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10 WAYS TOPOCKET READERS
10 WAYS TO - Series Overview

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The 10 WAYS TO series provides advice, skills, andstrategies to the readers for successfully negotiating
different aspects of life. Each book suggests 10 clear,
useful ways to the reader. The reader is encouraged
to critically reflect on the reading material and theirown lives in order to make any changes that would
benefit them.The series includes the following.
••••••••••

10 ways to achieve work-life balance
10 ways to be more productive
10 ways to manage money
10 ways to be successful in love
10 ways to be assertive
10 ways to be smart online
10 ways to be environmentally friendly
10 ways to be healthy
10 ways to work in a team
10 ways to organize a trip

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More titles will appear in the series at a later date.

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be Productive

10 WAYS TO
be Productive.... 4

1. Create your workspace.... 6

2. Set goals and times.... 8

3. Have routines...104. Do the most difficult things first... 12

5. Don’t multitask... 14

6. Avoid distractions... 16

7. Use your commute productively... 18

8. Find ways to motivate yourself... 209. Be healthy... 22

10. Know yourself... 24

Summary... 26

Reflection Questions... 28

Vocabulary in Context... 29Vocabulary List... 36DO SA
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TIntroduction3

10 WAYS TOIntroduction

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C INOTWe all have things we need to do forour jobs or for school. We may needto write reports. We may need toprepare presentations. We may needto research things. We may need time
to plan, practice, and prepare things.

DHowever, it is very easy for us toprocrastinate. It is easy for us to delay
or avoid doing our work. It is easy for
us to waste time. We may wake earlyin the morning. And then, we decideto stay longer in bed. We go back tosleep. We may start playing games
on our smartphones. And then, wedecide to play for a longer time. Wemay switch on the TV to watch one
TV program. And then, we decide to4be ProductiveO SAN MOH T PLAELI PRC INO
Twatch TV all night. We may start ourwork. And then, five minutes later, wedecide to go for a walk or decide tostart cleaning the house.
Being productive means that weproduce a lot. We get things done. We
don’t procrastinate. Being productive
is about the best use of our time. We
use our time well to do the things weneed to do.

DNow, stop and think for a moment
about your life. Are you productive?
Or, do you often procrastinate? Doyou want to be more productive? Let’slook at ten ways that you can do this:5

10 WAYS TO

1. Create your workspace

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Think about where you do most ofyour work. Do you have your ownworkspace? Is your workspace a goodplace for working? Is it comfortable?
Is it quiet? Is it a good place forconcentrating on your work?

DTo be productive, it is a good idea tohave a separate space for working anda separate space for relaxing. Yourworkspace could be a desk in yourroom. It could be a table in a study
room. It could even be a table in alibrary or coffee shop. When you go
to your workspace and sit down, youthen know that it is time to work.
Your6workspaceshouldbea

be Productive

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comfortable place with a good chair.
It should be a place where you canconcentrate. It should be a place whereother people will not talk to you in themiddle of your work. Your workspaceshould be clean and tidy. This will
help you concentrate. It will also
be easy to find the things you need.
Your workspace should also be quiet.
However, some people like to work
while listening to music. If so, choosemusic with no words. This will also
help you concentrate better. Create orfind a workspace that is the best foryou and your productivity.

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10 WAYS TO

2. Set goals and times

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TThink about the work you need to do.
To be more productive, set yourself
goals every day. Start each day with alist. Make a list of the things you will
work on. Make a list of the things you
plan to finish that day. If you have abig task you need to do, separate it
into smaller tasks. These tasks canthen be done over a few days or weeks.
Remember not to have too manythings on your daily list. You want tobe able to achieve your goals with thetime you have available.
When working on your daily goals, seta timer. Choose a time you will workfor. For example, this could be 25minutes. Start the timer. Concentrate8

be Productive

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Ton your work for 25 minutes. Then,take a 5-minute break. Set the timer
for another 25 minutes. Start the timer
again. Concentrate on your work for
another 25 minutes. Take another5-minute break. Keep doing this. After
2 hours of working, start to take longer
breaks after each 25-minute periodof concentration. By doing this, you
should get lots of work done each day.
Your productivity should increase.

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Reflection Questions

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1. Can you remember the 10 ways to be
more productive? Test yourself. If you
forget any, go back, and read themagain.

2. Do you do any of the 10 ways to bemore productive in your life? If so,which ones do you do?
3. How could you use any of the 10 ways
to be more productive in your life?

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4. What do you think you will do differently in your life after reading thisbook?

5. Can you think of other ways to be moreproductive?

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be Productive

Vocabulary in Context
1. Procrastinate

O SAN MOH T PLAE
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what we need to do.
• I procrastinated all day and did not start
my homework.
• If you didn’t procrastinate, you would
have more time to work on your tasks.
2. Delay• It is easy for us to delay doing our work.
• The train was delayed by 30 minutes, so I
was late for work.
• After a short delay, the soccer gamestarted again.
3. ProductiveD• Being productive means that we produce
a lot. We get things done.
• Creating a good workspace will increase
your productivity.
• I had a very unproductive day. I got
nothing done.

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Vocabulary List(Verb) to delay or avoid doing something.

Delay:(Verb and Noun) to put off doing something to alater date; the action of delaying.

Productive:(Adjective) to do a lot of something; to get things
done. Productivity (Noun) is how much or how
quickly you can produce something.

Workspace:(Noun) the place somebody works (e.g. a desk).

Concentrate:(Verb) to have attention or focus on a particulartask. Concentration (Noun) is the ability to concentrate on something.

Tidy:(Adjective) to have things in order so you can findthem easily (e.g. a tidy desk).

Task:(Noun) work that needs to be done (e.g. a piece ofhomework).

Routine:(Noun) the actions that somebody does regularly(e.g. a morning routine).

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Procrastinate:

Natural:(Adjective) an action that somebody can do without thinking too much about it (e.g. riding a bicycle becomes natural to us).

Refreshed:(Adjective) to feel less tired and get your energy
back. Refresh (Verb) is the action of doing something to get your energy back.

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