7 Real Productivity Tips From an Engineer

There is so much productivity advice and productivity tips out there from morning routines, to programs, all that kind of stuff...and I've tried most of it. So I tried to filter out what works for me, a guy working a regular job, not an entrepreneur with a 4 hour morning routine, and how it benefits my work and life.

Instagram: @kikoga

0:00 I've Tried It All....And Failed A Lot
0:42 Tip 1
Time blocking is one of those things that I've been doing for a bit, and I always get a lot out of it. I time block my calendar for the week usually on Sunday evenings and try to plan my week out. In construction, there's things that pop up all the time, so I just adjust my calendar. Using Motion (link below) helps to do it for me, with minor adjustments.

2:20 Tip 2
To do lists are key for getting your tasks into one place. You then put these tasks into your time blocked calendar to allocate time to this. A program like Motion will do both for you and I like that you can assign time frames to it and it automatically shuffles things around based upon that and priority. I usually put my main meeting/recurring items in my google calendar, then put my work tasks into Motion and let both calendars talk to each other to allocate my tasks.

4:11 Tip 3
Just Start. Probably one of the most underrated tasks. Every task for me always seems bigger in my head than it really is. And just getting the ball rolling starts that momentum.

5:17 Tip 4
Break big tasks into smaller tasks. This also helps with the "just starting" aspect of things, because if a task seems so insurmountable, its hard to just start because you think you need the right conditions for it. When you break down the tasks into more manageable chunks, it feels better to complete and then you slowly tackle the big task.

6:22 Tip 5
Giving yourself timeframes. Similar to how it happens in Motion, you want to have at least a target for your tasks. I do believe in Parkinsons Law that says that your tasks fills the time you allot for it because I tend to be a master procrastinator at times. Holding yourself to a deadline, maybe even using a timer to help, can help give you that surge to keep going.

7:27 Tip 6
Spending more time, working more. This is a bit counter intuitive, but in essence, your main goal at work is to get as much done as possible for the day. Working more can definitely accomplish that. The other by product of working a lot, is that, especially if you are new, the more time you put in, the faster you can get at the tasks as you have more practice with it.

8:33 Tip 7
Website blocker. Even phone blockers. I do believe that when your focus is cut off due to notifications, it can really derail your flow state. It's good to have these on so that your environment doesn't have an adverse effect on your work. You want to set up your environment so it is as easy as possible to churn out the work.

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Productivity Apps That Help Me At Work
Motion: https://get.usemotion.com/ucejgocqz8vw
ToDoist: For To Do List Tracking
Youtube Time for Website Blocking

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PE Exam Materials I Used To Pass:
NCEES Practice Exam (can also get this through NCEES): https://amzn.to/3wq3WOB
Civil Engineering Reference Manual (I used older 14th Edition): https://amzn.to/3gw201i
Lindeberg Practice Problems (I had an older version of this): https://amzn.to/3pWwxZw

Software Used In Construction:
AutoCad https://amzn.to/3qGt1lz
Autodesk Revit https://amzn.to/3qEl6Fe
Microsoft Office https://amzn.to/3pFMPnQ

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Drone https://amzn.to/2ZyJkET

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