“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”
― Jimmy Johnson
I strongly believe in working hard to succeed.
I know.. working 8 hrs/day isn’t a joke. It’s impossible for most people – especially for those who work online, agree?
There are many things online that can distract you from blogging. I don’t know how many of you aware that I’m a full time blogger, I RARELY waste my time.
How you can also work productively then?
To succeed online – you’ve to sacrifice something.
- Sacrifice Facebook to create great posts
- Stop watching YouTube videos – make your own videos instead
- Stop staring at the blank space, start writing something to hone your writing skills
- Learn SEO copywriting skills instead of opening your inbox too often
Is Internet [Facebook] ruining your life instead of helping you grow?
Following tips are working REALLY fantastic for me to get rid of online distractions and to blog more productively. Try them out once, you’ll surely notice better results.
I work in 3 blocks
I generally work in 3 big blocks.
1st block: 3 hours
2nd block: 2 hours
3rd block: 3 hours
However make sure you give yourself a break each hour.
I find 50+10 works very well for me (50 min work + 10 min break every hour). I use pomodoro technique for this (it’s a 25 minute technique – taking 5 minutes break after working 25 minutes). We’ll be discussing more about pomodoro technique in the same post.
Why this tactic works?
You can’t work productively when you’re working is small blocks of time.
TRY LONG BLOCKS. Take long periods of time to work online productively.
Go to bed before 10:30 pm
This may sound unrealistic to most bloggers. I had tough times to implement this tip. Because, I used to sleep at late nights everyday (well you know the reason, yea, late nights because of Facebook).
But if you sleep before 10:30 pm, you’ll see the difference the next day. Give it a shot once!
Have 6.5 – 7.5 hour sleep
I thought sleeping 8 hours/day can make anyone more productive. But I was WRONG.
When I stumbled upon TIME, I found some interesting facts about sleeping time to become more productive.
According to sleep expert Daniel Kripke, “people who sleep between 6.5 hours and 7.5 hours a night, live the longest, are happier, and most productive.”
Here are few more facts that he found..
8 to 8.5 hours sleep = worse than sleeping 5 hrs
6.5 to 7.5 hours sleep = makes you live the longest
Make sure you’re having a 6.5 to 7.5 hours sleep everyday [not only to live longer, but to become more productive at work]
Create a daily plan
Want to spend productive time online? Then spend 10 – 20 minutes in creating a daily plan each day.
Here are two ways to create a great daily plan.
- Create a to-do list
- Create a not to-do list
1. Create a to-do list
Why create a to-do list?
Because you’ve to prioritize your time.
Todo lists give you more flexibility to your time management.
I use Simpleology to schedule my day. It’s free. Go and sign up now, you’ll thank yourself for doing this later :)
2. Create a not-to-do list
Most people give importance only to creating to-do lists, thus making things even worse.
For anyone who wants to spend their time productively, creating not to-do list is also a must.
Ask yourself this question.
What I don’t want to do today?
Create a list or write them down a paper. Avoid them, simple as that!
Create a weekly plan
This is as important as creating a daily plan. You must know your schedule before 1 week – to make your week more productive. If you don’t know what to do in the next week, you’ll certainly end up with doing nothing (or doing anything).
So make sure you’ve a week plan at the end of every Saturday. Use an editorial calender or simply a paper to write down your weekly goals. This way you can NOT forget what you actually want to achieve in a week.
Reward yourself when you’re done
Go out. Have a drink or romance with your gf/bf
Or if you’re enjoying a solo life like me, here’s what you can do in free time;
- go for a walk
- listen to your favorite music
- watch YouTube videos
- hang out with friends
- read your favorite books
You’ll work more productively when you come back!
Use pomodoro technique
This is my favorite tool and I owe very much to the creators of pomodoro tool. It’s a great 25 minute technique that makes you more productive.
Here’s how pomodoro technique works..
Set the pomodoro (timer) to 25 minutes; work on the task until the timer rings; record with an x; take a short break (3-5 minutes).
So simple, isn’t it?
But it works efficiently when you’re using it more. Download pomodoro tool here (free).
Don’t clutter your desk
Keep your working environment neat and clean.
When I first started my full time blogging journey, I used to work in a cluttered environment.
I never find proper inspiration to work on my projects when my surroundings are cluttered. When I decluttered my working space, I saw great results.
Your working space matters a lot. There should be NO distractions, no cellphones and no eating at your desk. Use your working place only to work on your projects, this habit makes you more productive in the long run.
Unplug your internet connection
If nothing works – unplug your internet connection.
This is REALLY a great way to avoid all the online distractions. In the beginning, it may seems to be difficult, but work on it, soon you’ll see great results.
Unplug internet connection when you’re
- writing
- brainstorming or
- doing some (offline) research
Start your day RIGHT
How you start your day is how you end your day
Here’s a great article written by my friend Dragos Roua on how to start a day (don’ t miss it!).
Avoid Online (or Facebook) distraction: Use ‘Strict Pomodoro’ extension
Facebook has become an auto pilot for 90% of the bloggers.
One can’t easily avoid Facebook distraction, I know.
Here’s the best extension for Google chrome users to avoid all the distractions.
What do this extension do?
This will block the distracting sites for 25 minutes. You can even extend the blocking time.
Here’s how it works..
- Click to start a 25-minute work timer, and work without distraction.
- Click to start a 5-minute break timer, and kick back and relax.
- Repeat until all your work is done.
Here’s a screenshot of how it looks like when you’re trying to access blocked sites.
Open your inbox no more than “twice” a day
Once in the afternoon – again in the night (before you’re going to sleep).
Email notification is the biggest distraction for any blogger. Avoid opening your inbox too often. Stop automatic notifications be it email, IM or Yahoo!
Regularly clean up all the message from your inbox. Here are few simple tips to empty your inbox.
Last but not least: take a day off every week
You’ll go nuts when you’re at home 24/7
Taking a break from online & having fun is a must. Because humans are social animals – they need a break to engage with others to work productively. So, spend quality time even with your offline friends to get most out of your life.
Note: Working 8 hrs/day isn’t hard when you’ve commitment towards your goals. I’ll be updating this article whenever I work more productively, stay tuned.
Over to you
What are your thoughts on working 8 hrs/day productively?
Very nice post bro, these techniques are very useful to save time. In the starting days this it is difficult to implement this plan, but we have to keep on this to work for us. I sleep late in the night and wake up late in the morning, which is not a good manner. I think time of morning is the best time to do any work, I will try to work according to this plan to be more productive.
Yes, I agree with your points. But remember a point – ‘beginning is always the hardest”
Just go on with it, surely you’ll notice the results, and you’ll become more productive when you’re getting good results from your efforts.
To get something we have give something.
Working in slots is good idea to stay concentrated. Going to bed before 10.30 is tough task. I work from home and I face lots of distraction in day working. But I can manage to get 6.5-7.5 Hrs sleep.
I think having a Not-to-do list will work more than having a to-do-list. If we not do unwanted things what else remaining is must do things. :)
I have downloaded pomodoro extension to avoid online distraction specially Facebook.
I am excited to see results after applying these tips. :)
Thanks Rahul
Yea, working in blocks is one of the best advice I’ve ever taken (and given to someone). You can’t find it easy when you’re working without having any break in between. It can hurt your productivity levels..
I hope those tools can help you become a productive blogger Vipin, stay tuned, more articles to come.
Very very excellent post rahul, Very helpful for every blogger and online worker to save his time and schedule his tasks. Now I’m going to download that strict pomodoro google chrome extension now. I saw your pro writing skills in this post :)
Hi Sai,
How are you doing? Yes, strict pomodoro tool is an excellent way of getting things done online. No doubt, most bloggers are suffering from Facebook addiction, this tool can help them to get over it easily.
Rahul, I agree with every point of you here. I’m spending more than 6 hours a day only on Facebook and It isn’t helping me grow, but the problem is that It became my habit and It’s hard for me not to open Facebook lol.
I do sleep 8 hours a day just because I always heard that sleeping 8 hours makes us more productive, thanks for sharing Time’s article that I would love to read.
Well, I’ve always created to-do lists for my work and never thought of creating not-to-do list, but today after reading an article at Daily Blog Tips where Daniel mentioned that he is spending only 15 minutes on Facebook daily, I thought to follow his tips. He also shared a great browser extension for chrome which you won’t want to miss Rahul!
Today is the 2nd time I’m reading the tip of unplugging the internet connection from you, Really! I must try it one.
Enjoyed reading this post Rahul.
Hi Ehsan,
Spending 6 hrs/day ONLY on Facebook?? Whoa! You’re terribly spending your time online. You must get over facebook addiction Ehsan.
Research on sleeping hours shocked me (I know those results were shocked many because most people still think 8 hrs/day sleeping is optimum, but 6.5 to 7.5 hrs is a NEW lesson).
Coming to creating not to-do lists, they work like charm, because you know what to do and more importantly what NOT to do. This way you’re controlling your online time more productively.
Unplugging Internet connection is the ONLY tip you need to do when nothing works from the above!
Thanks for stopping by Ehsan, keep visiting the blog.
Great post brother, one thing i like about your writing style is spacing between each and every line… and every word is easily understandable..
Its hard to work continuously specially if you are working on the computer. So to work in blocks make perfect sense. I will try this technique. Also the use of strong tea and coffee cannot be highly stressed.
Yes Shalu, working online has definitely it’s own pitfalls, specially avoiding online distractions never an easy task for the bloggers. But we need to get over them to become a productive blogger.
Facebook is such a big distraction that it is killing productivity of many passionate bloggers. I loved the way you explained the things by showing fact about sleep etc. One must have proper plan of a day and even a week also if you are looking for soothing success in future. I myself sleep for 8+ hours but after reading this post I am going to change my habit soon.
I am also using some chrome extensions to get rid of such distraction and they notify me only when there is any new message in my inbox.
For sure I will visit your blog again for more such killer tips.
Hi Rahul,
This is the one of the best post on scheduling, time management, and blogging, I think you shared your big success secret, and I am really going to follow this, because Facebook and Internet are becoming biggest distractions for me.
One thing for the Other readers of this Post, Don’t take this post like just another post, this is a post written by experience and research, so take this post seriously with your blogging…
Thanks Rahul
I am totally agree with Nishant, this post is not just an another post. Every reader should follow each and every points describe in it. It can change the face of our blog and blogging journey.
I have read a lot of articles over internet on time management they only gives advice, they don’t show that how it works. But in this post Rahul has effectively describe what works and what not. I want to say that he is more “Personal” in this post as he mentioned in one of his post earlier [How to create compelling copy that even your cat reads?]. :)
Nishant,
That’s a great comment. I don’t say that I worked very hard to create this post, but it did take SOME extra efforts.
Yea, even I love to write the blog posts on my personal experiences, but only when they add some value to LBT readers :) Hope I’ll be writing the blogging productivity tips only after I implementing them, instead of posting generic posts.
@Vipin: Thanks dude, it means a lot to me :)
I’ll surely follow advice (tips) you shared here, everyday I try to go to bed before 11 PM but due to Facebook it never happens, will try to sleep on 10.30 PM. I’m creating daily to-do list, will create to-do list for a week also.
Haha, you’re so right, Facebook is what not making sleep any blogger ;)
Let me know if you find any difficulties in creating effective to-do lists. Soon I’m gonna write a detailed posts on creating to-do lists, stay tuned Rajesh. Thanks for the comment!
WOW!!! Great post. Never think about not to do list. My biggest distractions is email. And it’s so hard to take it away. By the way, thanks a lot for share it. It’s so very valuable :)
Always appreciate the kind words from you Danial :) Please share it with your network if you like the article
Fantastic post, Rahul. You’ve shared some wonderful tips. I especially like the Pomodoro tip. This is going to work wonders for me, lol. I have a full life with school, work, and blogging so I def need to manage my time better and be as productive as possible. Thanks so much for sharing this with us. I appreciate it!
Ti
Hi Ti,
I’ll very soon write a detailed article on Pomodoro technique. Hope it’ll clarify more doubts from the readers to spend their time productively.
Thanks for stopping by Ti, keep in touch.
Woha! Achu … I must say you have revealed your success secrets .
I really need something like this to change my life.
As you already know I’m big big Facebook Addictor so this tool will really helps me to avoid Facebook distraction n downloaded this extension. Thanks a ton yaar!
As you mentioned i will surly try to follow all the points from now specially Facebook and sleeping. (I can sleep up-to 10 hours continuously lolzz) I love the way you work in Blocks 3-2-3 (50+10 :) )
Again a Big Big Thanks to you Achu! :)
~ Sugandha
I’m a miserable failure in terms of productivity. Pre finals and finals coming up in December adds salt to the injury. I’ve never really had problems with Facebook, there is a completely different problem I have – “Two and a Half Men”. I’m watching episodes of that sitcom on a continuous stretch and that completely kills my productivity. Anyway, I cannot devote time anymore now that academics have to be given importance. Thanks for sharing though and pomodromo looks good.
Aditya
Well, the bitter truth is that I can’t work 8 hours a day as I have to go to school but due to school sleeping at 10:30 P.M has become my habit and IT will never change.
I already have a to-do-list but now i think i have to create a not-to-do list also.
The best thing in this post was the pomodro technique. I love it and I am going to try it NOW.
Thanks for the Share!!
Well, one simple word. This is AWESOME! The most amazing thing is that dividing your time into 3 blocks. And also blocking Facebook is more essential. Worth sharing post.. thanks rahul ;)
Really @Rahul Bro it is great Article in this blog because without time table we can not spend time on my blog and updating blog. thanks for sharing 3 valuable block in this post. they are very interesting. I will try your tips in our blogging schedule. :) keep it up
Hi Rahul,
At the end of the day, Satisfaction matters. I sit in front of laptop nearly whole day but don’t get a satisfied with what all I have done. If I make a To-Do list and accomplish the tasks, I think that might help.
Starting today, I will begin following the steps mentioned in article .
Visited this blog for the first time and cursing myself why didn’t I find you before today :)
Amazed to know that people are so strict with the timetable and daily routine and I must agree that’s a key to productivity.
Really impressed with your blog and writing.
Working like this really does help us work productively , I will surely try to apply your tips in my daily life.
The 50 – 10 split makes better sense than the shorter ones. When I was in school, all classes were 50min. long with 10min. to get to the next class. It seems to work well in that setting.
Great real time example!
I think I have distractions from my television more than facebook.
Well I will apply your tips to see how well i curb it
wow, this is a really good post, I usually spend most of my time online without working what I wanted. there is always something that distracts me, I will use your techniques from now on and will see what results it will bring.
I already started a pomodoro technique, thanks for sharing :)
Hi Rahul, they’re just what I do everyday but the biggest problem I have is Facebook as I talked about Facebook’s addiction on my past post. Another great tips are to sleep 7.5 hours and Simpleology, is it 7.5 hours for everyone ? Instead of using Simpleology I use checklist. But I’d definitely try this out.
Thanks for great tips – Ferb
Wow..Great Post. i downloaded Strict Pomodoro extension and created a account in simpleology..Thanks again..
Hi Rahul, you are following some pretty great tacticsto stay focused towards your work. Working 8 hours a day is really very appreciable. I think creating a daily schedule is very important to get the things done according to your plans :).
Great! Thats what I call efficiency, you have figured out the core problems and fixed it with great time table. How did you develop this habit, do you strictly follow the time table or you skip some days?
Rarely!
Very informative post dude !! Thanks for all the tips. I will start using them and become more productive with all my online works.
great article rahul read all the points…learnt about pomodoro just today..i will try to sleep before 10.30pm :)
Great Post Rahul,
these are awesome time management tips you have shared. Creating a to do list and avoiding facebook is indeed important.
You are working very much hard and you are one of my fav. blogger and such a nice way you have explained the benefits of hard work and like the thing that we have to sleep early but it is quite difficult task for me.
Hi Rahul
Wow, really this post is worth sharing. This post really help me because i am unable to make proper planing to manage my college life and blogging. splitting of our work time and following it is very tough job but if once we get habit to it we will get addicted to it. Another great tip how to avoid distractions(Facebook) when we are serious about our work. :) Thanks for the tool :)
Hope it would be a killer post :)
Nice post for the bloggers to advance their productivity.
Adequate sleeping @ night is must to think n work well. Also scheduling and preparing a to do list would make the bloggers to work with devotion. Just creating the to-do list and distracting with social networks never make sense and it would ruin the blogger’s mind at the end of the day.
Am not following many of the useful tips which you’ve listed here, thanks for it. Will try to follow soon.
Thanks for sharing your secrets for your readers Rahul ;)
Nice post with amazing explanation of everything that anyone want to know to work hard and focused to get their goal as soon as possible.
Between I like article…
Hi Rahul,
You are following some pretty great tacticsto stay focused towards your work. Working 8 hours a day is really very appreciable. I think creating a daily schedule is very important to get the things done according to your plans :) .
Thanks
A very good post on working productively. Although I use the to-do list you uncovered one of the most obvious things which I overlooked. The not-to-do list. I have observed that I end up doing one or the other things which I am not supposed to do. Just like any other site the entertainment sites use all the techniques to keep their audience engaged for a long time with catchy headlines. We have to take cue from them and implement it in our work rather than just be their audience and waste our time. I had given Simpleology a shot a few years ago. Good site.
Thanks for the post.
I agree with you @Nirmala . Everything is fine under specific limit.Overall nothing even blogging is more important than our life.So adequete sleeping is important.