Tag: productivity

4 Secrets To Staying Productive During Summer

On July 23, 2020

It’s not easy to stay focused and productive during the summer months. Fortunately, it’s not impossible. Whether you’re focused on your studies or holding down the fort at the office, here are a few ways you can stay on track during the next few weeks.

Remember Your Goals

Staying motivated can be difficult when it seems like everyone around you is on vacation mode. It’s never been more important to keep track of your goals. Write them down and stick them somewhere you’ll always see. Keep the ball rolling by focusing on self-improvement: Learn a new skill, improve on your favorite hobbies, and take on more responsibilities.

Stick To A Routine

A routine can make your day-to-day more efficient. A set schedule may seem dull for some, but blocking specific hours to eat, rest, and work on certain tasks can help you feel more in control, keeping your mind clear and allowing you to stay productive. It’s also great for starting new habits.

Try The Pomodoro Technique

The temptation to slack off can spike during summer. You could be physically at work, but your mind is probably in a tropical paradise somewhere, sipping a fruity cocktail poolside. Stay focused by using the Pomodoro technique: work for 25 minutes straight, take a short break when the timer rings, then dive into your next task. It’s simple, inexpensive, and does the trick. You’ll be done with your to-do list in no time!

Make Time For Fun

All work and no play can make a person feel dull and miserable, especially when the sun is shining outside your fluorescent-lit workplace. If you feel like you’re on the verge of burning out, take advantage of your personal leaves and take a day off–just make sure to delegate your tasks before you go out and have fun!

Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash

Mars Salazar

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

The Best Productivity Apps You Should Be Using Right Now

By Mars Salazar

On June 26, 2020

In Lifestyle

Hundreds of books have been written about the importance of productivity: How you need to work smarter, not harder; how you need to make every second count; how to keep improving every day.

But there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to productivity. Some methods that may work for you may not work for your friends, and that’s fine. That’s why we’ve listed a few apps that can help you achieve your productivity goals, no matter your working style.

Hootsuite

Juggling several social media accounts? Why not use Hootsuite to manage them all from one dashboard? This game-changer lets you update your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn accounts from the same screen, saving your time and energy. It also lets you schedule your content in advance, making it the perfect tool for your influencer aspirations. And you don’t have to worry about logging into each platform every time and remembering your passwords. Speaking of passwords…

LastPass

If you’re always forgetting your passwords (and we’re probably all guilty of that), then LastPass might just be your new best friend. It’s a password management tool that generates secure passwords for all your accounts and keeps track of them in a vault which you can access using a master password–the only code you should remember. If you want to improve your digital security, LastPass is for you.

Toggl

One measure of productivity is the time spent working on a project. This is where Toggl comes in. This time tracker gives you a breakdown of the hours or minutes spend on a task, giving you the opportunity to adjust the way you work in order to become more efficient. It’s especially useful for freelancers and project-based employees who bill clients by the hour.

Evernote

Evernote is one of the best note-taking apps out there. It lets you keep track of your ideas easily by typing lists, adding photos, sketching doodles, or uploading PDFs. It’s smart, too: if you’re looking for a particular idea you had about, say, blueberries, Evernote will scan through all your notes–including the drawings and images–to give you what you’re looking for. And if you’re working with a group, you can use the app to share notes and collaborate easily.

Stayfocusd

It’s so easy to get caught in distractions when you’re supposed to be working on a spreadsheet, creating a presentation, or typing a paper. Enter Stayfocusd. This Google Chrome browser extension, when enabled, blocks websites that can pose a distraction while you’re trying to work. You can also set a schedule so it’s automatically enabled during your work hours, and set time limits for your social media fix.

Mars Salazar

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

How To Organize Your Desk To Become More Productive

By Mars Salazar

On June 17, 2019

In Home & Interiors

If you’re looking for ways to improve your desk situation, you need not look further than Pinterest. A quick scroll will result in hundreds of photos of picture-perfect desks in every aesthetic you can imagine. And while they’re all beautiful, you have to wonder: Will you actually be able to get any work done on such a desk?

At the end of the day, even if you have all the latest bells and whistles on your picture-perfect desk, it won’t be effective if you don’t make the most of it. Here are some ways to do so:

Keep It Clutter-Free

You can’t do anything on a desk that’s laden with stacks of magazines, papers, and knickknacks from previous projects or tasks. Clean up your desk after every task, and treat it as a sacred space that should always be kept clear if possible. If there’s something on your workspace that you don’t need for the project you’re working on, keep it or throw it away.

Use A Second Monitor

If you’ve never used a second monitor, you’ll be surprised at how much it can improve your productivity. A second monitor effectively doubles the amount of on-screen real estate you can use, making it faster and easier to run multiple programs simultaneously. You can have Microsoft Word or Excel open on one screen and have a Skype call going on the other. Plus, connecting a second monitor to your laptop or desktop is pretty easy—all you need is an HDMI or VGA connector, and you’re all set.

Function Over Form

If your desk situation can be compared to the lyrics of “Twelve Days Of Christmas” (A dozen magazines, nine succulents, seven framed motivational quotes, five paperweights, two bookends, and a globe that needs a good dusting), you probably need to do some Marie Kondo-fying, stat.

“Keep it simple and functional with items you use all the time,” advises life coach and home organizer Meghan Meredith in an article published on Medium. “My desktop must-haves include a stapler; a jar of pens, pencils, and highlighters; a candle; and, most importantly, my planners.”

Display Your Favorite Photos

There’s more to life than your job! Don’t hesitate to spruce up your workspace with memories that spark joy. A Nixplay Smart Frame can display all your favorite photos, from scanned family photos from your childhood to phone pictures from a recent Disneyland trip with your nephews and nieces. You’ll be more inspired to work when you have your favorite memories on hand all the time.

Track Your Progress

When you’re at your desk, you should be motivated to work. One surefire way to achieve this? Put up your goals and to-do lists on a prominent spot on your desk. Write down your weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals and put them somewhere eye level so you’ll be ~~pressured~~ motivated to tick them off.

Mars Salazar

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.