Stress is one of the biggest challenges of modern life.
We’re all trying to be more productive, but our efforts so often lead to an increased amount of anxiety and tension.
High levels of stress lead to a significant drop in quality of life, and if you remain in this state for long enough, it can be detrimental to your health.
However, there is a massive misconception here.
People too easily assume that high productivity is correlated with high stress.
The false assumption is that you can’t have one without the other.
This couldn’t be more untrue, because in fact, high stress has a huge negative effect on your productivity levels.
To be in your most productive state, you need to be relaxed and in calm control.
Stress is the opposite of that.
Let’s look at the best ways you can achieve this peak state of productivity.
We’ll leave the best (and most unknown) one for last…
Organise Your Tasks
The first step to achieving productivity without stress is to get your list of tasks in order.
This will give you a genuine feeling of being in control, which will reduce your stress significantly.
You need to organise your tasks into categories and then prioritise them.
People often put off the tasks that they don’t really want to do, even if they are very important.
The funny thing is though, once you get your task list in order and tackle those unpleasant tasks, you’ll usually find that they are not so bad after all.
Another crucial step involved with task organisation is delegation. If some of your tasks can be delegated to an employee or colleague, then doing so allows you to shorten your to-do list and get more control of your agenda.
Time Management
This is another crucial aspect of achieving productivity without stress.
Without proper time management, you will not be able to tackle your to-do list in an effective way, and many things will get left behind.
There are many useful techniques and tools out there, one of which is the Pomodoro technique.
The Pomodoro technique utilises an interesting time management system, through which you perform work in short, focused intervals which are usually less than 30 minutes long.
Many people have had great results using this technique, so I’d encourage you to try it.
Another thing I like to do is set a timer for the task I am doing, and have that timer within my field of vision. This might not work for everyone, but for me I find that I am much more productive when I am working to the clock.
Another great way to assist your time management is to use a tool that prevents distractions. There are many apps that prevent you from opening distracting apps on your phone during a period of work. You can also get browser extensions that do the same.
Your Health
This is a big one. A healthy mind and body lead to you being a more productive individual with low amounts of stress.
For your mental health, taking regular breaks is always a winner. What’s better, an hour’s work at 50% productivity, or 45 minutes at 100% productivity with a 15 minute break?
Beyond breaks, decluttering is another great way to optimise your mental health for low-stress productivity. The tidier your working environment, the cleaner your thinking will be!
Proper exercise, nutrition, diet and sleep have a huge impact on your physical health, which in turn has a huge positive impact on your mental health and overall productivity levels.
These things are not optional and should be treated with as much importance as your work itself.
And now for the best bit…
The Completely Unknown Way To Achieve Productivity Without Stress
This is a hidden productivity hack that I guarantee you won’t find anywhere else.
Each individual person, including you, has their very own preferences in terms of which types of thinking they most like to engage in.
For example, I am naturally a very analytical person. My mind naturally prefers thinking tasks that involve analysis and attention to detail.
Because of this natural preference, I have great stamina for this kind of task. I can carefully analyse data and draw conclusions easily, because I naturally like that type of work.
However, if I am asked to brainstorm solutions to a new problem, which means that I need to use a lot of imaginative thinking, I can get tired easily.
It’s not that I can’t perform such tasks successfully, but I do find them a lot more challenging and my brain burns a lot more calories when it has to have a go at them.
And of course, I know other people who are the opposite. They are very creative, with brilliant imaginations that can just keep going and going.
If you give those people an analytical task, they might be quite proficient, but again, they will get tired more easily and be less productive. A mirror image of me.
Thinking is an infinitely complex subject of study, and there are many many more layers to it than just ‘analytical’ and ‘creative’.
Luckily, there is any easy way to understand all the specifics of your individual thinking preferences, as well as those of your team members if you have any.
Not only that, but it has the full backing of 47 years of research and use both in large multinational corporations and small businesses.
Thanks to the Rhodes Thinking-Intentions Profile, you can now completely lift the lid on the hidden truths behind your thinking preferences.
Once you do this and truly understand your own mind, you are in a massively strong position to understand how you match up to your tasks, so that you can optimise your approach and delegate the right things to other people – especially if you understand how they think too!
Are you ready to gain your unfair productivity advantage?
See you soon for another article. 🙂
