1. Tame the tabs

Mass of internet tabs getting the better of you? Flicking through that multitude of tabs will only serve to interrupt your productive flow, so we suggest using internet remedies for all they’re worth.  Try Infinite Tabs Manager or OneTab to organise your messy tabs into groups on a handy dashboard, and easily see the tabs that are relevant to each project, when you need them.

 2. Track your time

It’s key to understand your current habits to adopt new ones. Time-tracking apps, like Toggl and Harvest, can show you where and how you spend your time online. Monitor your activities in the background for a week and then face that procrastination head on.

Equipped with this new awareness, you can start working with time, instead of against it. We recommend applying the Pomodoro Technique – one of the simplest productivity methods that only needs involve your device’s in-built clock. Split your work time into 20-minute intervals, with each followed by a 5-minute break for coffee, a short walk or something else relaxing (that is, not work-related), to stay refreshed.

3. Do Not Disturb

Prioritising your tasks is an essential especially with our current increased overlap between personal life and work  life. Don’t forget that you’re not chained to your desk – it IS possible to escape the madness of calendar alerts, chat messages, and seemingly never-ending software updates! Make use of the ‘Do Not Disturb’ setting, utilise Safari’s in-built read-it-later tool, or download Instapaper on your iPhone, to simply click and save for later.

4. Step away from the screen

Don’t spend countless hours staring at your monitor, set a timer to remind you when to take a break. Screen time should be interspersed with exercise, sunshine and, where possible, social time.

Instead of letting your focus get sucked into the screen, you can also ensure you have the right background sounds to keep you in a productive state of mind. Check out brain.fm for functional music that elicits evidence-based, purpose-built music to steer you into your desired mental state.

5. Get help from a smart assistant

Smart assistants, like Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant, are quickly reaching the point where they can help with just about anything, and they aren’t just restricted to your smartphone or speaker system – they work equally well on your computer, too. We recommend you offload your mental to-do-list onto one of these handy automated sidekicks, let it do the typing for you, and schedule reminders to help you stay on top of your workload.

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