The problem of being good at what you do is that everyone is expecting you to keep doing it. This means that even if you are not finished with your current project, there is already new work for you. But don't you think that this may ruin your productivity? I have been questioning myself often how to avoid it, here is what I found.

Learn to say no

Saying yes when you should be saying no can seem like a small thing in the moment, but over time such compromises can create regrets. If you are working on something, it is only you who can manage your time in order to be more productive.

Can you imagine yourself working on something important, while somebody interrupts you with new task or advice. The way to avoid it is to force people to understand, that adding something to your workload needs to come with a clear description of its priority. This will also make it easier to work without fear of getting dumped on.

Limit the interruptions

I am happy that today we have so many communication tools available, but not for the benefit of others to constantly interrupt our lives. When I am working on something important I try to avoid any outside interruptions.Few tactics I use:

Limit callers
Don't answer any calls
Read important emails only
Use quick form of communications

Prioritise your life

It is very important to know what you need to do first and which task is important to you at that moment. You can avoid regrets by setting priorities in your life, work or anywhere you think you might need them.

My priorities are usually time based and to get them all managed, I put them in time based folders:

Today
This Week
This Month

If someone interrupts me with new task or I have a new job to do, I simply need to know the deadline. With this information I can continue my current work without creating stress and move to the new one, based on the time folder I put it in. Sometimes it is hard to continue your current task if you know that there is something new, important waiting to be done. But if I know that this is something I have whole day, week of month for, I will easily finish my current task before I move to the new one.

Stick to one goal at a time

If you are a kind of person that likes to take on a lot of projects, then you know it is incredibly easy to get weighted down by multiple goals. Motivation is in itself a great thing, but it can easily get out of your hands if you have too much going on.

The solution of this is to take only one goal at the time. This is the only way that you will get the project done and the satisfaction of finishing it is motivation itself for the new one.