I started thinking about minimalism because I love the productivity that comes with it. And that’s one of the main reasons why I like the idea of minimalism especially at work so much because it increases my productivity.

let me start with the first, which is one of the most obvious.

The Space

Having less gives us more physical space to work no matter if you are working at home or working in the office. So, having a clutter-free space is the first step to keeping myself productive. By taking some time to clear the clutter off my working space every day before I start my work. Making my workspace free from distraction, easy to locate things, and no mess for me to worry about when it’s time to focus.

The same thing works for my digital clutter as well, whether it is my email, phone, or computer. Remove distraction When it comes to focusing, anything can be my distraction. But nothing beats the addictiveness of my phone. The urge of picking up my phone can be triggered by any notifications or even just a sudden thought of checking how my social media friends are doing currently.

So instead of testing our limits to fight distractions, I’ve learned to remove the trigger and introduce friction when it comes to distractions. We can save energy by hiding what is redundant for the job and having only the essentials present.

Shutting down notifications and turning on airplane mode can be the best friend of productivity but again this is situational depending on the area of our work. Not just that, it also reduces decision fatigue. That's when we can standardize the tools we use, whether it is storage space, writing software, laptop, or even my favorite anime figurine.

We know what to use and where to find it when they are needed. That saves a lot of time when we are finding specific items, and it’s all done by having the essentials and removing the extras. It makes our system straightforward and requires little brain energy to operate.

I'm pretty indecisive once I have more than one option to choose from, I'll be stuck in the paradox of choice because I wouldn't want to regret my decision. I’ll take my time, over-analyze, and hours waste just because I can’t decide which one to use. So sticking to one tool can save a lot of time and brain energy.

Next is the priority.

There can only be one. We often have a few projects or exams, we need to juggle at the same time. So what we want to do is only have one priority in mind at a time. That’s how we can channel all of our energy into one task. The most urgent. The most important. The one we value the most.
I try to keep my priorities as simple as possible. I might have a few priorities within a day but only focus on one priority at a time. We can also create a to-do list that aligns with our priorities. Of course, with great focus, sometimes we can complete our to-do list even before the given time.

That’s when we can introduce new tasks that align with our new priority.
So, we need to be conscious when our minds are cluttered with unnecessary thoughts. We can do a quick meditation session or take a short break. But what’s crucial is we have to remember to start with a blank canvas, if the mind is cluttered, there's almost no way we can stay focused and be productive.

Work with less time

Having less time allocated to certain tasks allows us to make use of the time effectively. That's something I need to work on, achieving more while doing less. I always give myself one day to complete an article besides my regular job, and during that period, I realized that's all I can do. No more or less. Spreading the task comfortably over the week even though I could have done more.

I use the time to perfect every detail. Thinking that I’m being productive, but no matter how much more time I put into it, the return will not be as great.

Again it's not about flexing how much I have hustled, or how I complete a whole week's worth of work within 24 hours.
Being able to maximize productivity in this generation is essential, but it’s also important for us to know the purpose, that’s how we can use our time meaningfully.

For me, I want to get into the flow and have extreme focus at the right time. Accomplish what has to be done within a lesser time, so I can use the extra time on the things I value. That can be spending quality time with my loved ones, or I can use the time myself to reflect or learn something new.

So that’s how minimalism helps me to boost my productivity at work. Don’t misunderstand. I’m still vulnerable to falling back into procrastination. I’m not perfect, however, but having less allows me to focus more on priority

Building Success Profiles for Succession Planning : Critical Mindset

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