By Charles Brian

We all lead a hectic and busy lifestyle. But do you realise that some people around you are able to handle everything that comes along their life with a breeze and yet seem to do so in a laid-back manner? This is while most of us are struggling to make ends meet.

Have you wondered what is their secret? Why are they able to be stress-free, ready to go and have everything at their finger tips? Here are tips to do so:

Tip 1: Kick the tasks off our brain

Kick the tasks out of our brain and plan to do it. We often have millions of "to-do" items, task, or ideas on our head and spend time procrastinating to act on them. Instead of using brain power to remember them, we should kick the items off on paper and use our brain cells in a more productive way. Writing these items down not only helps you to clear the mind, and is also a step closer to working on the task.

Tip 2: Organise a time schedule

Jumping straight into the work without prioritising is an ineffective way to do work. The proven and effective way is to prioritise and organise your time well. Divide your working hours into slots- for example, 20 minutes to clear emails, two hours to produce the presentation slides required for a project. Prioritise your work by focusing on the important and urgent things to do in the morning. This can be followed by items which are less important and easier to complete. This will make your work seemingly easier at the same time.

Tip 3: Leverage on other's time

Leveraging on other's time to achieve your objective is a powerful tactic, if used well. This is different from making us of others. Leveraging on other's time means empowering employees or co-workers or even outsourced workers to do the job for you. But of course, you would need to think about what it is the "catch" for them to do so.

Tip 4: Reward yourself

Do not be daunted by the pressure of completing a massive project. It may seem like a daunting hill to climb, but it will not be if you break down the work into "manageable portions" to work on. Pace yourself and celebrate small wins at every milestone. Upon finishing the massive project, give yourself a pat on the back and reward yourself with a big reward.

Tip 5: Set some personal time

One of the common aspects overlooked by most Americans is that they do not stop to smell the roses, despite a highly hectic lifestyle. Plan and set aside time (recommended 15-20mins) everyday to relax and do something you find enjoyable. Forget about checking on emails, or asking calls related to work. This is the time for you to just recharge yourself. You will come to work energised and productive after the breaks.

Tip 6: Leverage on technology

Most would agree that technology is a double-edged sword. Use them to your advantage by leveraging to do planning, simple task management, and for information sharing. In order to not get caught in the rat race of using more technology, keep it simple to a task manager that can meet your needs and suits you.

Tip 7: Keep Growing

The world is so dynamic and fluid these days. One should never stop learning and if we do, we are risking our ability to produce good work. Always value-add to yourself development by experimenting with new things, reading, and acquiring new knowledge. To maximise on productivity, leverage on the time spent travelling to work, during workouts or even waiting to read.

Tip 8: Kill away all distractions

This is the most powerful tip among all. Our life is cluttered with so many distractions that makes productivity seems impossible. Make a resolution to improve on things today, because procrastination does not help, but will only make our life less productivity.