With the new year just beginning, have you set yourself the goal of becoming more productive throughout the year. In the dynamic world that we live in, everything changes every other minute. The moment you decide to step back and take a break, there goes your chance at being successful.
Don’t misunderstand this.
As humans, we do need a break from our hectic life every once in a while.
But, it’s important to know when and how to take a break. When you’ve been productive the entire week, of course, you deserve a break during the weekend. But, with all the distractions that surround us, how productive are you really throughout the week?
How often does your ten-minute break turn into a 45-minute break? How often do you go on youtube to look at a particular video, but then before you know it you’re stuck watching videos of Gordon Ramsay cook the perfect hamburger?
An instance like this happens at least once every day. We subconsciously get stuck in this cycle of procrastination.
Procrastination is a Normal Part of Life
There is nothing wrong with procrastinating if you know when to stop and get back to work. But usually, that is not how procrastination works. The cycle of procrastination consists of 6 steps:
- You set out to accomplish a task.
- Seeds of apprehension begin to set in.
- You get carried away by all the distractions.
- Attempt to get back on track but fail.
- You realize you’ve missed your chance and are no longer motivated.
- Vow to do better.
This is a cycle you notice way too often in your life. But, when you know something is keeping you from achieving your greatest potential, why not fix the problem forever?
How To Be More Productive
What is productivity? Technically speaking, it is the measure of output that comes from certain units of input. It is how you measure efficiency. The key to success is unlimited efficiency. The more you focus on being efficient, the more success and rewards you’ll receive.
But, when it comes to figuring out how to be more productive, it can be a little tricky. Especially, because of all the information that exists on the internet about this. There are enough news articles, TedTalks, blog posts, documentaries, etc on how to be more productive. But, there is not just one solution that works for all. We are all unique and so are our needs and our means. It’s important you figure out what works best for you. Is it motivational videos to get motivated? Starting your day with exercise? Meditation? Social media detox? You can take your pick.
However, research shows that there is one solution that seems to work well for one and all. In this digital age, we spend a large amount of time on our phones and all our other gadgets. We are constantly surrounded by some form of digital media. Be it memes, zoom calls, or online shopping. Digital technology is the biggest distraction in our life today and these companies thrive on our boredom and distractions. The easiest way to increase your productivity is to get rid of all these digital distractions one by one. And the best way to achieve this, you ask? The most efficient and effective way to limit digital distractions is to use technology against technology. Today there are several apps that can help you be more productive. Plus a lot of them are free. So, why not use the resources that are already readily available to you.
5 Apps That’ll Definitely Help You Increase Your Productivity
There are tons of apps in the market, more than you could ever imagine. To make the job easier, we have curated a list of the top 5 apps that will help you increase productivity and be as efficient as you can throughout the day! Let’s have a look at these apps.
HabitHub
If you’re having a hard time starting good habits and sticking to them, then HabitHub is the perfect app for you. It will help you start healthy habits and ensure you focus on them regularly. Not only that, but it gives you statistical feedback on your performance so that you’re aware of all aspects of your progress and know what’s working for you and what’s not. It also provides you a bunch of future goals and rewards. Every time you reach a certain stage or complete a particular goal, you can set up a reward for yourself. The app also has a feature that allows you to set reminders for important tasks for the day.
SocialX
The biggest distraction in today’s world? Social media. Once you have a healthy relationship with society, there is very little that can stop you from being productive and achieving your true potential. Install SocialX on all your gadgets to limit social media usage and improve your offline and online wellbeing. We’re constantly on social media, a break from it once in a while can do you a huge deal of good. The app allows you to track your screen time, set daily social media app limits, and even block apps that you find particularly distracting. Social media can be both good and bad, it all depends on how you use it. With SocialX you can build a healthier relationship with social media and not let it distract you from your work or studies.
This is another great productivity app. It is something that will ensure you’re being productive even during your leisure time, instead of mindlessly spending time scrolling through Instagram or Twitter. It is a great app for you, especially if you’re someone who is fond of reading. The app lets you save webpages that you can read in the future, articles you find interesting but have no time to read right now. Something important that would want to share at work. You can save all of this reading material on Pocket. At a glance, it might seem like a normal bookmarking tool, but it’s so much more than that. With a pocket, you can keep everything organized and even listen to the articles if you’re in a hurry and have no time to read them.
RescueTime
RescueTime is an application that gives you a well-researched report on how you spend your time on the internet. Which sites you visit the most, how long you spend on each site, which genre of websites do you most frequent, and other interesting information like that. Information like this can give you a much clearer insight into how you spend a good chunk of the day. Letting you know if you’re being productive enough or just wasting away your time. The app also allows you to set personal productivity goals and will track your progress with regard to these goals. The app has both free and paid options, which you can pick according to your convenience.
Focusbooster
This is a productivity app that is based on the Pomodoro Technique. The Pomodoro Technique is a simple way to boost your productivity when performing mind-consuming tasks. It helps you keep yourself focused while reducing mental exhaustion. With this app, you build a working pattern of working in 25-minute blocks with short breaks in between. The app helps you b build an effective routine, that helps you get more work done and be more productive. It is a free app available across various software. It is simple to use and has an easy to understand interface.
These applications should help you get right back on the productivity cycle. You won’t be predictive and hardworking in one day. It is not an overnight change that happens. These are habits that you need to work on building and adding to your life. Hopefully, these apps will help you achieve this goal in this new year!