Being productive in life is something that everyone should look to be. Productivity is the biggest difference between someone who wastes their time and someone who is looking to make the most of their time and make small steps towards success.
It’s highly important that you are kind to yourself and the weaknesses you have. You shouldn’t expect to become productive overnight. One spends years cultivating their positive and negative habits, consciously or subconsciously, and you cannot change them within a day.
The future belongs to only those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Punit Dhawan
How to be more productive in life?
Even the smallest adjustments can lead to lasting changes, but these will take time and discipline. It looks easy when you’re reading about productivity but it is much harder in practice. You should be patient and be kind to yourself during the rough patches and try again. Here are a few tipsthat will help you get more work done in less time, making you more productive in life than ever.
- Be strategic
Think about why you aren’t getting as much work done as you should be. Is it because you are tired? Is it because you are sitting next to a chatty co-worker? Are you using social media too much? Are you trying to multitask? Identify the area that is making your productivity decrease and think of solutions that’ll help you address the issues.
- Do the most important tasks before lunch
One of the key secrets that not many people know about is to do the important tasks before lunch because during this time you will be the most productive. Projects and priorities with tight deadlines need to be finished first. Don’t get bogged down by meetings and emails and don’t let anyone distract you. Some days you might be working straight through tea time, but you should make sure that you’re getting the work done on the same day that it needs to be done. Never delay the work or it will keep on adding up.
- Never overwhelm yourself
It is good to be ambitious until it becomes overwhelming. Then it will be counter productive. Trying to do too much at once will cause nothing but stress, making you more anxious and less productive. Refine your to-do list, decide the tasks that need to be done first, and get things done on time without overwhelming yourself.
Role of Habits in Improving Productivity –
If opportunities don’t knock your door, build a new door.
- Form new habits to improve focus and efficiency
It takes an abundance of patience and discipline to sit in one place and focus on your work for hours. Figure out the ways to help you make your weaknesses, like taking too many breaks, or using social media a lot, or chatting with co-workers for long.
Form habits around what you’re eating, how long you sleep, and how you manage the distractions that contribute to your productivity. Examine them and improve upon them.
- Manage your time with email
You shouldn’t spend much time on sending and replying to emails as it can drain your energy and time. Pick up your laptop a few times a day, check your mails, and be done. Your priorities will be taking a back seat to your emails, especially if you allow them to be your primary point of focus. So have some discipline, and respond to only those mails that need your attention.
- Have someone to hold you accountable
Create some structure that’ll help you achieve goals because it’ll be a great way of expediting your progress. You aren’t going to want to share with your co-workers and friends that you weren’t able to reach your goal for the last week. Recruit someone to help you improve your productivity so that you can become the person you have always aspired to be.
Relevance of Time Factor in Improving Productivity
- Run routines
If you study the lives of productive people like Stephen King, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk; you will discover that they all follow strict daily routines. Similarly, if you want to be productive, you know where to start. You should set the time you are going to wake up, the time when you finish your breakfast, when you start working, when you exercise, and when you relax. Peak productivity isn’t about luck but about patience and devotion.
You do not have to be great to start but you have to start to be great.
- Use your commute time
If you are spending 30-45 min to commute each way every day, it wouldn’t be the smartest thing to waste such a major part of the day. You can listen to an ebook or an excellent podcast or valuable learning programs. Remember that the fastest way of doubling your income would be to triple your rate of learning.
