Are you a programmer or a coder that never seems to get enough accomplished even though are you always working? The problem might not be that you’re not working hard enough; the problem might be that you’re not working efficiently enough. In order to really increase your productivity during the time that you are working it’s important to take steps to maximize your work hours so that you get everything done that needs to be done. If you want to increase your productivity without increasing your working hours here are 5 tips that you can use to increase your productivity:

Organize your workspace

You can lose a lot of precious time looking for small items or trying to keep straight all the papers, books, discs, computer parts and other items cluttering up your workspace. Make sure you have a clean, uncluttered workspace so that you grab anything you might need quickly and don’t have to stop working to search for things. You’ll find that your productivity goes up when the amount of clutter around your computer, on your desk and in your workspace goes down. If you have to hire someone to come in and clean and organize your office do it. In the long run that will be money well spent.

Get rid of distractions

When you’re working turn Skype off, turn your cell phone, close your office door and put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on it. Don’t let anything distract you from the task at hand. Let all your calls go to voicemail and don’t check your email. Stay off Instant Messenger. Focus on your work.

Schedule effectively

No one knows your patterns of concentration better than you. Pick a block of about 3-4 hours of time when you are fully alert and are able to concentrate really well. Block off that time just for working. Don’t schedule any meetings, conference calls, appointments or anything else during that time. That is the time when you can buckle down and throw everything you have into your work. If you do that on a regular basis you’ll be amazed at how high your productivity will go.

Take breaks

Sitting hunched over a computer for huge blocks of time isn’t good for your mental or physical health. When you reach a good stopping point and you’re getting ready to move on to a new phase of the project that you’re working on, or when you need a minute to work out a solution to a problem then walk away from the computer. Get a cup of coffee or tea, get some water, take a quick walk around the block, or do some stretching. Do whatever you need to do to get your blood flowing again. When you feel clear headed the get back to work.

Break it down

When you’re coding or programming and you are dealing with complex processes that take forever to troubleshoot and create work-arounds for you lose a lot of productivity. In order to increase productivity and not lose it when you start a project break down all the processes that you will be using to their base components and start there. In the end it will save you a lot of time and increase productivity.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC – 531 BC)