15 Tips to Increase Productivity
Success in any aspect of your life is a result of planning out your goals and utilizing your creativity. Gaining the right kind of knowledge and putting that knowledge into practice will set you up for a happy and productive life.
Read the following tips and advice with a determined mind that will see each idea as an opportunity to try new activities and open the door to a clearer picture of how you can increase your productivity, learn to use your time wisely, and set yourself up to successfully reach your goals.
1. Set short-term and long-term goals
Goal setting is effective in every area of your life. Giving yourself a clear picture of what you really want in life – in the immediate future and years down the road – is an excellent way to keep yourself motivated and energized to take action. Start the process by asking yourself:
“What do I really want to do with my life?”
Don’t allow limitations of time and money to distort your answer. Just assume that there is nothing that can stop you from eventually achieving and having what you truly want.
These goals do have to be written down and kept somewhere you can look at them regularly.
2. Brainstorm strategies to achieve your goals
Once you’ve defined some short-term and long-term goals, you’ll want a list of possible strategies to achieve the results you’re looking for. Create a list of strategy options that encompass various alternatives you could use achieve the results you’re looking for.
Move beyond your comfort zone and think of any wild idea that comes to mind – you want a large list of ideas to work with. Keep this whole list to refer to in the future, but pick a few ideas from the list to schedule in and add to your To Do list now.
3. Strive for greatness and don’t compromise
I’m sure you’ve heard of many stories about people achieving great success in business and in life. Perhaps you’ve even thought that they had something you didn’t or were in a better position to start with than you. Or maybe you even discredited the story as some marketing ploy and their ‘rags to riches’ story wasn’t true at all. While there are a lot of schemers out there, there are also a lot of people that have genuinely focused on a goal and worked hard and smart to achieve it. You can do it too.
You can achieve whatever great things you put your mind to. When you’re adding value to other people’s lives, it’s just a matter of making a plan, getting organized and never giving up until you can make your mark in whatever area is meant for you. Find your niche, explore the opportunities and don’t settle for a mediocre life that doesn’t have a soul. Don’t compromise on your opportunity for greatness!
4. Counteract procrastination
Procrastination is one very bad habit. It affects nearly everyone from time-to- time. It’s fueled by fear, lack of confidence and disorganization. Putting things off is a sure way to be ineffective in business and in life.
Beat procrastination by building up new habits that make you get tasks done, like scheduling in time to do the things you’ve put off. Habit breaking and making takes about 21 days to take effect, so keep this in mind as you’re struggling to stop your learned habit of procrastination and creating a new habit of getting things done.
5. Grow from the accountability effect
Create accountability in your work life by joining or creating a group of like-minded individuals where you share plans, ideas and goals in weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly meetings. You can also gain this same effect with a one-on-one accountability relationship. This type of set-up creates an inner desire to report back the results of your objectives and gives you that little extra incentive to get your plan in action. Additional benefits of being accountable to others are: gaining inspiration from the insights of others, being in the position to assist others in their business focus, and developing deep and trusting relationships.
6. Use the power of your mind to your benefit
The human mind is an extremely powerful tool, and we’re not just talking about intellect. The subconscious mind is your motivator, your dreamer and your source of productivity. It can also be your discouragement, your criticizer, and your source of inactivity. Used properly, the power available in your mind will have an extraordinary effect on your life and your business. Keep your thoughts positive, keep them creative and, most importantly, keep away the damaging and defeating thoughts that are passed on by your environment!
7. See each day as a fresh start
Don’t let any set-backs from yesterday or any point in the past allow you to judge your effectiveness for today. Only focus on what did work and what has been going well for you so far and leave all the negative stuff behind you. Each day will have a new plan of attack that you use to your advantage. Frustration and defeating thoughts are BIG productivity stealers and have no place in your growth journey.
8. Don’t get caught up in getting everything perfect
Many precious hours can be wasted on spending too much time perfecting something. Although you want to portray a certain level of professionalism, don’t be overly concerned with getting the perfect look, the perfect words or the perfect plan. You can always add something on your To Do list if you’re not really satisfied with how it initially worked out. This allows you to at least complete the task at hand and move on to other productive tasks.
9. Be devoted to just one project at a time.
Whether it be a work or personal project, remove all other programs and browsers that aren’t related to what you’re working on. Also clear your desk/ working space of anything that is not related to the task at hand.
10. Set boundaries on communication – including emails, phone calls, texts, etc.
Try to keep in mind that these various forms of communication are for your convenience and not for the convenience of others. You can’t be as focused and efficient when you’re letting distractions always take you away from the task at hand. Schedule in a period of time once or twice a day to respond to and initiate conversations, whether it be through email, texting, phone calls or any other form of communication with clients, business associates and personal contacts.
11. Schedule closed-door and quiet periods of time
While it’s good to be accessible to family members or associates, you may need to make at least a couple of ‘no interruptions’ times in your week. Some tasks just need your full, uninterrupted attention and if you can do them without any chance of an interruption, then you will be able to produce much better results. Not everyone will need to use this tactic, but if you find that you’re less productive due to minor interruptions then stand-up for your productivity.
12. Do productivity checks
This will be a great new habit to foster that will help to keep you focused and stop lots of those time-wasting activities. Every hour or two check in with yourself asking “Is this the best use of my time?” Set an alarm to go off, set up a notification on your desktop or simply stick a note on the wall in your direct sight with this question on it. Eventually you will get in the habit of asking this question regularly without external prompts and not get into unproductive work to begin with.
13. Don’t get lost in multi-tasking
Creating an environment that is extremely efficient allows for a sustained time of focused work. It can be difficult to really get focused when, each day, you’re switching from one activity to another, just to get things done. Focused time allows your brain to really get into the one project and produce better work in less time than if you broke up the same kind of job over several days.
14. Schedule your more challenging work during your prime time
Are you a morning person, or does your energy rev up after 6pm? Determine when you are at your peak performance and schedule the more difficult work, or the stuff you are not so keen on doing, during these times. The routine tasks and more enjoyed activities can then be scheduled for the other times of the day.
15. Always cultivate a growing sense of optimism
Expect that good things are going to be plentiful. Have the sense that life will bring good rather than bad outcomes and that when you encounter less than ideal situations you will be able to overcome it. Living your life with an optimistic mindset will allow you to see the possibilities and take advantage of opportunities that come out of hardship.
