Most of us who are working or studying are constantly under pressure to know more, do more and perform better. But, when it comes to actual work or study, we tend to make the same mistake that everybody does. We focus on things that are not important and use techniques that make us study or work hard instead of smart.

So, here are five tips to improve your productivity.

#1 Being interested:

The first and foremost thing someone needs while studying or working is the motivation to do it. A purpose rather. If we are performing mundane tasks, productivity takes a hit and we won’t be able to perform at our highest potential. Having an interest in the things we are doing is very important. Find a reason to study or work. When you are working, you are doing that job because you chose it. When you accepted the job letter or got admitted to an educational institution, you decided to pursue that career. Take responsibility for what you are doing and ask yourself why you went there in the first place.

Studies have shown that people with a job that has a purpose are less likely to be depressed. Jobs with a purpose have lesser rates of depression. Learn the reason behind your job. Truly understand the reason why you are studying. That way, you develop an interest in the things you are doing.

For instance, when you have to study calculus, the integration and differentiation, might seem very dry and uninteresting. But, when you get to know its real-life applications of it, you might start liking the subject. Credit card companies use calculus to set the minimum payments due on credit statements. Statisticians use calculus to evaluate survey data to help develop business plans. Even biologists use it to analyse how the populations of predator and prey evolve and an architect uses integration to find out the number of materials necessary to construct a curved dome.

Don’t take others’ word for it. Do your research and get to the depths of it. If someone finds a particular job boring, that doesn’t mean it should suck for you too. Understand what part of it is boring or what made your friend or colleague feel that it’s boring and find how you can do things differently. Not all jobs are created equally. There’s always someone who hates a particular job.

And, if the job sucks, you can always give feedback and suggestions about how things can be done differently. Look, a lot of us aren’t in a position to quit our boring jobs to find new and interesting ones. If you are one of the exceptions, go ahead and do it. But, before you quit, find out why you are really uninterested in the job and would changing jobs really helps you like a better life. But, for the rest of us, finding what is good about the job that we have in hand would be the logical option.

#2 Finding the right sources:

This tip is particularly for students or anyone interested in learning something new. Not everyone grasps things the same way. Everybody has individual preferences and own learning styles. One might understand a new concept in just one read while another might need a tutor to explain it.

Based on how you learn, in the VARK model, learners are of 4 types.

1. Visual learner: Learns best through infographics, visual data such as animations explaining concepts and even charts or graphs.

2. Auditory learner: Learns best through audio lectures or discussions.

3. Read and write learner: Learns things better through reading the texts or writing down the notes.

4. Kinesthetic learner: Who learns through doing stuff. Like projects or science models.

Getting to know what learner you are is very essential in choosing the right source. For a visual learner, online animated lectures or books explaining concepts with the help of diagrams and charts would be the right source. For him, classes and typical “textbooks” would be like wearing a sweater in the summer. It sure does cover his body. But, it’s going to be uncomfortable and distracting.

When it comes to finding sources, it must be kept in mind some sources are comprehensive and elaborate while others are short and sweet. A good example is Wikipedia vs Britannica encyclopaedia. While Wikipedia is an open collaboration where various experts and learned people contribute to the articles with an ever-changing cumulative-knowledge base, Britannica encyclopaedia is an example of curated content where the editors and publishers decide what is important and needs to be published. They process the information into easily understandable lines with some really good examples and diagrams. You pay a premium for the extra effort they put in. If you can understand reading from Wikipedia, you’ll have limitless knowledge. However, one might find this task daunting as the amount of information in just a single article is huge.

For example, this article from Britannica about volcanoes (https://www.britannica.com/science/volcano) is well organised and starts from the basics like the introduction and then moves on to higher concepts while in Wikipedia, the same search term gives you an article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano) beginning with etymology. Now, for a person who knows a few things about volcanoes, reading from Wikipedia might be a better choice. For someone who has absolutely no idea about what a volcano is, Britannica would give a stronger foundation.

Find your learning niche and you can do wonders. I will make a separate video on study techniques in the future.

#3 Being consistent:

When we start something, in the beginning, we have what I call a ‘soda bottle spirit.

We start to do things promptly, put in more hours and be in maniac mode. But, as the days go by, we usually get distracted by other things that require less focus and appear to be less of a pain in the ass. By the end of the first week, most of the enthusiasm is gone. We tend to prioritise this work below unimportant things.

Parkinson’s law states that "work expands to fill the time available for its completion"

We procrastinate till the last day and then overburden ourselves and the people around us with the stress of completing the work.

Instead of this approach, consider doing things bit by bit. Being consistent is an important part of achieving something. It is as important as the achievement itself.

Be it completing your project at work or scoring well in an exam or acquiring knowledge for personal progression.

There are several ways to do this. The one that has worked for me is: to print out a calendar and write down things that I have to do. Writing things down physically gives a sense of importance. In the box, write a specific chapter or unit that you have to cover and even the time allocated for that. Have at least one week planned out. So, if you are starting on Monday, write the agenda down for all the days till Sunday. But, on Tuesday, before starting the work for that day, write down what you will be doing the next Monday. That way, you will always have the next full week planned out. Another reason to write down the things at the beginning of the day is that we tend to skip doing things over the day and if you are writing this down at the end of the day before going to bed, you are more likely to compensate for the day’s loss for the coming days and not covering new topics.

When you are making the timetable, be realistic with your expectations. A 12-hour non-stop cramming is just not practical for most of us and we end up ditching the table altogether. Starting with one to two hours of focused time per day and extending it to around 5 to 7 hours per day over 2 to 3 weeks helps to keep the stress balanced and evened out.

If you are fine with digital note-taking, you can add events to your calendars or set specific reminders.

Allocating a fixed time for work or study at the same time every day helps you develop the habit. You will find it hard and annoying for the first week or two. But, in the hindsight, you will realise that all the small efforts that you have put in daily culminated in gaining knowledge or finishing the work without hassles. Remember to give yourself breaks at regular intervals. You need to have a work-free day to relax. I would recommend taking one day off in a week.

When you are considering stationaries for the project or textbooks for the subjects, consult your professors for the most well-written books. They know better. Investing in quality stuff and good books help you stay motivated and enjoy the process. A smaller book might help you in the near future like passing an exam. But, the actual knowledge you gain from good books last long. A good book makes you learn the concept and be consistent while an easy book just helps you rote an example and vomit it out in the exam. You might have a sense of achievement in the short term. But, the concepts remain alien to you forever.

#4 Distraction-free time:

Once you have the week planned out, the next thing to do is to focus on what you have planned out. When I say focus, I mean full attention to the work for the time you have allotted.

If you have seen a horse pulling a tonga, you must have noticed what is called a blinder or a blinker that is tied to their eyes. It is done to prevent them from looking to the sides and getting distracted. When it comes to work or study, this kind of distraction-free blinker is very important.

I use what is called focus sprints. You can find various videos on YouTube about this. But, here’s my way of doing it.

See, focus sprints are just like actual sprints. But, for your mind.

These are agreed periods during which all the distractions are cut off and all the attention is given to the task at hand. Followed by a 20-minute break for complete relaxation.

In a typical focus sprint, I would set a timer for 90 minutes and keep the phone on aeroplane mode and close the doors, shut off any other distractions like radio and tv and focus completely on the topic that I am reading. Once the 90 minutes is over, I take a relaxation break when, instead of scrolling through social media, I go out for a walk, have some tea or talk to people physically. I let go of any thoughts related to what I did in the sprint. For example, if you are taking a test in the sprint and you do not perform well, do not think about the test in the break. Remember, it’s a break.

I recommend starting with one to two focus sprints per day and extending it to 3 to 4 over a month.

One trick that I have come across for the iPhone is using the shortcuts app. Create a shortcut with the following tasks when activated:

1. Set a timer for 90 minutes

2. Turn off Bluetooth

3. Turn off WiFi

4. Put the phone in aeroplane mode.

5. Optional: Send a text message to: “——“ with the text message: “Hey! I am on a focused sprint. I won’t be available for some time. Drop me a text and I will reply or call when I cam back from it.”

For when the sprint is over, I have another shortcut that just takes the phone off aeroplane mode, and turns on both wifi and Bluetooth.

Let me know about a program like this for android in the comments.

#5 Distraction-free environment:

When on a focused sprint, it is important to have a silent surrounding. But, with all the noises from outside, it might become hard to focus. Solution: Use a pair of Noise-cancelling headphones to block out all the sounds of traffic or sounds from appliances at home. The noise-cancelling feature is usually seen only on high-end headphones that are usually on the expensive end.

A cheaper alternative is Brown noise.

Brown noise is just a monotonous buzz. When you connect your headphones and play this, you will notice it for a minute. After that, you don’t even realise that this sound is being played. It helps in blocking out all the outside sounds and focussing better.

You can even turn on the fan for the same effect.

To list, I have given 5 tips to increase your productivity.

1. Being interested and finding the reasons behind the work

2. Finding the right sources for the four types of learners

3. Being consistent: using calendars and reminders

4. Distraction-free time by going on focus-sprints

5. Distraction-free environment: Blocking other sounds by using noise-cancelling headphones or brown noise.