Productivity is an amazing resource, and for those who know how to do it well, everyone can attest to getting more and better work done. These five tools and techniques will help you not only start to be productive put keep you there.

1. Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique stems from the Italian word for Tomato, pomodoro. The entire program starts with a kitchen timer, the one used when this technique developed looks like a tomato. This technique isn’t simply about seeing time as a constraint, but rather to see time as a multivariate resource. By being able to allocate, plan, and use the methods to change your perspective as a whole about time, lets you be more able to use time more efficiently.

2. Tackle Tasks One At A Time

Of course time here is your primary commodity. The more you get out of it, the better you use it, time becomes your friend. By multitasking, you reduce the ability to tackle efficiency. Your best bet to allocate time correctly is to take tasks one at a time.

Start by making a list of what is due for the day. Prioritize the tasks at hand, because the more time consuming or more important tasks should be the ones that require your most undivided attention. Once they are out of the way, you can sit back and tackle the tasks that “matter less”.

Use a note pad and write these lists out, scratch them off when done. The visual aspect of knowing what’s done and what is not is psychologically important, especially having a feeling of accomplishment. Chris Brogan and Mashable have both recently advocated not even checking email until later in the day.

3. Reevaluate Your Workspace

Lifehacker has made this a 10 point list. By using a new desk, taking pictures to find clutter spots, and many DIY tools let you find places where productivity is lost. Once you have found where productivity is lost you then have the ability to go back and change what’s necessary to improve.

4. Shut Off

If it’s not being used for your work, shut it off.  Get rid of it. Toss it aside. Any other way to say it, think of it. This one goes hand in hand with multitasking. Additional tabs open? Close them.

Cell phone texts? Turn it off.

5. Fina a Good Place To Work

Although, this can kind of go hand in hand with reevaluating your workspace, being able to have the right starting platform for work location is also key. This can mean working from home, coworking, Starbucks, wherever you feel fit the most. Wherever you decide to work from though, be sure to establish good habit patters. Once those are established, your productivity will be linked to your mind. Check out Mashable’s 37 Productivity Tips for Working From Anywhere.

What productivity resources do you use? Leave them in the comments!

Note: This is my 200th post on GregdeLima.com (I’m throwing a party in my mind!)

When was the last time, during a work day, that you took an honest-to-goodness nap. Whether you went home and took one or sat in the break room for 20-30 minutes and just napped.

While this might go contrary to about 100% of businesses in the U.S., as a college student, like many, I am a firm believer in quality nap time. This 30-minute part of my day is one that increases productivity, mental awareness, and physical stamina. During my time in Spain this was only reinforced by the type of workday they had. Like the American schedule they would begin their workday at 9am and work until 2 or 3pm (most commonly 2). They would then take a two hour break, and come back to work at 4-5pm and work until 6-8pm. That two hour break is the reason that 5 Hour Energy only exists in the U.S.

In that two hour break time workers have time to go home, see their family, eat lunch, take a nap, and come back to work. They are still getting a full day’s work and in fact are more productive because of it. Now I’m not saying sit around your workplace and nap at your desk so you can increase productivity later, but go home, relax, take a load off your shoulders then worry about it when you get back to the office. You’ll have a clearer mind, a more focused mind, and you will be a hell of a lot better for it just because of a 30 minute nap.

Think about it, if you work from home give it a shot.

What do you think? Leave a comment and thanks for reading my 200th blog post!

We all know note taking is a pain, but there are ways to take notes efficiently and make them easy to understand when you come back to them. But most importantly is committing the notes to memory. So here are a few ways on taking notes, and helping keep them in memory. Image from infomaniac

• Write what you hear – Unfortunately you probably won’t get the opportunity to go back and hear what was said unless you tape record; so go ahead and write whatever you heard. Or if you forgot just skip it and keep writing. Whatever you do don’t stop. Make sure your writing remains somewhat legible and that will still be good.

• Go Back- When you get the chance go back to your notes, review them and re-write them! Re-write them: Shorter, More concise, More Legibly. What this will do is this will let you commit them to memory while re-writing them. This goes for flash cards too, it’s not reading flash cards that helps it’s making them. The act of writing and going over what you have done once a second time, lets the information go from temporary memory to permanent memory.
• Read it Aloud – Go through your notes and read them aloud. Do they make sense to you, are they logical, and how much of it do you remember?

Note taking tends to be a skill, write them so you can understand them, and re-write them so you can remember them.

Good Luck!

Don’t you hate when someone leaves you this obscenely long voicemail, and then once you’ve finally reached the end, you STILL don’t know what they wanted from you? Yeah, well, I hate that. The same goes for emails. The whole point of these communication devices is for the point to be made quickly, and a reply expected soon.

For Voicemail

• Name – Always first, say who it is, so the recipient isn’t bouncing about trying to find out who called.
• Brief – Make your messages short and to the point. Establish what you’re calling for and why, and do it quickly.
• Number – Say it clearly, and say it TWICE (2x), Twice… Let them know who they need to call.
• Request – Make sure the recipient knows what you want from them, so when they call you back they know what the discussion will be about. if they don’t know, why would they call you back?

For Emails

• Short and Brief – Same with Voicemails, cut out unnecessary comments and phrases. Make the points plainly obvious so that the recipient can read and go on to the next email.
• Replies – Replies should only be used if there are unanswered questions in the email, or if an attachment is needed etc. If you don’t NEED to reply, Don’t.
• Signatures – Always include a formatted signature with your: Name, Position, Email, and Forms of telephone contact, ie: Voicemail, Mobile, Office etc. That way the recipient knows multiple ways in which to contact you, and it’s included automatically in all emails. For example my signature reads:

Greg de Lima
gregdelima@gmail.com
Mobile: 1.xxx.xxx.xxxx

SURPRISE!

Yeah, there really is such a thing as productivity. Even in the life of a college kid I can realize that. Whether it’s finally convincing myself to come to the library and work, or sitting in my dorm to do it. I actually get most of my blogs done here where I am in the Library or at 1AM in my dorm room. So for the ultimate productivity you really have to find what works for you, everyone else has their niche as to how the work best.

Now here are some simple points to help increase your productivity and get work done!

• Work Space – Consider this place your sanctuary, almost like your bathroom. Try to make it as cozy and home-like as possible. Don’t make it too cozy though, you don’t want to be falling asleep on your work. Do your best to keep the clutter out of the way, and keep the task at hand in front of you.
• Computer – Keep the Desktop organized, keep Icons that you use up and easily accessible to decrease time looking for them. Also, and this is a purely aesthetic thing, keep a desktop background that makes you feel comfortable, and happy, in other words, Feng-Shui, or Zen.
• When and Where? - Work when it’s best for you, this skips out you 9-5 guys. If you’re like me you can tend to crank out some of the BEST work at night. The reasoning for that is there are less people, less distractions and more quiet. There is simply less around you to let things get in the way.
• Music? – I tend to work better with music playing, why I don’t know, it keeps me focused. If you work better with music, try Rhapsody, or bring music on a thumb drive.
• Kill…The… STRESS! – Some say stress pressures them to get through their objectives on time, and to be more productive. But really, what good does it do for you in the long run… It kills you, literally.  Keep soft deadlines, or even make a deadline before the hard deadline. This will help you get your project done, and then have time to revise and edit it. Listen to relaxing music, and eat properly while working, this helps keep your natural body functions in order so you don’t go out of whack. Keep away from cramming your work in at the last minute, this will essentially create poor work. Space out your timing while working and look where and  how things should be done to reduce stress.

Hope these help!

-Greg de Lima