Habits to Increase Your Productivity

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Summary

Take on less by prioritizing the items in your life that are truly important and are the items that will accomplish the largest goals that will take you to new levels in life, both professionally and personally.   

Get some crazy good habits in place that are proven to increase productivity, then eventually we may be able to graduate to filtering out other people's agendas, or items that just simply don’t move the needle forward.

In order for habits to be effective we must really want change.  It can’t be someone else’s idea.  It has to be a deep seeded desire for a better result in one or more areas of our lives. If the desire is not your own, you will not experience long term success.  If the motivation is personal, the level of success increases dramatically.  You may even need less support or tools to be successful. The best new habits can be an uphill climb if the desire to change is not strong enough or is not coming from within yourself.

Full Transcript

In this crazy world where we are all trying to go different directions and accomplish tasks and goals that never seem to have an end, most of us are always on the lookout for shortcuts that will help us become more productive in less time. 

Common sense and the best coaches in the world would tell you to take on less by prioritizing the items in your life that are truly important and are the items that will accomplish the largest goals that will take you to new levels in life, both professionally and personally.  I can tell you that this is absolutely rock solid advice, but since most people are either unable, unwilling or lack the discipline to do this we are going to start with a different tactic, and that is the habits that you are currently applying in your life.  If we can get some crazy good  habits in place that are proven to increase productivity, then eventually we may be able to graduate to filtering out other peoples agendas, or items that just simply don’t move the needle forward.

In order for habits to be effective we have to really want change.  It can’t be someone else’s idea.  It has to be a deep seeded desired for a better result in one or more areas of our lives.  Let’s take for example the person that decides to give up smoking because their doctor or their family told them that it is not healthy, and they really need to quit.  They may attempt a new habit of quitting smoking through the use of different methods like patches, or gum or maybe even something as drastic as hypnotherapy.  Likely though, if the desire is not their own, they will not experience long term success.  However, if that same person has decided that they must quit smoking as it is negatively affecting their quality of life and they have been given a signal that life may be significantly shorter if they don’t quit, now the motivation is different, and the level of success increases dramatically.  They may even need less support or tools to be successful.  That is a strong example, but I wanted to be noticeably clear that the best new habits can be an uphill climb if the desire to change is not strong enough or is not coming from within the individual making the change.

It is no different with habits that lead us to a more productive hour, day, week, month or year.  If the burn to be better, stronger, faster or whatever the end goal is, is not glaringly present the rate of success will be lower, if at all.

That being said…being more productive is one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves.  It allows us to accomplish more that really matters, it gives us more time with our families, or to do the activities that we enjoy.  There truly is a reason that the most successful people on earth typically work less than the individual that struggles to meet monthly financial obligations.  They are extremely focused on what matters and they are habit driven.

I am going to present 3 habits that you can start immediately that can have a profound effect on what you are able to accomplish.  So, let’s get started.

Number 1 – Start your morning planning and visualizing.

The most successful people have a plan every day.  They know exactly what their day is going to look like and the desired outcome of every  event and project.  This begins by using some kind of planner, whether it be paper or computer.  The best one is the one that you will use everyday relentlessly.  I find it useful to get my planner out the Sunday before the next week and look at what is on my calendar.  Meetings, projects appointments etc.  The first thing I will do is to make sure that all of these items are essential to my success or well-being, or they are a commitment to someone that I genuinely want to help.  If it is not, then it needs to be cancelled or moved in my calendar.  By doing this I have set myself up for an extremely focused week.  Each morning I once again pull out the planner and review what is on for that day and I think through what I want the outcome of each item to be.  In this way I am setting myself up for success before I even begin.  Where this is extremely helpful is some of those meetings or appointments that you have that have the potential to go bad quickly if given the opportunity. We would all love to have every event in our day be hummingbirds and roses, but I would bet that all of you have things that are on your calendar that must be dealt with that are less than exhilarating.  So, I prime myself for the end result that I am desiring, and I go into each of these conversations with that end goal in mind and in doing this I am able to keep the conversation or meeting pushing towards a positive outcome.  When doing projects, if I know again what the desired result is, I can work towards that right from the beginning.  My planner is my roadmap to my day.

When I pull that planner out in the evening to prepare for the next day, I also do a quick review of how my day went.  If I got pulled off track, what was the cause and could I have prevented it.  By doing this I am constantly tweaking the way that I show up everyday so that I can constantly be improving my efficiency.

If this sounds rigid, trust me it is not.  I do not have my day blocked out from 7am to 10pm everyday and in fact less of my day is blocked out by utilizing these habits, therefore giving me more time to build new ideas or play, doing the things that mean the most to me with the people that mean the most to me.

I recommend that you try it for 30 days.  You will learn a ton about yourself, your day and you will very quickly realize how much time was previously wasted.

Number 2 – We have talked about being in control of your time, but what about your energy. 

We all know that trying to accomplish the number of things that most of us do can suck the energy from us.  In fact, most people begin their day exhausted just thinking about what they have to get done.  Managing our energy is a key component to success in every area of our lives.  When I say manage your energy, I don’t just mean getting enough sleep, although most people rarely get the 7-8 hours of sleep that they need for optimal energy.  You may be one of those people that says, “Oh I don’t need much sleep, I am good with 4-6 hours a night”.  To that I say bull crap…the human body needs that recovery time, and your brain needs it as well.  It has been scientifically proven that if you are depriving your body of sleep, even just a couple hours it is like performing after 2 beers.  Now likely, you can perform after 2 beers, but are you as sharp, quick, or effective as when you have had nothing to drink except water.  Hmmm, if you are really honest with yourself you know that answer.

So back to energy, we are going to assume that you are now going to get 8 hours of sleep a night. What other ways do you need to step it up so that you can have the necessary energy to perform at your best all day and not hit that wall at 3:00 that is screaming for a Pepsi and a Snickers bar.  I am going to suggest that for your 2^nd new habit you begin taking breaks during your work sessions.  I know what you are thinking…” but you said we are going to become more productive, how can I do that if I quit in the middle of something to take a break”.  Yep, that is exactly what I want you to do.  When you sit down to begin a task or a project, I want you to set an alarm on your phone for 50 minutes.  When that alarm goes off, without fail you need to stop what you are doing and take a physical and mental break.  It may be as short as 2 minutes or as long as 10.  The important thing is that you take it.  Stand up, walk around, get water, maybe do a few stretches.  If you are in an office building or you work from home, you may be able to walk outside and get some fresh air.  You will figure out what works for you.  The most important thing is to stop and take the time.   When you go back you will be amazed how refreshed both your mind and body feel as you go into your next 50-minute time block.  I am not suggesting that your day be filled with all 50 minutes time blocks.  Remember what I said earlier…. the more productive I am the more flexibility that I have in my day.  If I can get 3 to 4 of these blocked out in my day with a plan of what I am going to accomplish in that time, it is crazy the amount of work that gets done and the goals that get accomplished on my way to a bigger, better life and business.

Number 3 -  Get better at saying No. 

If you recall when I was talking about my daily planning, I said that I will look at my obligations and decide if they are truly events or items that will be my big needle movers in the larger picture and if not then they get cancelled or moved to a later date.  As you get better at saying no to things you will have less and less that need to be cancelled as they will have not made the cut in the first place.

All of us have people and things that are constantly trying to worm their way into our lives and onto our schedules.  What we know is that most high achievers are yes people because they like to give and serve and often times when this happens something else must be compromised which is in direct conflict with the piece of high performance that is incredibly integrity based and contributes at a very high level.  When asked to do something, it is extremely important to their being to do it at a very high level, hence the reason that we must really prioritize what items will serve us best.  By doing this we don’t overload ourselves to a point where we lose control of our time.

I get it…saying no is tough.  We want to help, and we want to please, but we cannot continue to do this and go to the next level.  So, I encourage you to take on the habit of evaluating each request that comes across your desk, or into that dreaded in box.  Really look at it and ask yourself…if I take this on will it serve me in my greatest goals and purpose?  If the answer is no, then likely this is something that either does not get your attention or gets pushed to a future date…far in the future, where it can be reevaluated and maybe the timing will be better, or maybe it was just never a good fit in your dreams. Most of the time what you will find is that when people are asking something of you, it is all about their agenda or their current emergency due to their lack of planning.  The best advice I can give you is don’t let someone else’s lack of planning become your issue.

There are many more habits that can be used to increase productivity, but these are a few to get you started.  If you want to learn more about how the worlds high achievers have gotten to where they are today, then High Performance Coaching may have your name on it.

Click below to learn more and sign up for your FREE 1 on 1 High Performance Coaching session, and see what it means to live life at the highest levels without compromising your future career or your most valuable asset…you!

I hope this has been helpful and I look forward to the next time we meet.  Always remember that it is your choice to Focus Forward.

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