Productivity is the Path to Success

You know the feeling we’re talking about. You get home from work, you bust out a bottle of wine, and you think to yourself, “Today I was the epitome of productivity!”

That’s the feeling you get when you get a lot done, without feeling exhausted at the end of the day. You can keep on enjoying your time after work, and you feel confident in the effort you put in.

Every day can be like that if you increase your productivity.

Contrary to what most headlines out there will tell you, there is no “secret” to productivity. There are many factors that play a part, and while some may work for others, they might not work for you. It’s about finding a routine that you can stick with to get more done.

Here are some tips on being productive.

1. Like what you do

This is an obvious one that gets ignored too often. If you enjoy what you do, work doesn’t feel like work all the time and it’s easier to get things done. You won’t like what you do all the time, but find ways to make your work enjoyable.

2. Environment matters

No we’re not talking about trees and global warming, although they matter too. We’re talking about your work environment. Clean and tidy spaces promote productivity and efficiency. Less clean and tidy spaces (also known as mess!) promote creativity.

But you can have both! It’s just a matter of changing your environment to suit the tasks at hand. Some people have separate work and creative rooms so that they can get in the zone regardless of what they’re doing.

Controlling your environment means removing your distractions, not just what’s around you but what’s in front of you too. Yes, we’re talking about that pesky Facebook tab that lures you in with autoplaying videos and interesting articles. Close it. Keep it closed.

If you need to talk to clients, there’s a new site just for Facebook Messenger called messenger.com. It’s distraction free.

3. Set goals for productivity

It’s impossible to be productive at something if you don’t know what you’re working towards. The next step is about prioritisation but you won’t be able to prioritise your task list without knowing what’s important.

Setting business goals doesn’t need to be hard. Write down where you want to be in 5 years, think about what you need to do this year to get there, and then work to smaller and smaller increments. What do you need to do this month? This week? Move on to the next step!

4. Create a task list, prioritise it and do it

There will be hundreds of things vying for your attention every day. Write them down, and prioritise your task list. When you write down what needs doing, you can objectively see how long each task will take you and if it’s possible to do it all in one day. Chances are it won’t be, so prioritise the important things and start on them first.

If your tasks seem unachievable, break them down into smaller tasks. Not only does it make you feel more encouraged to achieve it makes your list of completed tasks at the end of the day a little bit longer. It’s typical problem solving. Find the issue, break it down, and overcome it little by little.

Dwight Eisenhower was a five-star general in the U.S. Army and the 34th President of the United States. He knew how to get things done. He was quoted as saying, “I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.”

This led to the birth of the Eisenhower matrix, which you can use to prioritise your tasks.

5. Write things down

The brain is much more complex than a computer, but it has its shortcomings. There are different parts of the brain involved in your thinking and goal setting processes. When you have hundreds of thoughts on your mind, not all of them will be committed to memory, and you’ll have those moments where you remember something you needed to do earlier in the day. This causes stress, but can be easily avoided.

Write down what you need to do when you think of it. Short term memory only lasts about 15-30 seconds, but when you write it down, the process of creating a coherent thought to put on paper helps burn that idea into your brain. It’s very difficult to think of another thought while you’re writing something down, and this concentration helps you to remember. And if you forget, you always have your to-do list or Evernote to refer to.

6. Break up your day, don’t work long hours

Allow me to explain with an example. You’re in the desert 50 kilometres  from an oasis. You’re hot and you’re tired, but you need to reach your goal of getting to the oasis so that you can eat drink and be merry.

You could get up and walk for 15 hours a day through the hot sun. You’d get tired and you’d end up walking slowly from the exhaustion.

Or you could walk for 5 hours in the morning and 5 hours in the evening at a quicker pace, and avoid the heat of the day. You’d get there in the same amount of time, but you’d be doing less work and you’d be able to rest and enjoy your journey.

That’s what it’s like to work less, but achieve more. You have time for the people around you, and you’ll assume a more positive outlook.

7. Use the tools available to you

You’re perfectly capable of doing everything on your own. But why should you? Use the tools available to you to cut out some of that work you’d otherwise have to do.

The earlier you get these systems set up the better. You’ll be under less stress, and you’ll be able to increase your workload without feeling exhausted.

It’s the simple things that make the difference. Using an appointment booking system like Timely that automatically processes and sends your accounting information to your accounting software can save you hours each week. Or reminding clients automatically that they have an appointment coming up will give you the peace of mind that you won’t be stood up.

It’s the small things that add up that relieve you from stress, and there are hundreds of tools available to you for this purpose. Use them.

8. Take care of yourself

Lastly, your body is what will carry you through this marathon you’re running of owning a business. Take care of it. Regular exercise, a good diet, plenty of sleep, and a good balance of time in your life will keep you in good shape in the long run.

Mental health is just as important as physical health. Make time in your day for friends who you can talk to. It’ll take that perpetual weight off your shoulders.

Looking after yourself is good for your productivity too. All these things have an effect on your mental clarity and can help you do more with less.

Summary

It’s not enough to work hard. Millions of people work hard every day, but don’t make much progress. What you need to do is work productively, which means working towards a goal and cutting out the tasks that slow you down.