Being highly successful means staying on-task and efficient in your day-to-day workload. Entrepreneur Rahim Hassanally shares some top tips on being productive for professionals and business owners who want to work smarter and not harder.
7 Tips to Increase Productivity
Entrepreneur Rahim Hassanally recommends seven tips that will help you improve your focus and productivity. He has spent his life building his company from the ground up, modeling his success on what he saw from his parents as they built a chain of hotels in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area.
Write Everything Down
There are two reasons Rahim Hassanally recommends writing things down. One, it will get things off your mind so that you aren’t focused on tasks you aren’t currently doing. It will also help you remember the things you were thinking about so you can revisit them later.
Write down ideas you may have for future projects, tasks you want to do later, and other things that might be important or weighing on your mind. At the end of the day, you can revisit your notes to see if anything should be transferred to the next day’s list or a brainstorm list.
Stay Active and Fit
Keeping your body active also releases stress and improves focus. Rahim Hassanally also says this is very important for reducing risk factors for serious health issues, including breast cancer. His work with breast cancer awareness nonprofits includes financial support that has totaled over $10,000 for organizations like the Susan G. Komen foundation.
“It’s been widely demonstrated that, both in the U.S. and around the world, cancer rates can be reduced by promoting better awareness of the disease,” said advocate Rahim Hassanally from his office in Solano County, California. Fitting activity into the day is one way to keep the body healthy, improve productivity through mental focus and reduce the risk of breast cancer.
Do the Worst Tasks First
There are some tasks that take more focus and effort than others. Most of the time, the brain is fresher earlier in the day and more prepared to do difficult tasks. So, Rahim Hassanally recommends pushing yourself to start with those hard tasks first.
“Even if you aren’t a morning person, knock out those hard tasks right after your breakfast, first cup of coffee or morning workout,” recommends Hassanally. “You will start the day feeling accomplished and it’s basically smooth sailing from there.”
Choose One or Two Goals
Overloading your to-do list is a surefire way to feel overwhelmed and unmotivated. Hassanally recommends writing down your list of tasks for the day, but only focusing on the top one or two most important ones.
“Prioritize your goals,” he says. “And then, focus on just one task at a time until they are done. This allows you to put your full focus on getting one thing done well and you will have less time spent trying to juggle tasks. The more overwhelmed or overloaded you feel, the more you need to set your sights on ONLY one task at a time or your brain will be distracted while you are working.”
Remove the Distractions
Your phone can be your worst enemy, says Hassanally. While the phone, internet, apps, and software offer professionals many advantages, they also provide many distractions.
He suggests putting the phone away when you aren’t using it directly for a project or task. He also recommends turning off most alerts and notifications.
“The fewer beeps, rings, and vibrations, the better,” Hassanally says. “You can even get an app to stop you from getting on social media throughout the day so you aren’t tempted. Avoid even news sites unless they are part of your current task. You might feel like you are being productive, but the news is just as distracting as anything else and will kill your productivity.”
Eat Foods for Energy
Food can fuel the body or slow it down. Hassanally says to be productive, you need to know what foods are going to make you feel tired and sluggish. While many professionals try to use caffeine to boost their energy, Hassanally says eating a balanced diet and drinking plenty of water will actually give you more long-term energy. Foods, like berries, celery, bananas, and fish can offer a lot of natural energy.
“Eat well so you can protect your body,” says Hassanally. “We only get one body and we have to protect it. Nutrition is so important for improving our strength and immune system. Alcohol added sugars, processed foods, and fat can increase health risks for issues like heart disease, diabetes, and breast cancer. So, choose more raw and natural foods to help your body stay as healthy as possible.”
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