4 ways to be more productive, according to experts

These science-based hacks will help you get more done, with less stress
How to be more productive according to experts

Our brains are ancient, and not always equipped for the demands of modern life – being constantly connected or manically multitasking, for example.

Neuroscientists, faculty at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and the founders of the Becoming Superhuman lab, Dr Sahar Yousef and Lucas Miller, are experts at teaching busy professionals how to get their most important tasks done, in less time, and with less stress. Their advice: that we learn to work with our brains and bodies – instead of against them. As we return to the office after two years or continue to WFH, these are the tips and tricks to be your most productive self.

Here are the 4 ways to boost your productivity and get more done

1. Minimise visual and auditory distractions

Our brains are constantly scanning the environment for signs of danger, a hangover from the days when being vigilant was the difference between life and death. Even if you’re sitting in a plush office, peering at your iMac with a Starbucks coffee on your desk, your brain is wired to assess your surroundings for any threats to your safety. It’s registering every time your colleague gets up to go to the loo, or to make a call because 30-40% of your brain’s real estate is dedicated to processing what you're seeing and hearing.

Because visual distractions reduce productivity and decrease cortisol, and auditory distractions make you slower by almost 10 per cent, Yousef and Miller suggest protecting your sensory systems. Create a visual barrier if you can; face a wall/away from foot traffic. Hide self-view when on a Zoom call. Wear noise-cancelling headphones. Listen to music with no lyrics or lyrics you don’t understand. Or cue the same playlist to listen to on loop so it doesn’t distract you.

2. The biggest drain on your cognitive resources is your phone

This one could be a book, a feature-length read or a Ted Talk. Here is the short version.

3. Be the driver of your day, not a passenger

Too often, we start our days checking our phones, and end them scrolling through Instagram. When you wake up and immediately start replying to messages, emails, Insta messages, you’re responding on auto-pilot and letting others dictate how you start your day. Instead, Dr Yousef and Miller suggest creating phone-free buffer zones at the beginning and end of your day. Use an alarm clock to wake up. Check in with yourself, set your agenda for the day, and then look at your phone when you’re ready. At night, the phone’s blue light interferes with your circadian rhythm making it harder to fall asleep. Which is just one more reason to avoid scrolling on your phone before bed.

4. Prioritise your most important tasks vs your least important tasks

We’re wired to seek reward and avoid pain. We do what we do to trigger the release of dopamine. But there is slow dopamine release, when we complete a complex task (preparing an important presentation) and fast dopamine release when we complete an easy task, quickly (say, answering emails). We tend to get the faster tasks out of the way because completing them makes us feel good and procrastinate on the larger, more difficult tasks.

A simple hack: List down your two or three Most Important Tasks in a day, and complete those first. Then use the few slots in between meetings, tasks, etc to get the smaller stuff out of the way. Soon those “But I’ve been busy all day, why does it feel like I haven’t got anything done?” days will be the exception instead of the norm.

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