Five tips to work more productively, focus and get stuff done

Do you struggle to make as much progress as you'd like to? Do you have a to-do list where nothing seems to be completed so you feel you're doing something wrong? You might be

juggling work, home-schooling and working out how to stay productive over the coming weeks and months.

Here are a few tips to help you:

1. Recognise that being productive isn’t just work, work, work

Keeping a healthy routine right now is important. Working all hours to stay afloat is a reality for a lot of business owners but it takes its toll. Making time for family, time off, healthy eating, exercise and sleep is more important than ever. Knowing when to log off and being intentional with non-work-related time will give you a better sense of wellbeing.

2. Write down everything that’s on your mind

Create a mindmap of everything you need to do; home, work, finances, business operations - get it all out onto one page. Do this whenever you feel overwhelmed as it breaks the logical

flow of ‘list making’ and removes the hierarchy of tasks. Write down everything on your mind, then put a star next to the things you can control. We have a lot in our circle of concern, but

we can’t control everything in there. Spend your energy on what you can control or influence.

3. Put a 'S' next to the strategic tasks and an 'I' next to the important bits

Focus on what’s strategic - what’s going to help your business over the next few days, weeks and months. A strategic action is an intentional decision which gives your business the best chance to thrive and differentiate from your competitors. Important tasks aren’t necessarily strategic but need to get done. And don’t forget, urgent isn’t always important.

4. Block out regular times in your calendar to get tasks done and create structure

Allocate focused work time for strategic tasks when you have the most energy and delegate the lower tasks to less productive hours. Slot in exercise, playtime, dinner etc. to give your

day structure. Videocalls can be draining so don’t let these creep into your most productive time slots!

5. For the time being, plan and focus on the near-future of your business

Yearlong plans are great, but they can come out again in a few weeks. Right now, focus on what you need to do immediately and over the next few weeks and months.

Emma Mills-Sheffield is the owner of Mindsetup Ltd and led a Brighton Chamber Bite-sized Learning: “How to become more productive” on 17 March. For more information about Brighton

Chamber online training and networking events, visit brightonchamber.co.uk

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well. With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy.

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: "Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role."

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

In addition, please write to your MP urging the Government to provide some additional financial support for local newspapers and their websites like this one and ensuring that supermarkets continue to stock them. I cannot stress enough how important such an intervention would be.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.