Simple as it is, how easy is it for you to close all the tabs on your browser?
Do you normally open ten articles to read later, and five more tabs relevant to work that you are not using? Welcome to the club of stressed time wasters who try to position themselves as workaholics.
Yes, we normally open all these tabs and leave them behind to not have our attention scattered, and to do tasks one by one. But the truth is, if you are doing tasks one by one, then having only one (ok, maximum five) tabs open relevant to the task is optimal. Everything else will distract you, lead you off your path, stress your mind and make you leave your desk in search of a coffee.
Finding yourself all stressed and approaching a burnout is disappointing, isn’t it?
So what can you do?
How are you?
Not many of us ask ourselves this question when we come to work. We may wake up moody or in pain, have a grumpy breakfast and show up at the office on time but not ready to work. Ask yourself how is it that you feel today, and maybe there is something you can do to smile more, love yourself, energize yourself? Remember – when you are happy, you are productive.
Plan your work day
As soon as you arrive to the office, evaluate everything you need to do, write it down or put the tasks in one of the online tools(Trello, Kanboard, Taskboard, Taiga, etc). Be realistic, do not overestimate and overwork yourself. You know how much you can do in one day.
Concentrate on one task at a time
No matter how easy that other task you just stumbled upon can be, write it down in your list and continue with the one you were on. “Pomodoro” method can really help with this if you have clearly defined tasks, such as write an article, finish a report etc. You can use one of the online timers or Strict workflow browser add-on to help yourself not get distracted from what you are concentrating on.
Give yourself a break
If you are using strict Pomodoro sessions of 25 minutes, give yourself 5 minutes off and change the activity – do stretching, eat and ice-cream, close your eyes and meditate – anything that is not connected to what you have been doing just now.
Make procrastination a cherry on your cake
Once you have done all your work for the day (and remember, you promised not to overload yourself and be realistic), allow yourself to roam around the web, looking at cute sneezing pandas, a lake in Malawi on google maps, tattoos on pinterest, or 10 things to eat when in Budapest on Buzzfeed. Whatever it is that you enjoy doing can be good to wrap up your day and award yourself for loving yourself and having a wholesome discipline.
Inspired by Dinah Menz