7 Productivity Tips For Those Feeling Burnt Out Or Unmotivated
Are you feeling burnt out or unmotivated lately? You’re not alone. A lot of people have been feeling discouraged and unmotivated to do even the simplest tasks whether they’re at work, at home, or with big and long-term goals. Sometimes, all you need are a few tips to be more productive on those days where you’re feeling burnt out.
Start including action items in your to-do list.
And when I say action items, I mean active verbs. Start by including words like “write” or “complete” or “email” or “find” instead of writing a specific item. If you’re anything like me, then sometimes you’ll write something like, “Meeting at 10 a.m.” But instead, in order to be prepared for the meeting, write a task the day before that looks like, “Prepare for meeting tomorrow at 10 a.m.” And whatever that looks like — that can be “Brainstorm ideas for creative meeting at 10 a.m.” This has elevated my productivity (and creativity) SO much.
Take breaks that don’t include your phone.
I am a big proponent of taking breaks. In fact, a little too much fan of breaks. What I’ve been trying to do is taking breaks without my phone. When I get on my phone, I get sucked into the wild world of social media and what everyone is doing. That’s not very productive if you have a busy day. Some things that I do are watch a YouTube video (although this can be similar to social media!), read a book for 15 minutes, take a short walk, make a snack, play with my dog, or tidy up a space in my apartment.
Focus on one task at a time.
There is this thing called “monotasking” and it has revolutionized my productivity. Instead of multitasking, I focus on “monotasking,” or focusing on one task. Don’t try to knock out two tasks at once. This may look like, “I’m just going to do this one thing while I work on this other thing.” Focus your energy onto one task at a time — it will lessen your stress levels.
Prioritize tasks.
I like to list out “my big three” tasks. If you can do it in five minutes, just do it already. This tip helped me a lot. As a chronic procrastinator, I tend to put things off until the last possible minute. But if a task only takes five minutes to do, then just do it right then and there. If it takes longer than 15 minutes, then consider putting it off.
Do the hardest and most complicated things first.
This depends on your energy levels and whether you get more work done in the morning or evenings, but it helps a ton when you do the hardest and most complicated tasks first. You get them out of the way … and you have more time to complete the easier and more fun tasks! Motivation is good, and I like to look up motivation quotes to motivate me to do things, but what I’ve learned is these tasks take discipline. Even if it’s not work-related, I have learned that it takes discipline to work out 3x a week every week — not motivation.
Identify your most productive time of day.
This goes back to my earlier point in doing the hardest and most complicated things first, but identify your most productive time of day. Identify your energy levels and when you get things done! For me, I like to get a lot of things done in the morning and then have time to check emails, finish anything I didn’t finish on previous days, and so on. This is probably the biggest productivity tip that I can give you … and honestly, the one that you should start with.
Drink water.
I write this as I have my large Stanley water bottle next to me. Drink water!! When you’re feeling burnt out, your body is most likely depleted. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Need I say more?
And those are my productivity tips! These are the tips that helped me, so if you have any more, feel free to drop them in the comments below because I’m always looking for more room to grow in this area!