How to Get More Things Done in Less Time?

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Many of us are struggling continuously to be more productive and more effective. If we mean by productive get more things done in less time, than many of us go in the wrong direction. Namely, when we are faced with a bunch of tasks, big projects, and so many responsibilities, we tend to work harder and for longer hours. And, that approach is completely opposite of productivity. Moreover, we often try to overcompensate and multitask. However, according to a recent study, people who multitask need more time to finish their work. Namely, when we switch between the tasks, we need additional 15 minutes to resume the work. Furthermore, we usually stay in a so-called mixed mode never attaining full focus on a task before us. The reason for that is simple – when we frequently switch between the tasks, it becomes harder to concentrate for shorter periods of time. For that reason, experts suggest dividing our work into 90-minute chunks and then take a break. To find out more about how to get more done in less time, the article “The Science of Productivity” offers us the following insight.

The first thing to acknowledge in the pursuit of getting more done is the mountain of evidence that suggests willpower alone will not be enough to stay productive.

According to research by Janet Polivy, our brain fears big projects and often fails to commit to long-term goals because we’re susceptible to “abandoning ship” at the first sign of distress.

Think of the last time you went on a failed diet.

You stocked your fridge with the healthiest foods & planned to exercise every day… until the first day you slipped up. After that, it was back to your old ways.

To make matters worse, research by Kenneth McGraw was able to show that the biggest wall to success was often just getting started. Additional research in this area suggests that we’re prone to procrastinating on large projects because we visualize the worst parts; the perfect way to delay getting started.

According to researcher John Bargh, your brain will attempt to simulate real productive work by avoiding big projects and focusing on small, mindless tasks to fill your time.

There is one more thing that can help us get more things done in less time. In many situations, our thoughts wander from one subject to another, or from one worry to another. These thoughts certainly slow our performance and blur our mind. If we stay grounded in a present moment, thinking only of a task we are working on, our mind will be clear and sharp. That will enable us to work faster and our work will be of better quality. Therefore, there is no need for long working hours and hard work. Simply put, we should learn to work smarter not harder. Only smart work will help us be more productive and get more things done in less time.