SA Franchise Warehouse

Franchisee life hacks to optimise your productivity

Productivity is something that rises and falls like the ebb and flow of the ocean. Some days you might find yourself taking the day in your stride, then on others it seems like you’re just not ticking anything off your to-do list. Fortunately there are tips and tricks which you can employee to ensure you make the most of your day – no matter what your job entails. Managing Executive of The Fish & Chip Co, Jan de Beer shares some ‘life hacks’ to enhance your productivity on a daily basis.

The term ‘life hack’ refers to any tool or activity that you can use to optimise areas of your life that need some improvement. It certainly does not refer to hacking computers, if that was what you were thinking. When it comes to increasing productivity, whether you own a business, work for a company or even if you are a student, here are some hacks that you can use to maximise your productivity every day.

Get a good start
Have a hearty breakfast. Often referred to as the most important meal of the day, even the word ‘breakfast’ indicates its importance, as this meal helps to break the fast that the body has endured since the night before, making it important for good reason, as energy is needed to get the body up and going. Without it, the body is essentially running on empty, which is never a good start to any day. This is why The Fish & Chip Co. has now introduced breakfasts onto its menus as we know that breakfast not only adds fuel for increased energy to make it through the day, but also assists in firing up the brain and increases cognitive functions – and in turn, enhancing productivity.

Eliminate all distractions
Nothing breaks your stride like a distraction. Whether it be your phone, email notifications or social media, try and minimise their usage as best you can while completing a task. Schedule certain periods of the day to check these items – say in the morning, around lunchtime and a few hours before you clock off – just to be sure you don’t miss anything urgent. The Facebook notification and whatsApp message can wait – especially when you are running late.

Complete the task you dread the most, first
Whether it be writing a report or compiling something for your boss, gather your energy to tackle the biggest ‘headache’ of your day first. Procrastination is an ugly thing and is sure to cause trouble when at the end of the day the deadline for that dreaded task looms over your head. Aside from actually getting the task done, you will also feel a great sense of accomplishment – which is sure to fuel you for the other mundane tasks that lie ahead.

Follow the two-minute rule
Simply put; if you are faced with a task that will take less than two minutes to complete, start to finish, then just get it done. Often our to-do lists are too full of mundane activities that could have been resolved had they been completed as they had popped up.

On the flip side avoid multitasking
While it is good to complete silly tasks as they come up, don’t let these distract you from the bigger tasks at hand. Research has shown that multitasking is not productive as there are so many things to focus on that somewhere, something will be done half-heartedly. For optimum productivity, focus on one thing at a time.

In the end, the way your day turns out will depend on what you choose to make of it. Always remember that you will only have this day once – there are no do-overs – so make the decision daily to squeeze as much goodness out of it as possible.