Productivity is much more than closing more tasks within the same amount of time. In fact, it’s about concentrating on what’s really important, leaving insignificant things behind. These smallest interruptions often go unnoticed, but they’re the ones that steal our focus and waste the most time. Let’s have a look at them and find out how to avoid them.
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Tip 1. Simplify Your Digital Life
The first thing you have to do to save time… is to spend some of it getting your things in order. It might seem illogical at first sight, but trust us, that’s a must.
Name Your Files Appropriately
Have you ever spent hours scrolling through oddly named files looking for the one you actually need? Chances are, you have. Yes, old habits die hard, but naming your documents things like “bngkhjn” or “Picture 15” is the first habit you should break.
A quick search for “file naming practices” on the internet brings more than 19 million results, offering a variety of conventions and tips to follow. Some of them prioritize the document’s creation date, others focus on its version or unique identifiers.
Probably the best advice here is to choose a naming practice that fits your specific needs. For instance, using dates in file names such as 2015-10-15 can be quite handy for a team of legal advisors who frequently share files with one another. But if the files are for your personal use, a clear and descriptive name is often more than enough. Naming your document something like “Excuse_Note_Tuesday” makes it obvious that it’s the note you need to sign for your child’s absence on a specific day.
Once again, you’ll need to spend a bit of time on this audit, but if you do it right, it’ll save you a lot of time in the future.
Manage Your File Sizes
Wherever you keep your files, whether on a laptop, smartphone, external hard drive, or in the cloud, all storage options have limits. Expanding them often costs money. Moreover, storing different files across various devices or accounts is simply difficult to manage.
To eliminate this problem, or at least delay it, try to reduce file sizes whenever you can. One way to do this is by compressing them. There are many free online tools that can do that without affecting file quality. Simply upload the file, compress it, and download the lighter version. And be sure to name it clearly so you can find it later.
Another benefit of smaller files is easier sharing. Whether you’re uploading to a website or sending an email, smaller files transfer faster and cause fewer issues.
However, when sharing a bunch of files, it’s often more convenient to compress them into a single ZIP archive rather than reducing each file size individually. Fortunately, both Macs and PCs have built-in zipping tools. On Windows, simply select the files you want, right-click, choose Compress to, and then select ZIP file. On macOS, select the files, right-click, and choose Compress from the menu.
NB! Some smartphones, especially Android devices, may require additional software to open compressed archives. For instance, if you need to open a ZIP file containing PDFs but don’t have time to search for and install an app, just use a trusted online tool. Unzipping files on iScanner is one easy option.
Structure Your Files Properly
The file structure should be as clear as your file naming.
Create a structure that works for you. The simplest approach is to divide everything into broad categories. For instance, you can create folders like Job, Freelancing, Pictures, Videos, Taxes, and so on. Then, break each category down into subcategories. If you’re unsure where a file belongs, it means your structure needs improvement.
But don’t overcomplicate things. When a system becomes too complex, it stops being useful.
Pro tip: To keep important folders at the top, begin their names with a number or symbol, like “1” or “!”. It’s a quick way to sort them alphabetically.
Reduce Your Social Media Time
If you check the average screen time in your smartphone settings, especially the time spent on social media, you might be surprised. Daily phone use in the U.S. averaged 5 hours and 16 minutes per person in 2024. This equals approximately 1.5 days a week and 6 days a month. Over the course of a year, it totals about 72 days spent just in front of a smartphone screen. Shocking, isn’t it?
The same survey says that Americans are quite concerned about this. More than half of them (53%) want to reduce their phone use, with 49% saying they’re addicted to it. The hardest app to put down? Yes, it’s social media. In fact, 79% of Americans say social media apps are the most addictive on their phones.
To reduce your time on social media, start with these four simple steps:
- Disable mobile notifications.
- Set app limits using your phone’s built-in screen time tools.
- Remove app icons from the home screen
- Delete social media apps, if you can.
Minimize Distractions
Clear out the noise that interrupts your focus.
Get rid of browser tabs you haven’t used in a while. Having hundreds of open tabs can feel like multitasking, but it often just steals your attention. Try keeping only the ones relevant to what you’re working on. If something else catches your eye, save it with a quick bookmark and revisit it later.
Tidy up your documents by merging PDFs into one file. This combines multiple pages or files into one manageable document.
Clear out unnecessary photos and files. Do you really need 15 nearly identical shots of the same sunrise? Probably not. Take some time to look through your gallery and delete duplicates and blurry pictures. Use this same approach with your downloads, screenshots, and old documents.
Unsubscribe from emails you don’t read. Think about how many newsletters land in your inbox daily that you never actually open. They clutter your mind and drown out important messages.
