ADRIANA GIRDLER'S TEN
OUTSIDE-THE-BOX PRODUCTIVITY
MASTER HACKS
Skills and strategies to excel in your career
1. TREAT CERTAIN TASKS LIKE ROYALTY PRODUCTIVITY MATTERS.
Not everything on your to-do list will be equally important. Identify which
tasks take priority and give those tasks the best treatment. Don’t simply walk
through your to-do list in order of how you wrote it. Organize and prioritize!
"This 'just getting
2. Be honest with yourself by' world we live in is not
Know when you have the most focus and energy so you can maximize your effective or efficient....
productivity at those times. If you’re most focused and energized in the
mornings, get your most difficult or time-consuming tasks done then. If Determine how you will
you’re not a morning person, don’t expect yourself to finish a project before change your ways of
the sun rises. Organize your day in a way that will enhance your focus and
performance. working that will allow you
to work smarter, not
3. Inhale, Exhale... Productivity harder."
Take a long, deep breath. Doing intentional breathing keeps you in the present
moment, which boosts your effectiveness. - Adriana Girdler
4. Keep a 'to-do' list and a 'ta-da' list
You will constantly feel overwhelmed from having too much to do if you never give credit
to the tasks you have accomplished. Just like you would keep a to-do list, keep a ‘ta-da’
list as well (in other words, a ‘done’ list). At the end of every day, take note of all the tasks
you worked on (even if you didn’t completely finish them) and you will be left with a
sense of accomplishment to take into the next day.
5. Eat your frog
Start your work time by completing the most important, laborious task (aka – your frog).
Our natural instincts tell us to do the easy stuff now and save the more difficult tasks for
later. Don’t procrastinate by giving in to this!
6. Don't commit to unhappiness
Even though your big, long-term goal may be where your focus ultimately is, don’t
commit only to celebrating when you’ve reached that mark. By celebrating your small
wins and being happy about each step you take towards your goal, you’ll motivate
yourself to continue pressing towards the big goal.
7. Group
It
When you can help it, organize your schedule in such a way that similar tasks are
grouped together. For example, if you need to schedule 3 separate phone calls, schedule
them back to back within the same day so you can knock them all out of the park at
once. You’ll spend less time moving from one task to another, and you’ll feel a greater
sense of accomplishment at the end of the day knowing you finished all your important
calls for the week.
8. Take a REAL Break
We’ve all heard about the importance of taking breaks, but are your breaks truly
effective? Here’s a secret: Checking your email or social media is not an adequate break.
It only becomes the next thing for you to focus on. Instead of sitting on social media for
20 minutes when you need a breather, take a walk, lay down for a quick nap, grab a
snack or do a short meditation. If you still want to peek at your socials, just make sure
"OUR TRUE WORK
it’s not for longer than a couple minutes. Anything longer than that is NOT productive!
9. A morning routine... But the opposite
HAPPENS WHEN People often emphasize the importance of a morning routine. Morning routines are a
sure way to set up your day for success, but what about debriefs? An end-of-day routine
could include anything from jotting down a quick reflection, to taking a walk, to writing
WE'RE ABLE TO down your to-do’s for the next day to close off your work day nicely.
10. Go for a log
FOCUS ON TASKS If we’re being honest with ourselves, most of us don’t even know exactly how wisely
we’re spending our time. Commit to keeping a time log throughout your day where you
WITHOUT write down what you’re doing and for how long. It may surprise you how long you take on
a certain task. This is a fool-proof explanation for why you haven’t gotten as much done
at work as you thought you would have.
INTERRUPTION."
- Adriana Girdler
