We all have been through that tiring, unproductive, and boring day where nothing gets done, and our body is left with no motivation, and no push. This is very natural and can happen at any stage in our careers. That being said, getting productive is a lot simpler than many people think. In this guide, I will take you through some productivity tips to enhance your productivity and efficiency. This guide is for techies and non-techies alike!

1. Minimize Distractions

   A topic that needs no introduction. In today's media-centric world, it's hard to stay motivated and easier to be distracted by all the happenings around us. There are 2 major culprits here - your Phone and your Workplace. First off, go to your phone setting and turn off all the push notifications from apps you don't need. These could be social media apps, banking apps, food delivery apps - basically, anything you feel you get distracted by. One can also take help from the "Do not disturb" features in most smartphones. Secondly, clean your setup. Consider removing anything and everything that shouldn't be there. It is easy to overlook the fact that you spend most of your time working on a machine that is placed on a desk, and keeping that place clean and organized will go a long way in minimizing distractions.

   

2. Limit Multitasking

   Contrary to popular belief, multitasking can hinder productivity. Focusing on one task at a time helps achieve better-quality results and avoid being distracted. If multiple tasks need to be worked upon in a short period, consider taking the help of the Eisenhower Matrix. It involves sorting tasks into 4 categories:

   1. Urgent and Important - Do Immediately

   2. Important but not urgent - Schedule it

   3. Urgent but not important - Minimize or delegate

   4. Neither urgent nor important - Avoid

   The Eisenhower matrix helps prioritize tasks based on their magnitude of urgency and importance and thus maximizes both productivity and time management.

   

3. Set clear goals

   Begin each day with a fresh mindset and a clear understanding of your tasks for the day. By setting well-defined goals for daily, weekly, and long-term tasks, you provide yourself with both motivation and a personal roadmap. To make tasks more manageable, consider breaking down larger projects into smaller, actionable steps. In today's fast-paced world, distractions are abundant and it has become more important than ever before to utilize online management tools like Notion or to-do lists to effectively track tasks and deadlines. This practice of goal-setting not only gives you direction but also a sense of purpose and achievement.

4. Follow the "Pomodoro" technique

   The Pomodoro technique is a brilliant time management technique involving tasks of 25 minutes each, followed by a break of 5 minutes. These 25 minutes blocks are called "pomodoros" and after 4 of these pomodoros, the technique states to take a longer break. This method helps boost your focus by using strict time blocks and short rests to maintain productivity and avoid procrastination.

5. Step up your VS code game

A lot of people use VS Code as their primary IDE but most of them don't take advantage of all of its features. Here are some of them to help you be more productive.

1. Keyboard Shortcuts: This one is such a no brainer guys, below are some keyboard shortcuts for VS Code that you can use to navigate, edit and debug your code.

1. Extensions: The life of a developer is incomplete without using extensions. Luckily, Microsoft has integrated extensions directly into VS Code. This means that you don't even have to come out of VS Code in order to get these extensions! My top picks for productivity-enhancing extensions are as follows.

These extensions should help you make your life a lot easier and improve productivity. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are still a ton of awesome extensions and I would recommend you to search in accordance with your tech stack for the best results.

1. Integrated Version Control: Most people don't realize that VS Code has integrated git support that simplifies version control tasks. Easily commit, push and pull changes directly from VS Code. The source control sidebar provides a glance view of your code changes, thus making collaboration effortless.

   

   1. Take regular breaks

Even a beefy build with an RTX 4090 throttles after a certain amount of time. It is so easy to overlook the fact that at the end of the day, we are all humans and humans get tired. We cannot work for extended periods of time without taking breaks. Burnout can lead to a lack of creativity and decreased efficiency. Step outside, go finish that drawing you once thought you couldn't play some games, read books, run up a mile, or get going with your swimming skills - do anything that makes your mind fresh.

In conclusion, we all have busy schedules, and it's totally fine if you aren't productive for a couple of days. Remember that experiencing moments of unproductivity is not a sign of weakness, but a testament to our humanity. It's part of our nature to get tired and bored easily. That being said, with the right approach and mindset, returning to a state of productivity is an attainable task.