** warning: these productivity tips have nothing to do with credit crunch but I liked the title better with those words in.

Over the next few weeks I’m going to try and improve my productivity by implementing a few simple techniques. There is nothing ground breaking here but sometimes its good to focus on the basics and fine tune a couple of things. Perhaps you, like me, are sick of looking at your watch to find a few hours have passed and you’ve done lots of things, but none of them being what you were supposed to have done.

Avoid interruption
- Here’s a radical idea. Only have your email turned on at preplanned points throughout the day. Email is one of the biggest productivity killers because when you leave it on all day you become a slave to it. If you get a lot of mail it will be coming through in a steady stream all day. In my case most email I get requires some sort of response and it’s really tempting to respond to things as they arrive (we all like a clean inbox – right?). Personal preference will dictate how often you check it: for some three times a day for 30 minutes a pop works a treat.

- Turn off Twitter, instant messaging and anything else that pops up. Mates are great, aren’t they just, as is their every waking thought but there is a time and a place. If you’re busy, turn it off.

- Set aside some ‘procrastination time’, and be strict about how many precious hours you devote to that fine black hole. Sites like Proggit and Hacker News are great for knowledge but if you are not careful you’ve lost two hours in there. You know an awful lot about an algorithm you’ve never heard about before but your real work – you know, that stuff you get paid for – is still untouched.

- Headphones. There is nothing better for shutting everything out in a busy office than sticking on the cans and losing yourself in the soundtrack to your own life. Try as I might not to listen to others around me, my brain can’t shut everything out – especially as most of what’s going on can usually involve or affect me in some way. Shut it out – focus on the task at hand.

Exercise
The benefits of regular exercise are well know but one of the main advantages for me when working 18 hour days (and that’s just on a Sunday!) is that my energy levels are quite high for most of the time. I never used to be a big fan but once you get past the first month or so of a regular exercise plan you sleep better, feel like eating more healthily and you are much more productive. Take a walk. Run, even. Go on.