Quick Tips to Dramatically Increase your Productivity and Reduce Stress

Stress has many causes. One cause is feeling overwhelmed with everything on our to do list, especially the ones in our head and our subconscious selves. The shear number of things to do can create stress. So can guilt when we don’t feel like we are getting enough done.

We can reduce the stress caused by being overwhelmed and by “productivity guilt.” I define productivity guilt as the guilt we feel when we don’t believe we got enough done or the right things done. Here are a few things you can do to get more done with less stress.

• Block off a sizable amount of time on your calendar each day to work uninterrupted on the most important projects in your life. These can be professional or personal projects but devote daily or weekly time to them. 
• Block off daily time for personal devotions and prayer. If we don’t schedule it, it will not happen. We need to be spiritually growing and healthy if we are to be spiritually useful to others, to God’s kingdom and to our schools. 
• Do NOT attempt to multitask. You can’t multi-task and be optimally productive. Every time you move from one thing to another it takes approximately two minutes to refocus sufficient attention to be most effective. Stay on task.
• Write all of your to do’s down in a to-do/project application. If you don’t your mind will be in constant overload trying to subconsciously or consciously keep track of everything. This increases stress and saps energy. Inevitably it will result in forgetting to do something important, thus adding stress.
• Maximize the benefits of technology. Technology is a two-edged sword. On one hand it can make us more productive. It can also destroy our productivity. The technology itself is neutral. It is what we do with it that determines whether it increases our productivity and decreases stress or is a distraction and source of additional stress. Here are tips for mastering your technology so it does not master you:
  • Turn off most notifications on your electronic devices. I allow only two types of notifications: calendar events so I don’t forget appointments and text messages to ensure that I don’t miss an urgent message from school if I’m off campus.
  • Find and use the best applications for your devices but reduce the number you use—simplify. Once you have selected the applications, take time to learn how to use them well. Doing so will make you more productive. Here is a list of the applications I use. Although I use these on my Apple devices (Macbook Pro, iPad Pro, iPhone, and Apple Watch), there are comparable programs for Windows and Google.
    • Have one bucket for the information you need when you need it. I use DEVONThink for this. All of my meeting notes, project resources, research, and important personal reference documents, e.g., receipts, tax papers, etc., reside in DEVONThink.

• Have a good to-do/project application to track your projects and to-dos. Use it consistently. I use Things 3. It is powerful yet simple to use. 

• I use Fantastical for my calendar. It uses natural language for entering events and has powerful search. 

• Have one or two applications for writing and presentations. I use Scrivener for composing all communications, articles, and presentation notes. I use Apple Keynote when I need slides. 

• I like to mind map my articles and major projects before beginning on them. I use the simple to use but powerful Mindnode for mind mapping. 

• Batch process emails once or twice a day. Do not spend too much time in long email threads. My rule of thumb is that if I have to respond more than twice to a topic by email, I pick up the phone and call or go to the person’s office to address the issue. This is much faster in the long run and builds positive relationships.
  • Use a powerful email client. I find web clients such as Gmail to be clunky. The Spark email application is superb. It has the ability to set alerts so that if you don’t receive a reply to your email within a specified period of time you will receive an alert reminding you that you did not receive a reply. And yes, I only have one email in my inbox. I work hard to process email in a timely fashion. My inbox is NOT a reminder app., I use Things for that. Email is processed once and archived. 

• Curtail social media use; most of it is a waste of time. It also poses significant risks to your privacy.  

• Exercise, lose weight, and get enough sleep. You will feel better, have more energy, be more mentally alert, reduce stress, and be more productive. We know what to do. Our problem is having the discipline to do it. This is not complex, but it is hard. Just do it. Reduce what you eat, reduce/eliminate most sugar, and get moving. The good news is that it does not take much exercise for significant mental and physical benefit.

• Get enough sleep. It is difficult to work when you are tired. As Benjamin Franklin said, “early to bed and early to rise makes one healthy, wealthy and wise.”