Steps to increase your productivity

We live in a world, where we are more cautious with our time. We want to be more productive with our tasks in a shorter time possible, but sometimes we spend a lot of time on our tasks and get nothing done.

So, what can we do?

First, set a definite goal.

A definite goal will give you a destination. If we have a goal, we know what we want to achieve, what is the end result, what are the steps to take to arrive there.

I like how Earl Nightingale said in his book “The Strangest Secret”, take a cargo boat for example, where you have a captain with a crew who knows what is the next destination. And even if this boat is moving painfully slowly, 99% of the time will get to his destination because is advancing consistently to the destination.

Now take another boat with no crew, no captain, just start the engines and let it go. If it gets out of the harbor, it probably ends up on a desert island.

He can get anywhere because it’s got no destination, and no captain to make the adjustments to get there.

Second, stop procrastinating.

One of the biggest enemies of productivity is procrastination.

Procrastination is when you know that you have to do something and you live it for later, or for tomorrow.
Having a time limit normally helps, but if you find yourself procrastinating even with a time limit, it can be a lot of things.

One of them is that you don’t have the confidence, you don’t believe that thing will work for you.

Another thing is that you are not focused enough on your daily tasks.

Third, do not multitask.

One of the biggest problems today is that we try to do a lot of things at the same time.

I see a lot of people who are driving, smoking, listen to the radio, and looking to social media at the same time.

When you do something, do only one thing at the time and be engaged 100%.

When you start giving 100% you will start getting 100%

Another reason for procrastinating is that you don’t know where to start.

You get overwhelmed with all the things you have to do, and you waste a lot of time deciding where to start.

The plate is too big for one bite.

What you can do in this situation is, separate the things you have to do in small manageable actions, and make a list of priorities.

We need to have big goals, but the actions have to be small.

Take a look at your list and determine if you can eliminate something, leave only the necessary tasks.

This list of actions are like markers, is something for you to see your progress.

When you complete an action, acknowledge and celebrate the win.

Completing one little action after another, will make you feel good and boost your confidence, and you will want to do more.

Being focused and having confidence will create momentum.

In your journey, take a look at your goal from time to time, to see if your on course or you have to make adjustments.

Another thing that you can do to make yourself take action is, write down what will happen if you don’t do the actions that you have to do.

Why?

Because we are more motivated to do something to avoid the pain, instead of to do something to gain pleasure.

One thing we can control is our actions, and this is the biggest tool to fight procrastination.