Productive or Just Busy? 17 Ways To Be More Productive Every Day
Productivity (noun): The state or quality of producing something; the effectiveness of productive effort
How many excuses do you hear yourself saying every day? “I couldn’t get this done today because…” or “I didn’t have time to do that because…”
Sometimes all it takes to be more “productive” is to simply stop sabotaging yourself and get out of your own way. But not confronting procrastination and all the “I’m too busy” excuses are shining examples of standing in your own way.
“Tomorrow becomes never. No matter how small the task, take the first step now!”~ Tim Ferriss
So, you have to prioritize achieving results ahead of staying in your comfort zone - and stop making excuses! You’ve probably also heard the phrase, “work smarter, not harder.” Well, in this post, I’m going to give you a ton of ideas for how to do just that…without making excuses.
Here are 17 “no excuses” ways to be more productive (and not just busy) every single day:
Clean out the clutter in the space intended for productivity - whether that’s your office, the kitchen, or anywhere in your environment that requires you to get stuff done.
Use positive instead of negative self-talk - you would be surprised how impactful negative self-talk (which fuels our limiting beliefs) can be for flatlining productivity.
Make your goals manageable - not unrealistic and unreachable.
Set out the next day’s goals the night before. Revisit them for 5 minutes in the morning.
BUT, systems and routines (over goals) are always the answer. Make priority lists, not to-do lists - and make it “tickable.” Checking off that box can be so rewarding!
Create a plan that’s designed for action and automate repetitive tasks - again, systems.
Don’t multitask - I know, this probably goes against what you’re actually trying to do, but consider that doing multiple things at once causes you to do each task much more slowly and less efficiently than if you were to just focus on just ONE task and do it really well!
Spend mornings doing your most important tasks before lunch. Follow the Pareto Principle as it applies to productivity: “80% of the output or results will come from 20% of the input or action.” Think of it as 80% of your work is done in 20% of your time. For most people, that time is right after waking up, so try to take advantage of the first few hours of your day.
Robin Sharma says, “Get up at 5 am. Win the battle of the bed. Put mind over mattress. This habit alone will strengthen your willpower so it serves you more dutifully in the key areas of your life.”
Identify your time thieves and energy vampires. Do this: identify the activities and tasks that distract you, interrupt your workflow, or send you down the rabbit hole. Curtail all those bad habits that keep you from performing at your best and you’ll dramatically improve your results.
Avoid distractions, e.g,. turn off your phone notifications (time thief!).
Check email in the afternoon and set aside a specific time period to do social media (more time thieves are afoot!) - trying not to check in on these all day long.
And, if possible, focus on what you do best and delegate the rest so you can really optimize your productivity. By delegating the things that you’re not so stellar at, and that someone else can do better in a fraction of time or cost, isn’t that just the definition of productivity. It’s the effectiveness of productive effort.
Recognize your accomplishments and build in rewards for effort - but not necessarily for the achievement itself.
Drink more water. Did you know that being just mildly dehydrated can lower your work performance by 25-50%?
Get an accountability partner - someone to keep you on task and moving forward.
And finally… don’t say yes to everything. No is perfectly acceptable once in a while