Productivity: A Guide to Optimising Your Workflow

Real Skills Education
3 min readFeb 7, 2021

It’s funny how we procrastinate by reading articles and watching videos (which are abundant) on how to be more productive. This article intends to help with just that.

by Cynthia Huynh

Tip 1: Morning Routines

Your workflow begins the very moment you wake up and an unproductive start to the day can throw you completely off track. 2 things to keep in mind to help you develop a sustainable and productive morning routine:

  • Avoid social media: Five minutes always turns into twenty and one more video usually means seven mores. Even if you stick to your limit, you can get distracted by a post you had seen earlier.
  • Avoid carbs: For most, carbs like rice, pasta and bread will give you a food coma and wanting to take a nap in the morning is a no for productivity.

Tip 2: Night Routines

The main goal of night routines is to get you into a zen-mode so that you can sleep at a reasonable time.

  • Go Aeroplane Mode: Notifications are proven to induce stress and our immediate response to check our phone stems from the need to feel secure. Consider alternatives that can help you unwind such as yoga, meditation, listening to a podcast or a ted talk.

Tip 3: Sticking to Schedules

A productive schedule requires a balance between responsibility and enjoyment.

  • Plan out your day or week using apps like google calendar, notions or excel.
  • Be realistic and avoid scheduling a day that requires you to work 5 hours straight as off putting schedules can lead to nothing being done.

Tip 4: Procrastination

Procrastination can be the result of two things — you’re anxious or you’re uninterested.

  • Anxiety: Schedules are a must if a certain task stresses you out. Break each task into smaller tasks and tick them off as an accomplishment once it’s done — if sitting at your desk is a task then so be it. The hardest part is to start doing the task, however, once you build momentum, you are more likely to keep the streak going.
  • Disinterest: If you’re putting something off because you find it boring, ask yourself why it is important to get it done now. Once you’ve outlined how a mundane task will benefit you or allow yourself a reward upon completion you are more likely to carry the task out.

Tip 5: The Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique focuses on time management, where if you’re a person who has a tendency to procrastinate, you will be more productive working with the time you have as opposed to giving yourself unlimited time.

  • This study method requires working for 25 minutes followed by a 5 minute break and repeats 4 to 5 times where you have a longer break of 30 minutes. A study concluded that having shorter breaks helps you stay focus. Hence, this can be highly effective for those who have a short-attention span and can help them build a productive momentum.

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Real Skills Education

Offering professional development and a mission to cultivate self-sufficient and confident young individuals who in turn will lead and teach future generations.