The 5 Best Productivity Hacks to Bring into the New Year

It’s almost the end of January and we may have thrown all our New Year’s resolutions out the window - but it’s never too late to introduce some new habits into your life and routine.

I’ve been doing these hacks for at least a couple of years now, and each of these have proven to be eye-opening, time saving or efficient in some way. Without any further ado, let’s begin!

Tip #1: Pick a theme of the year

Every year I have a long list of resolutions that I want to achieve for the next 12 months, however, I’ve found the best way to stay consistent and focused for the year is to pick a theme or ‘Word of the Year’ that embodies my mindset and overall goals. For 2021, I chose ‘Balance’ because I wanted to juggle different facets of my life (work, travel, social, personal projects). In 2021, my word was ‘Foundation’ - it was my goal that year to establish routines, create my space, and get adjusted to a new job and lifestyle.

In 2023, my theme is ‘Slow Growth’ and ‘Selfish’. For ‘Slow Growth’, I want to take the pressure off EVERYTHING I do. I want to take my time building new habits, and maintaining sustainable growth on my personal projects. For the word ‘Selfish’, I want to spend more time with myself, taking care of my needs, and setting healthy boundaries. 

Mia Freedman, founder of Mamamia, explores her approach to her word of the year in the episode How to Actually Stick to Your New Year's Goals on 8 Minutes to Change Your (Work) Life.

Tip #2: Just show up

As a perfectionist - I always thought that if something couldn’t be done perfectly, there was no point of doing it at all. If I couldn’t see any tangible process or improvement, I would give up because I couldn’t do it right the first time. 

However in this past year, I’ve started to realise the massive impact of ‘just showing up’. I always have to remind myself - if I did something every week for a whole year, I would be in a better place than if I didn’t do it at all. Even if there’s ebbs and flows, there will be a natural progression if you show up and do the thing (even if it’s done poorly)!

Tip #3: Get back into books by reading 10 pages a day

I used to be a massive bookworm back in the day - I would spend my recesses and lunches in the library coveting the latest fiction releases. But as I grew up, reading became more of a chore. I still loved the idea of reading, but I found that I didn’t have the time or attention span to sit down and read a book, let alone finish one!

To combat this, I tried a couple things - set a goal to read 1 book a month (that didn’t work); set a goal to read 1 hour a day (that didn’t work either!). Even trying to sit down to read for 15 minutes every day didn’t work. Even though that seemed like a short time, in the 15 minutes I would find myself becoming distracted and only read a couple pages.

So instead I adopted the ‘10 pages a day’ goal. I really love this goal for reading because it’s not time based - it’s page based. So the time you spend reading a book can vary based on how quickly you read the pages. 10 pages is very short, yet you can easily finish a 300 page book in a month, or an average book in less than 2 weeks. AND - if I love a book I always read more than 10 pages, so I’m able to complete books faster.

Tip #4: Eliminate decisions during your day

As I’ve become older, I’ve realised how many decisions I’ve had to make everyday - and the toll it takes on my energy levels. Even something as small as deciding what to wear or what to eat, can drain my battery during the day.

So where I can, I have things on autopilot - I usually have a written down routine where I do the same things every morning, and I have a very minimal wardrobe which means I spend very little time choosing what to wear. I tend to plan my days and to-do’s using my Timeblock Planner early in the morning, so when I’m doing tasks I’m not deciding what to do next, it’s already been decided!

In the second season of the podcast, Dr Amantha Imber walks us through hacks to eliminate decisions throughout the day. 

Tip #5: Saying No

Saying “no” to things has been something I’ve had to master in the last couple years, and I'm still navigating my journey with it. On one hand, I get serious FOMO if I don't say no and I don't want to let anyone down by saying no (cue: my people pleasing tendencies). But on the other hand, saying yes to everything means I'm spending my energy where it doesn't deserve to go. 

Saying 'No' can open up space in your schedule and space in your mind to focus on things that actually matter. When I was saying yes to everything I was spreading myself far too thin and getting anxious as a result of it. Having more autonomy over what you truly want to do will set you free.

If you love these tips there's many more on my podcast 8 Minutes to Change Your (Work) Life. Listen to it on Mamamia or your favourite podcast app.