How To Get On Top of Your Work Before It Gets On Top of You

For those of us sweating our days in the business world, productivity is the most precious of characteristics. One taste of success and we are constantly striving to make our products, marketing strategies, and ideas as efficient as possible. The question we often find ourselves asking our fellow busy-bees is “How the hell do you stay so damn productive all the time?!” But with more grace and charisma than that, of course. Being productive is one of those double-edged swords. If it doesn’t kill you, it’ll kill you! (in a good way). We’ve covered this before, what it means to have an unstoppable drive in the business world, in our article “Grit: The Power of Perseverance and Passion.” Here, we’re going to give some more advice on how Little Jack keeps things going full steam during the work day.

1. 1. Remove Distractions–this is probably the most obvious principle in achieving productivity, but definitely the hardest one to live by. When your projects are time-sensitive, tossing away your phone, deactivating your social media accounts, and even turning off your music while you work are great primitive ways of focusing on work. We know it sounds like reverting back to the stone-age, but hey, the wheel wouldn’t have even been invented if Og was chatting more than carving. If you need encouragement, take a look at how the big guys take initiative and keep themselves productive.

1. 1. Give Yourself Enough Time–whether your current project is short-term or you are steadily grinding away on a long-term project, make sure you give yourself more than enough time to accomplish your expected goal. If you anticipate an article taking you about an hour to finish, mark down a 2-hour block in your daily schedule. By over-estimating your work time you give yourself a chance to look over your work and avoid the stresses of rushing last minute (we all know that disasters always happen at the worst time, so expect that too).

1. 1. Don’t Stop Until It’s Done–Oh yeah, you know what we’re talking about here. Ahem. That’s right, persistence. This one goes hand-in-hand with point number one. Work momentum functions on the steady and consistent stream of thinking. Push yourself. A little bit of stress is actually pretty good fuel too. Check out some inspirational tweets of wisdom from these like-minded workers.

1. 1. Rethink Your Breaks–you might be familiar with taking breaks, but now, replace the ice cream soda with reading a new article, updating your website, or watching a how-to video on self-improvement (you won’t explode, we promise). If your breaks are slowing down the velocity of your day, then they need to be kicked. Your breaks should give your eyes a rest from your work, but that doesn’t mean they can’t add some zoom to your life. Productivity is not just a daytime work standard, it is a way of life. Mmm, breathe it in, baby.

1. 1. Go The Extra Mile–no doubt, you’ve heard this before from either your parents or a motivational speaker or from some disney movie, but in all seriousness, this is key in achieving your goals. Some nights you will have to skip those z’s, sometimes you will have to sacrifice your comfort and money for a greater reward (even if it doesn’t look like a reward at the time). Of course, these will be exceptional days. You’re not superman (even if you do wear spandex under your work suit). To handle those hard days, Inc. has an article on being Incredibly Productive. Get prepared, read the article!

1. And there it is, folks. These are the five main guidelines we at Little Jack use to keep ourselves on top of our work. And you all know what it’s like if you don’t stay on top of your work. Yep, lots of blood and tears. We don’t want that for anybody. Tell us how these pointers work for you!

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