Four Ways to Improve Your Friday Productivity

If you are like me, Fridays are my least productive day of the week. I just keep whispering to myself - just get through the day without getting fired or arrested. It’s hard for me to focus because my mind is thinking about the weekend.

I find myself looking at my to-do list and saying, some of these tasks (mostly all) can wait until Monday. And on Monday, I’m in that vicious cycle of trying to catch up through the week because I procrastinated on Friday.

I’m always looking for ways to be more productive, I’ve been using the four tips below for about 3 months now. My Fridays are just a bit more productive now, saving me from my own madness on Mondays.

1. Plan Your Work Flow for the Following Week. Taking some time on Friday afternoon to assign dates to accomplish tasks for the next week, particularly complex tasks, will assist in structuring your week and your day. Remain flexible during minor hiccups that may disrupt your flow.

2. Schedule Meetings. Meetings are unavoidable and part of doing business. However, scheduling meetings and phone calls on Fridays may allow you to focus on more complex tasks during the week and leave Fridays for meetings and catch up on phone calls.

3. Tackle the smaller tasks. Completing smaller tasks allows you to feel like you’ve accomplished something! In addition, you aren't “over-committing” yourself to a complex task that may take more time or energy than you have available on Friday. Use this time to clean your inbox or organize your workspace.

4. Incorporate the Pomodoro Technique. Ok, I know what you are thinking...but hear me out on this one. So, the Pomodoro is a time management technique that splits your day into 25-minute increments with a 5-minute break in between. The purpose is to inspire you to accomplish as much work as you can in the 25-minute period. Those of you that like Tabata workouts will appreciate this technique. You can download a timer app on your phone or download the Chrome extension.

You don’t have to chalk your unproductivity up to the game. Try implementing some or all of these techniques to see if they assist you with increased productivity.