Everybody is chasing something. Whether it’s prosperity or just security, everyone is looking to keep themselves comfortable and well.
Productivity advice often gets framed as a matter of discipline, but real progress usually comes from better systems, healthier routines, and knowing when to pause.
Sustainable productivity means getting meaningful work done without treating exhaustion as proof of effort.
While courses like an Online EdD in Higher Education can offer valuable instruction on time management, critical thinking, and other valuable strategies to increase productivity, someone does not necessarily need to go to university just to foster productivity strategies.
That’s why today, we’re handing out ten techniques to help you level up your productivity and meet your goals.
1. Listen To Your Body
Some people can get into a harmful habit of practising deprivation techniques to goad themselves into productivity. Yes, at times, this can be a useful technique, such as preventing yourself from engaging in a beloved hobby until you hit a certain milestone in your work.
However, too many people practise this in a harmful way, such as depriving themselves of food or water. The fact is that you won’t perform at your best if you’re too hot, too cold, too thirsty, too hungry, or too tired. If your body is sending you signals, pay attention to those signals. No point depriving yourself of sleep until your work is done, only to end up unconscious at your keyboard.
2. Be Intentional With Breaks
The body needs to rest, especially when grappling with physically or mentally intense labour.
While well-intentioned breaks can be the death of productivity, when used properly, breaks can be the key to exponentially increased activity.
A useful technique is called the Pomodoro technique, named after tomato-shaped kitchen timers. The technique involves getting a timer (one that visually portrays time works best) and setting it for a desired time, usually 30-45 minutes.
That is your “on the clock” time, during which you do your work. When the timer goes off, set it for 10-15 minutes. This is your “off the clock” time, when you engage in a hobby or take care of other tasks.
3. Food and Drink
If we’re working on something that isn’t stimulating or interesting, the mind can wander and find all sorts of reasons to do it.
This strategy has to do with eliminating reasons to leave the desk, while also nourishing your body and brain. Have a good supply of water and/or your favourite beverage on hand, as well as a varied selection of snacks like fruits, vegetables, crackers, cheese, dips, chips, and nuts available nearby. This ensures you’re fed and watered while also keeping you on track.
4. Maintain a Good Sleep Routine
When your computer’s hard drive is overstuffed, your computer runs poorly.
The brain is the body’s hard drive. When we sleep, the brain goes through its own processes to dump excess information and trash – effectively clearing your body’s cache and cookies.
Without enough sleep, processes throughout the body work suboptimally. Neurons in the brain become overworked, impairing thinking, slowing physical reactions, and leaving people feeling emotionally drained. Fatigue at work costs companies in the U.S. as much as $136.4 billion per year.
5. Make Time For You
Rest doesn’t just mean sleeping. It also means spending your waking hours doing things that enrich your mind. This includes hobbies, spending time with loved ones, or just chilling out.
Many of us underestimate the effects of a regulated nervous system on our output.
The best way to regulate our nervous system is to make sure we’re doing not just what we need to, but also what we love.
6. Exercise
Exercise is not only good for the body and mind, but it also helps us keep to our station.
The fatigue of sitting down for a long time, looking at a screen, or working on a lengthy task dramatically negatively affects our output.
Maintaining a good quota means regularly having a stretch, or a walk around the office to keep your body active and healthy, as well as refreshing your mind for the task at hand.
7. Mindfulness
Work stress is real, and often, we can get so anxious about our output that it clouds our ability to perform in the moment.
When this happens, it’s important to practice some basic mindfulness techniques. Get into a quiet or peaceful space, close your eyes, meditate, and ground yourself. Let the stress melt through you through these techniques, and you’ll find the task at hand will be that much easier to handle.
8. Celebrate Small Achievements
No one performs at their best when they’re met with criticism and undue harshness.
It’s important to be gentle with yourself. After all, one of the foremost reasons for productivity struggles is excessive pressure. When you achieve something, however small, congratulate yourself on it – especially if getting there was difficult.
People perform best when met with kindness and recognition, and the best thing about that is we can give it to ourselves. Finished a paragraph of a particularly lengthy report? Pat yourself on the back.
9. Sociality
Humans are social animals; we’re designed to thrive in social situations.
While sociality during work might not be the most conducive practice to productivity, studies show that social interaction confers health benefits that foster productivity and focus. In other words, it’s important to get out with friends or family every now and then to blow off steam.
Whether that’s a party, a night out, a board game night, or even just a coffee and catch-up, that’s up to you. But maintaining social connections helps keep you healthy, active, and productive.
10. Support
Some of us have a brain that can operate these strategies with full autonomy and independence.
However, not everyone is so fortunate. Members of the neurodiverse community, and people with mental illness, often suffer from what is called Executive Dysfunction.
Executive function, the opposite, is what allows us to operate on a daily level; it controls our memory, task prioritisation, and task execution functions.
Neurodiverse and some mentally ill people’s executive function is often wired to different triggers in the brain, making it difficult or impossible to accomplish necessary tasks or to prioritise the way neurotypical people do. These types of people require additional support and specialised strategies to engage their executive function.
In these cases, it’s good to have a solid support network around you and knowledge of neurodiverse executive function techniques.
FAQs
Summary
Productivity should make life feel more manageable, not more punishing. The best strategies are usually simple: protect your health, reduce unnecessary friction, plan your work with intention, and notice when pressure starts turning into exhaustion.
No single routine works for everyone. Some people need quiet structure, some need accountability, and some need professional or workplace support to function at their best. What matters is building a system that helps you keep moving without ignoring your limits.
Real progress comes from consistency, recovery, and self-awareness. When productivity supports your well-being instead of draining it, work becomes easier to sustain.
