Read: Step One | Step Two | Step Three

This year I'm changing that- and the changes that I've made so far have absolutely changed my life!

On Tuesdays for the next five weeks I’m going to share the first steps I’ve taken to get from overwhelmed and stressed to seeing a new way of working that’s positive, productive and doesn’t rule my life. These are practical and simple things that have helped me ramp down my stress and get centered so I can be better at my business and be more fun in my down time. They can work for you whether you're self employed or love working at your nine to five- and if you're stressed out or burned out, I hope they turn things around for you too.

Step Four – Stop Banning Yourself From Facebook & Start Tracking Productivity

Making sure that my time online is productive is a huge part of every day for me, but thinking about all the things that I have to stay away from online just doesn't work for me. Instead, I've found a hands off online tool that makes sure I'm aware of my productivity every day.

This is the part where my inner organization geek comes out: the graphs! The glorious graphs!!

RescueTime is a free personal analytics service that installs in the background of your computer and tracks what you do online. It filters that information through customizable productivity settings that you can tailor to your work day and generates all kinds of statistics for you. You can learn more about it here if you're curious. There's a paid service, which I use because I think it's really interesting and want to support the RescueTime team.

This is a really helpful tool for seeing where your day goes, how your productivity ebbs and flows by the hour, and what kind of work is taking up your time. I love using this info to see how I can plan to have a better day than the one before, or seeing exactly what I did if my day flies by without feeling productive.

I usually check in at the end of my work day, but knowing that I get a better score for staying on task makes my work day feel more like a game and helps me to stay dedicated.

The other tool that I use to help stay on track with the batched schedule I make for each day is really low tech: a kitchen timer. (Mine is the one above, from Ikea) I set this at the start of every work task I tackle during the day so that as it ticks I have an audible reminder that, “oh yea! I'm supposed to be on task!” I find that it helps me stay aware of the time I'm using for work that can expand to take up my day (*cough* email *cough*) so I'm being as productive as I can be when I'm working. After all, a productive work day means you can wrap up early or dive into a part of your job that you really love.

There are lots of apps that you can find online that serve the same purpose, but I find that having a physical timer really helps me. And since I work from home I don't have coworkers who would be driven crazy by the ticking!

This is the fourth in a five part I've been sharing, so be sure to check back next week for my newest (and favourite) step yet!

What tricks or tools do you use to stay productive during the work day?

I'm such a productivity nerd, I'd love to hear your tips! :)