It can be very easy to become trapped in the thought that because you are working at a computer, you are being productive. Wrong.
Think back to when we only used a pen and paper, there were no adverts popping up, no ‘quick view’ email notifications, and certainly no instant messenger services. Apart from the odd doodling session, we were reasonably focussed, right?
So let’s take a look at what it is that might be restricting our productivity while working on these brilliant machines.
Tabs. Tabs. Tabs.
Similar to having a very untidy physical desk, having a messy desktop with multiple windows and tabs open is not great.
Our attention is easily swayed when we start rooting through old links, screenshots and various Buzzfeed tabs that have ‘mysteriously opened themselves up’. But, of course, they were necessary to your digital marketing strategy newsletter.
Emails.
Probably the best and worst invention that ever graced our monitors, the dreaded email comes with time-consuming scrolling, and relentless draft-making.
Select dedicated hours in which you respond to emails, preferably one hour in the morning and one in the evening; a maximum of a 12-hour response time shouldn’t be an issue for most businesses.
Update Requests.
Most programmes will encourage you to allow for ‘automatic updates’ instead of constantly asking to be reminded later or try again tomorrow.
This saves the agitating feeling, almost like constantly pressing the snooze button. Allow it to be completed in the background while you crack on with more pressing matters.
Dual Screening.
If you have programmes open, that are necessary, but do not need to be looked at constantly or aren’t being worked on, have them on a second screen.
One of the best benefits of dual screening is the ability to multi-task without being distracted by recurring notifications or spammy emails that catch your eye.
Give these four tips a go. If they seem to help, let us here at i3 know and we’ll release the next batch for you guys!
Go on, be productive.