The Goal Of Being Productive

The goal is to achieve successful milestones with fewer resources, time, and effort. Therefore, you need to develop a consistent and repeatable process that helps you do the work effectively and efficiently. This is achievable by shifting the focus from obsessing about the outcome to the process of achieving that outcome.

The fact is most of us have spent years cultivating our life and work habits whether good or bad, consciously or subconsciously. Unfortunately, those won’t change immediately, deliberate choices have to be made and an efficient process is needed.

Small adjustments can lead to more lasting changes, but those may take time and discipline. It looks really easy when you’re reading a productivity article like this but it’s not. Motivation and deadlines can boost your capacity to achieve short-term goals. But finding meaningful patterns that could advance your long-term productivity can be challenging.

But you have a choice. One thing to note is that doing more of the small tasks is actually doing less by focusing on things that matter and having solid control over the process to achieve desired outcomes. Determination and patience is the key.

Charles Duhigg defines productivity as “making certain choices in certain ways” that move us from being “merely busy” to “genuinely productive” in his book Smarter Faster Better.

15 Productivity Tips That Will Change Your Life

1. List it Out!

Planning and Prioritizing things helps one save both time and energy. This allows you to set a Perfect Work-Life Balance.

Personally, I prefer to mix & match the old-fashioned pen-to-paper planners and to-do lists with their tech counterparts. Some really good apps include Notion, Google Calendar, and Todoist. I also prefer to prepare my list a week in advance for routines, habits, and goals then tweak it a day or night before for some tasks that need to be achieved the following day.

2. Eat the Frog

As Mark Twain once said “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” Eating the frog means “Just do it”, otherwise, the frog will eat you-meaning that you’ll end up procrastinating the whole day.

Here’s a great resource from Author Brian Tracy: Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time 

TIP: Every morning or the night before, write or mark down your top three tasks for the day. Be clear with what you write and use more than a three-word description.

“Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.” -Dale Carnegie, American writer

3. Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks.

A Pomodoro is 25 minutes because it’s the perfect length of time to help you not procrastinate, be productive, create urgency and help you stay focused on any task you are tackling.

For most of us, time is an enemy. We race against the clock to finish work and deadlines – this technique teaches you to work with time, instead of struggling against it.

4. The Five-Minute Rule

Small tasks pop up throughout the day, but you don’t want to waste time contemplating whether or not you should do them.

It’s best to go by the rule “If it doesn’t take more than 5 minutes, just do it!“, this way some of the menial everyday tasks don’t stack up. If it takes more than five minutes then schedule the task in your planner write it just below your top three tasks for the day and take care of it later.

Learn more from Mel Robbins book: The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage 

5. Batching

Task batching is a planning process that groups similar activities together to improve focus and productivity. Batching tasks works because you’re maintaining the same frame of mind for all the tasks involved.

An example: Batching your “social tasks” together, like emails, text messages, and voice mails. It’s either you batch by time blocks or schedule by days. Always batch similar tasks together when planning your day or week, it’ll definitely make your work process flow smoothly.

“Focus on being productive instead of busy.” -Tim Ferriss, American podcaster, author, and entrepreneur

6. Time Blocking

As defined by the app Todoist “Time blocking is a time management method that asks you to divide your day into blocks of time. Each block is dedicated to accomplishing a specific task, or group of tasks.

1. Start with your high-level priorities
2. Set aside time for both Challenging & Easy tasks
3. Schedule your breaks (not just lunch)
4. Write down your daily to-do list (for work, home, and family/social) and fill it up
5. Overestimate how long things will take (at least to start)
6. Add blocks for reactive tasks each day
7. Place buffers in between tasks
8. Put in time for downtime, relaxation, and learning

It’s not always that we need to do more but rather that we need to focus on less. It’s about maximizing what we do with the time that we have.

7. Schedule in Buffer time

Buffer time is extra time added to a task or service duration for unplanned things. For example, if you have a 25-minute meeting, but you know there will be some small conversations with colleagues afterward, then add a 10-minute buffer time before you proceed to your next work.

8. Prioritize and Set Deadlines

There isn’t time to do everything so make sure you prioritize your MVT (Most Valuable Task). Also, you’re more likely to get things done when you have a deadline to work towards.

9. Multitasking Is Not 100% Effective

We want to get all things done for the day and so we like to multitask. The problem with multitasking especially when we pair it with important tasks is that the focus will not be 100% on that task. So if you have 3 things to do on your list give your all on one task before moving to the next, in this way you’ll produce a better and faster output.

10. Break Down Tasks

When you are faced with a big task, it helps if you break the task down into smaller, more manageable parts. This will help you avoid stress and procrastination.

The solution is to work in short bursts with breaks in between compared to long intervals of work and rest. This will help keep your momentum going and give your mind a breather to think better and a body that’s not too drained.

11. Organize, Organize, Organize

Be organized by filing and keeping things where you can find them. An organized space has fewer distractions giving you the power to think more freely and positively, which ultimately promotes productivity.

Dr. Augustin explains. “Too much clutter can signal a lack of control and confuse that sense of identity.”

12. Automation Is A Time Saver

Automation improves the accuracy and consistency of workflows. It helps you save time, and get a handle on some of those more time-consuming, menial tasks you have on your schedule. Find time in your schedule to automate some of your tasks in advance, in this way you can do all the rest in batches.

If you need to promote online, on social media, or send emails- apps like Tailwind, Convertkit, and Crowdfire are your best bet.

13. Block Out Distractions

Distractions have a huge cost on our focus and productivity. Every time we get distracted, we pay a price for wasted time. According to Gloria Mark, a University of California professor who studies interruptions, she said: “it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the task.”

Interruptions are inevitable, but that doesn’t mean you have to face them unprepared. From email notifications, social media, games, ebooks, apps, etc. tech devices lead the way as the #1 tool for distractions nowadays. Make it a practice to turn off your notifications and block out anything else that might distract you.

14. Practice Note Taking

With so much information flooding in throughout your day. It’s impossible to remember everything. Don’t rely on your thoughts and ideas, you need to write them down.

15. Just Start And Keep Going

“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” Bill Gates

Being more productive can make life easier for you, especially if you commit to the system that will work best in keeping you on top of things. There are many benefits of personal productivity. The biggest benefit of productivity is that it leads to a fulfilled and happy life.

If you enjoyed this article check out a similar post on ENERGY MOOD HACKS: HOW TO GET THAT BOOST ON A LAZY DAY

Breaking the System

Lifestyle is a way of life established by an individual, society, or group. It’s a typical way of living. These habits, behaviors, interests, and opinions may have been shaped unconsciously by following a default path in the system.

Here’s a glimpse of what being part of the system means:

• Get a degree & work from 9 to 5
• Settle for whatever life has to offer
• Life is short, just go with the flow
• Don’t go against the norm
• Life is unfair and there’s nothing you can do about that
• Just follow the leader
• Work your whole life so that you can have money when you retire
• The currency of success is measured in money
• Money is the root of all evil
• A sedentary life is safe

A Modern Way of Living 

In this modern society, people are becoming more conscious of the way they live. Life design states that you work with the intention to change aspects of your life that align with your beliefs, values, and goals. It’s all about creating your own definitions of success, who you want to be, and the life you chose to live and bringing that into reality regardless of other people’s opinions or social norms.

The secret to living your best life is to make it your own. Lifestyle designers are people who live life by design. They don’t believe they need to wait for financial independence to design a life they love.

As the saying goes ” If there’s a will, there’s a way”. Whether it’s health & wellness, mindset, or financial success, whatever it is, you can start where you are, with what you have. The point is to take the necessary steps to change – build new habits, find balance and structure your goals.

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If you’re asking how? The answer is as simple as making a decision. To change the exterior, we first need to fix the interior. Find out what’s stopping you, what are your limiting beliefs? A great way to start would be to do a self-evaluation process. This will help start your journey.

If your trying to figure out what you really want (not what you should want) start here:

• Ask yourself: who are you, and what do you really want?
• Redefine your beliefs about what you should do, who you should be, and what’s possible.
• Be specific about where you want to spend your time, energy, and money.
• Be clear about your definition of success.
• Make a plan, and brainstorm your options on how you could achieve your goals.
• Determine ways you can close the gap between the life you have and the life you want.
• Analyze the results and make improvements as you see fit.

“You don’t need to see the whole staircase, you just need to take the first step.”

9 Secrets to Living your Best Life

Here is a list of a few potential lifestyle designs:

1. Challenge your Mind

Keeping your mind active and challenged is one of the most critical ways to be healthy therefore, engaging the mind prevents age-related cognitive decline and enhances virtually every aspect of life. 

2. Nurture a Positive Attitude

There is a positive relationship between optimism and understanding how to start living a healthy lifestyle. Remember your thoughts create your feelings and your feelings dictate your actions. Try to be objective and check internally, there are numerous ways to find behavioral patterns that don’t serve you and replace them with more beneficial ones.

3. The people who surround you

Chose wisely the people who surround you, they are your influences. It’s important to make sure your values and goals align. Also, find a mentor, someone living the life you want to live. Successful people encourage you to do more and be more.

4. Gratitude

Remind yourself about all the things you’re grateful for. Staying present throughout the day is one of the many Powerful ways to live a healthy lifestyle.

5. Prioritize your Health

Eating right not only takes care of your body but also of your mind. Learn to be conscious of what you eat. Equally important is exercise. Try to be proactive, fitness is an integral part of living a healthy lifestyle.

6. Engage in new Activities

Find the time to expand your interests outside of work. Pursue a passion that you love or one that’s been on hold for a while. Travel and see the world.

7. Take a break from Technology

Our phones, laptops, and other gadgets have become a necessity that somehow we can’t live without. We neglect the fact that Nature has more to offer. So try to make concrete choices about how you use technology and where it fits in living a healthy lifestyle.

8. Focus on your Passion

If you have a passion, a talent, or a skill. You can turn that into a business. Thanks to the internet, a lot of people are doing the laptop lifestyle by working from home or traveling, working part- or full-time. You are the boss.

9. Career or Business

Find a job you actually enjoy or you can choose to become self-employed, start your own business or do freelance or contract work. 

Living a Life of Intention

“Lead a life of your own design, on your own terms. Not one that others or the environment have scripted for you.” Tony Robbins

Remember even minor adjustments, lead to change. Living a life of Intention means giving power to yourself to decide how you live your life.

5 Reasons you should be designing your life:

• You only have one life
• Freedom
• Opportunity
• Security
• Time

We only have one life to live, so live your life to the fullest. In the end, you will see that the effort was worth it!

Here’s another great read: CAN A GOOD PERSON WITH BAD HABITS CHANGE THEIR LIFE?

The problem though is we assume we have control over time, we don’t. Only our attention determines the experiences we have, and in turn, determines the life we live. Or said another way: you must control your attention to control your life. 

Attention management is about being intentional instead of reactive. It is the ability to recognize when your attention has gone awry and to deliberately bring the focus back to your priorities. This is a day-to-day struggle for all especially because distractions are at their all-time high.

With the internet and other devices leading the way, checking things off a to-do list has been very challenging. There’s this conflict between our goals and the lure of distractions. Practicing attention management means fighting back against these distractions and creating opportunities throughout your day to support your priorities

The ultimate result is the ability to create a life of choice, around things that are important to you. It’s more than just exercising focus. It is deliberately choosing where you direct your attention at any given moment, based on an understanding of your priorities and goals. 

According to Maura Thomas, a productivity expert and author of Attention Management. “When most people think of managing their time, their first instinct is to make an appointment with themselves (at 9 a.m., I’m going to finish my quarterly analysis; at 10:30, I’ll start answering emails). The issue, as Thomas points out, is that it’s easy—the easiest—to break an appointment with yourself. Who’s going to stop you?”

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Through her research, writing, and experience teaching productivity, Thomas has come to define attention management as “a collection of behaviors that give you the opportunity to recognize where your head is at, and [the ability] to shift to the brain state that is more relevant in the moment.” 

Attention not Time

If you want to be more productive, your focus should largely be on your attention, not your time. We all have 24 hrs. a day, the difference is in how you end up using them. We can’t control time itself, but we can control what we do with it – and that largely depends on where your attention is used.

Attention Management needs a mix of focus, self-control, boundaries, and willpower. Sounds intimidating but with awareness and consistent action you can build this into a new habit.

The reality is most people maintain continuous partial attention throughout the day, hopping from task to task and managing several things without being truly engaged in any one of them. People often think multitasking makes them more productive, but the opposite is true.

According to research whenever you break your concentration – such as switching from one task to another – it takes almost 30 minutes each time to properly refocus.

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Top tips for Managing your Attention

1. Control your Attention

To better manage your attention, you need to understand how it is actually spent. Try to identify the unconscious tasks and behaviors that disrupt you. 

2. Control your Environment 

The environment around you has a major impact on your attention and focus.

• Set boundaries with others. When you’re at work, close your door or you could consider using headphones or putting up a “do not disturb” sign. 
• Organize your workspace a clean space equals a clear mind.
• Design your surroundings This could be buying an office plant or a small fish tank which would ease your stress whenever your look at them.

3. Remove Distractions

Defend your attention by managing distractions proactively.

Technology is the #1 cause of distractions. Remember, it’s there to serve you, not the other way around! Decide to take control:

• Leverage the “Do Not Disturb” feature on your devices
• Switch on Airplane Mode
• Turn off notifications and alerts
• Reduce your screen time

4. Control your Behavior

When your technology is tamed and your do-not-disturb sign is up, is time to do single-tasking. Give your full attention to one task until it’s complete. Take breaks, “unplug” completely (no technology), refresh your mind and move your body as often as you can. Try it for 15-20 minutes but make sure you go back and finish the planned task.

Try the Pomodoro technique. The idea is to set a timer of 20 minutes and stay completely focussed for those 20 minutes, then take a break.

5. Learn to Prioritize

Motivation is crucial to managing your attention, but motivation tends to fade. Having a clear idea of your goals can be a huge help. Try to figure out which tasks will actually help you accomplish your goals, and put them first.

You might want to use the “Eisenhower Principle” to understand which tasks are really important and which are urgent.

6. Practice Focus Exercise

A Harvard study stated that we spend almost 50% of our waking time thinking about something other than what we are supposed to be doing. This can include: contemplating events that happened in the past, might happen in the future, or may never happen at all.

Start building productive habits that’ll train your brain to stay focused by gradually increasing your level of concentration.

• Meditation helps to keep you calm and collected.
• Breathing exercises to release your anxieties.
• Eye exercises This exercise will help you take a break from the screen and increase your attention level.

7. Control your thoughts This is the most challenging and difficult part because minds are made to wander. Practice noticing when your mind is veering off in its own direction, and gently guide your focus back to where you want it.

Practicing attention management will not eliminate distractions from your day. But as you start to recognize when you become distracted, and you build your “attention muscle habit”, you’ll start to reclaim your life.

Another great read: YOUR PAST IS NOT YOUR FUTURE: SIMPLE WAYS TO THRIVE

The popular phrase “Consistency is Key ” rings true in all aspects of life because consistency leads to self-discipline, teaches you self-control, establishes a habit that impacts your productivity and performance, improves your overall personality, and builds momentum. Therefore, the key factor between successful people and those who give up on their goals is their value on consistency.

Consistency is all about repetition. To consistently put in the hard work, trying new ideas, failing, and getting back up again. It’s about building small empowering habits and rituals that you practice every single day that keep you focused on your highest priorities and goals. No excuses, no complaints. You and you alone are accountable for what you do and what you fail to do. All responsibility lies solely in your hands.

It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently. – Anthony Robbins

Why People Struggle with Consistency

It’s a well-known fact that most people struggle to stay consistent. Most of us are simply not focused, committed, or disciplined enough to stick with something in the short-term for long-term results. In this era, we prefer instant gratification – in other words, if we don’t get immediate results from our actions, there’s no point in continuing in the long haul.

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: Some of the links in this post may contain affiliate links. This means that If you make a purchase through these links, I might get a commission at no extra cost to you. For more information please review our Privacy Policy.

The idea of staying consistent looks extremely simple and tempting on the surface. But when you try to implement it in your day-to-day life, it proves to be a test of patience. The path is lined with so many distractions. You may often find the urge to make excuses and try to multitask.

But consistency is not like an on/off thing. You need to be consistent in your action and your thoughts, in order to experience the success that it brings. That kind of consistency is the magic key that unlocks the door to success in any field.

4 Pillars of Consistency

1. Motivation

Motivation is what drives you to start – to go after that goal, that dream. But motivation is temporary. It may influence you to make a change, but it cannot make the change for you. It cannot prevent you from drifting off the course when the motivation fades. Find ways to keep that motivating factor alive- you can do this by knowing your WHY?

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”
– Zig Ziglar

2. Habits

Habit comes from consistent daily action. Habits can make or break your chances of achieving and maintaining your goals.

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
– Jim Rohn

3. Patience

Results don’t come easily, sometimes it takes years and lots of detours. You have to learn the value of patience and be focused if you intend to succeed.

4. Belief

Beliefs are important because behavior is important and your behavior depends on your beliefs. Everything you do can be traced back to the beliefs you hold about yourself and the world around you.

In simple terms, consistency is like a commitment, a promise that we make to ourselves to achieve something. If you strive to keep your promises to others how much more – the promises you make to yourself.

Consistency is Key

To master anything in life takes showing up and practicing every day, no excuses until it becomes a habit.

While we hear of success stories that happen overnight, most success stories are not. They are the result of blood, sweat, and tears, working hard by themselves consistently in the dark.

10 Reasons why Consistency is Important

1. Builds Self Discipline

Discipline is the strongest form of self-love – It is ignoring current pleasures for bigger rewards to come, It is loving yourself enough to know you deserve the best in life. When you are committed to a goal, you work consistently to achieve it. This teaches you self-discipline which is extremely important to succeed.

2. Builds Emotional Stability & Self Control

The road to success is not easy, there are a lot of detours and distractions. If you lose control of your emotions especially during tough times, you are likely to lose focus on your goal. Consistency teaches you to commit yourself to achieve those goals. In tough times, this commitment motivates you to control your emotions and channel the energy to keep going.

3. Practice makes Perfect

Consistency helps you get better. As you practice you make progress. You make mistakes correct them and get better.

4. Builds Momentum

Consistency builds passion. Every goal achieved brings you empowerment and this motivates you to do more. The momentum that consistency breeds help you overcome the challenges and setbacks. Ultimately, you feel good about the work that you are doing.

5. Gain Clarity

Consistency gives you clarity and expands your horizon. With consistency comes a desire to do more, be more, live more, and dream more.

6. Creates a Sense of Accountability

Consistency and Accountability complement each other. While Consistency is the capacity to show up for something over and over, to produce results that are equivalent over time. Accountability means you stay true to your word, that you can be counted on. You say what you’re going to do, and you do it, holding yourself answerable.

7. Noticeable Changes

Hard work never goes unnoticed. If you are working hard and your efforts are consistent, you are bound to harvest results. These are milestones that you come across on your way to success. 

8. Build Trust

A key way to establish trust is to be consistent in what you do and say. Remaining consistent will help people build trust in you. Do the things you say you’ll do and people will learn to depend on your promises.

9. Increased Self Confidence

Consistency increases your self-confidence. Self-confidence is a feeling of trust in one’s abilities, qualities, and judgment. Consistent action makes you believe and trust yourself more, this results in increased self-confidence.

10. Overcome Challenges

‘Tough times don’t last but tough people do’

Challenges are an indispensable part of life. They are important teachers, the more we learn the better we will be. We don’t come out inexperienced when we overcome challenges.

Another great read: WHY BOUNDARIES SOLVE YOUR TIME MANAGEMENT DILEMMA