In your line of work, being productive and getting the job done on time is essential! We want to share with you our best productivity hacks that are proven to help you get more out of your day.

Hack No.1 - Limit Social Media

Limit the time you spend on social media. This may sound obvious but you can easily spend too much time on it without realising the time.

If you find yourself doing nothing and you end up going on your phone, try and think if there is a way to better use your time, your time is valuable so you need to make it count. You could be organising tomorrow’s workload or double-checking your materials have been ordered or even giving your customers a small courtesy call because it’s the small things that leave the biggest impact.

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Hack No.2 - Break things down

‍ Break down all of your BIG tasks. Having 1 big task can become overwhelming but when you break them down into 5 small tasks they feel easier to manage. It’s easier to do 5 small tasks perfectly than 1 big task.

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Hack No.3 - Small Breaks‍

Take small and often breaks. It is easy to get caught up in work and forget to take a break and that’s not good for your brain, it has been proven that taking small breaks helps reboot your brain and make you feel more productive and ready to take on anything that’s thrown your way.

Small breaks are not just good for your mental wellbeing, it is also good for your physical wellbeing especially in the construction industry.

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Hack No.4 - Learn to manage stress

Learn to manage your stress. There is nothing worse than becoming stressed out in the middle of a job.

Working in the construction and engineering industries can be tough and may take its toll every so often and believe me when we say you are not alone. A lot of stress can be caused by poor time management as it will feel like you have so much to do in such little time.

It sounds like a vicious cycle so to help avoid that our best way to manage your stress is time management, you can do this by planning out your day in your diary, even by the minute, to help you stay on track or you could make a to-do list which is a popular way to manage your time because people find satisfaction in ticking off a task when it is been completed which provides motivation to get it done!

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Consider creating a dedicated workspaces so you can separate your work from your personal time.

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Hack No.5 - Get organised

(This hack can also help with hack no.4) Prioritise your tasks. Try and prioritise your list in importance, this will help you focus more which will help with productivity.

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Hack No.6 - Rest, sleep, and exercise. You are no use to anyone if you’re tired and have had no sleep. Lack of sleep can cause short-term memory problems and in your industry that is not very good and can lead to some big issues. Lack of sleep and rest can cause many health and mental complications such as:

• Impaired judgment

• Memory and concentration difficulties

• Irritability

• Increased blood sugar levels

• Reduced coordination

• Drowsiness

You need to avoid all these things as you need to be on your guard all the time in your field. If you are easily irritated on a job and you suddenly take it out on an annoying client... yikes!

Exercise is good for your mental well-being as well as your physical wellbeing. The Construction industry can be one of the most physically demanding industries so you need to make sure you keep yourself fit and ready to help to be more productive. Exercising can have mental benefits and is very rewarding. It has been found to alleviate your self-esteem, reduce anxiety and get rid of that negative mood, making you feel more productive.

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Hack No.7 - Routine

‍Create a routine. Now, this can be difficult especially for construction workers when each day can be different from the next but this does not have to be a work-based routine, improving your personal routine can help begin a work routine, but let’s start small and work our way up. Building a routine is proven to boost productivity by 60%!

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Hack No.8 - Quit Multitasking

Stop trying to multi-task! This is quite simple, instead of having a large to-do list, that may seem overwhelming, you will start to stress about getting this done all in one day. Essentially we are cutting the to-do list based on what can be completed in a day or how long that job will take as this will make it a lot easier to manage plus make you feel more relaxed and productive.

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Hack No.9 - The importance of notes

Take a note of all your thoughts. You’re a business owner, so that means you’ve got lots of ideas and thoughts running around your head, there is no use in them staying up there because they will get lost and hidden behind what you are doing at the moment. We’ve all been there, you have thought of a great idea, you get distracted and it’s gone! To avoid this, always write down your thoughts so you can come back to them later.

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Hack No.10 - Set Reminders

Set reminders! This hack can be your lifesaver if done correctly! We have all had that horrible feeling when we know we are forgetting something important but cannot quite put our finger on it. To prevent this, always put any meetings or important dates and times in your calendar or diary with a reminder, soon it will become a habit you will not want to get out of.

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Hack No.11 - Digitise your construction business

This one is probably the most important... if you are still managing your construction business on paper, whiteboards or even excel then you are becoming increasingly outdated by every passing day.

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There are multiple systems out there now that are all designed to help you increase your productivity, we understand change might be scary as it is new but this is where the support of SaintVA could be very beneficial to your business. Saint VA are the UK's first construction specialised virtual assistants.

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Conclusion

We hope that this article has provided some value on how to better organise your time and get the most out of your day! 

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We provide a free of charge (FOC) chat with a business development manager who is able to provide no-obligation advice about your business and more importantly, yourself. A 10-15 minute chat which could leave you walking away with the knowledge or simple switch to change the future of your business and personal life. Whether you have poor organisation or are struggling to balance your personal life with work, your dedicated business development manager would love to have a chat. Book in your FOC call here.

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