The Key to Getting a Productive Week

It’s the end of another weekend and you’re exhausted just thinking about what the new week has in store for you. Unconsciously, you find yourself mentally digging a rabbit’s hole.

We place so much pressure on ourselves to accomplish a lot because that’s what we think being productive means, however, it’s simply getting things done. It isn’t about the mental or physical exhaustion you get from doing tasks, it's being efficient in the things you do.

In this post, I’ll be sharing some tips for planning your week and being more productive.

How to Start a Productive Week

The only way to begin a week of productivity is by planning ahead. And that’s the key. When you have a lot to do, you end up rolling in an unending circle.

Let me give you an example: One minute, I’m here writing a blog post. The next minute, a notification comes in and I’m going through all my unread messages. Soon enough, I remember other pending tasks I have and move on to them.

At the end of the day, I may have touched all points, but I didn’t complete a single task. And that is not what a productive day feels like. Because the next day, I’ll go back to the same tasks I should have finished the day before.

Planning helps you outline what needs to be done and attaches a deadline to it. So when you plan, you have a direction and a path to follow.

7 tips for planning a productive week

Now that you know how planning your week makes it more productive, I’m sure you’re wondering if there’s an efficient way around this. To help out, here are seven tested tips that’ll guarantee you a productive week

1. Outline your To-Do List

You probably have an idea of what you need to get done in a week. This is why you should outline your tasks early in the week. So, on a Sunday evening or Monday morning, pick up your notepad and write down everything you need to do for the week. Next to your tasks, write your goals and each accompanying deadline.

2. Create a Scale of Preference

Once you have everything you need to do, arrange this in order of priority with the most important first. Outline one thing you want to accomplish for every day of the week and assign a time to it. When ticking off your list, try to focus on one particular task at a time. With this, you’ll have a deadline on each task and you’ll be able to clearly see how much free time you have in a day. Plus, you’ll be able to move on to the next task easily.

3. Clear the task you dread most first

It’s easy to focus on the unimportant tasks such as clearing your to-do list but you only end up procrastinating the real work. And this procrastination ends up draining your mental energy because you’ll keep getting a nag that you have pending important tasks to do. What then happens when you have a deadline you can’t meet up with because you didn’t start early? By doing the work you dread first, you have this inner peace that makes other tasks easier to complete.

4. Utilize your DND

In workspaces where communication is usually synchronous, or when you constantly have your mobile phone interrupting your work process, it’s easy to get distracted from a task. However, when you take a ‘do not disturb’ time off, you’ll easily sync into your work and dedicate time to completing it. If you always have to reply to an email immediately or respond to a conversation every few minutes, it’ll take a toll on how efficient you are.

5. Breaks are important

Now saying you should channel your energy into your tasks is good advice but not at the expense of your physical and mental health. Try to take a break when working. Go for lunch or brunch and leave your screen for a while. If you’re doing tasks that don’t require a screen, spend some time doing something you enjoy that isn’t work-related. A five-minute break never hurt anyone.

6. Automate and set reminders for certain tasks

When it comes to simple tasks like paying bills, it’s important to automate or set a reminder because you can forget to do them. On Buypower, for example, you can set a reminder for your next purchase. That way, you don’t have to worry about when next you’ll run out of units. You can read more on how-to here.

Another thing you can automate is sending out daily report emails. And if you don’t want to automate the entire process, dedicate an hour to craft and schedule emails at a convenient time.

7. Review your week

At the end of the week, review on how much work you were able to accomplish and where you need to make improvements. Over time, the results from your reviews will help you understand how productive you’re becoming.

And that’s how to make the best of your week. I hope you implement these tips and see the results. Do share this post with your friends and family members who are struggling with getting more productive. Let me know if you have other tips in the comments section below.

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