue.
This is a useful strategy for long-term projects; by starting every work session with a plan, you can get right back into focus without worrying about how to fill a blank page.
Halve your tasks
Productivity expert Tony Wong recommends focusing only on what is really important. If your to-do list contains any non-essential tasks, it may be better to simply cut them out.
In addition, if you cannot complete everything you’d planned in a day, reschedule some things. This way, you will have more focus and energy for the projects that really matter.
Reinforcement brings motivation
To get things done and build desirable habits, promise yourself rewards after each successful task. Consider connecting your reward to the task itself.
For example, if you’ve successfully met your exercise goals, you might buy yourself a new pair of nice running shoes. You can use these shoes to continue exercising, which, over time, creates a positive feedback loop.
Multitasking is a myth — don’t do it
Researchers have found that what we think of as 'multitasking' is actually 'context-switching'. Instead of focusing our attention on several things at once, we are actually switching our attention from one task to another at high speeds.
Essentially, we are interrupting ourselves, which can overwhelm the brain, cause lapses in focus, and exhaust us. Instead, make better use of your time and energy by doing one thing at a time, and then moving onto a new project when you have finished the first.
Enforce boundaries
The ease of communication has left many of us constantly plugged in. However, paradoxically, trying to do too much is a way to kill productivity. Much like multi-tasking, being 'always on' is draining and can lead to burnout.
Instead, have set hours for work and for free time. This will also benefit your friends and coworkers, who will not feel pressured to be 'always on' too.
Take frequent breaks
Try something like the Pomodoro technique, where you take a five minute break after twenty-five minutes of work. It is even better to involve nature while you do so.
One recent study showed that green micro-breaks, where participants paused their tasks to look at a green roof outside, performed better than those who paused to look at concrete.
'Done' is better than 'perfect'
“I think one of the most insidious beliefs... is perfectionism,” says Gratias. "[I]f we can’t finish [tasks] perfectly, we don’t even begin... if it’s not perfect, we keep working on it and keep tweaking it.”
Instead, set a limit; decide on a time window to finish something, then don’t go beyond it. Remember, also, that something is better than nothing. Even if you only reach part of your goal, that’s better than not starting at all.
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