18 Ideas on How to Be More Productive

by Rachel | Mar 13, 2019 | Motivation, Self Care, Taking Action

It is human nature to sometimes become lazy.

The lazy bug hits us all at some point. You know the feeling, when you don’t feel like doing anything but watching Netflix and chillin. When you have a paper due but you procrastinate on it as long as possible. When you know you should clean the house but you are just too lazy to get up.

It’s okay, we have all been there.

Many people begin to feel unaccomplished when they are lazy for too long. Like there is something missing in their life.

If you are like this, then we have an answer. Well at least a list here of what you can do to stop being lazy and start being more productive.

So let’s have our morning cup of mocha latte (my personal favorite) and get started…

Get rid of distractions

Distractions are a big part of what makes us lazy. I know whenever I sit down to get something done I have a million things on my mind. It is hard to focus just thinking about other things I need to get done.

Of course, it makes it nearly impossible to focus on one thing when I have other distractions around me like to TV or kids or people talking.

Find a quiet place where you are not distracted. Make sure that wherever this place is, it is clean and organized. This will allow the mind to flow a lot easier so you can get things done.

Create a game plan

The first step to getting out of lazy town, besides getting rid of all distractions, is to create a game plan. Here’s a few simple steps to start one:

Write down what has to be done

Make a simple list of everything that has to be done. Make it easy to follow in a 1-2-3 step order. Create spaces for things that need to be filled in as you go. Just write as the ideas flow but then go back and sort the list into order of importance.

Plan out how and when each task will be accomplished

Just writing down your goals will allow you to see what you are trying to accomplish and refer back to them when you lose sight. If a daily goal, split up your day in intervals. Write a time limit to complete the task and most importantly, stick to it!

Create a checklist of things that need to get done

If there are resources you need or deadlines make sure that you include that in your checklist.

This will make it easier to stay on task. Just a simple check on a checklist will give you a sense of accomplishment so check off each one as you go. Having the resources included in your checklist will avoid lack of motivation and make you a lot more productive because of its convenience.

Think long term

Make sure you create goals that are daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, yearly, and life goals.

Remind yourself daily of your goals

I personally like to keep a list of my goals on my phone’s Notes section. For important goals with specific deadlines, I will put them in my calendar with a reminder that reminds me of my goal the day before.

If you need help with goal creation, I have created a simple goals checklist that include everything you need to be successful and most of all, productive.

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Recite affirmations

Creating some affirmations can help you stay focused. If you project into the world what you want, then the world will follow. You will be surprised at how powerful this method is. If you want more money you can recite “Money comes easily and frequently” if you want to be recognized at work you can “Today is my day to shine, people will know my worth”.

Just reciting these simple affirmations can be a powerful force. It allows you to keep you end goal in mind and focus on it throughout the day.

Get started

The best way to beat procrastination is to just get started. Who cares if you have writer’s block and can’t stay on topic, just start writing. You will find that it will eventually become easier to do and it will eventually flow better.

Once you feel like you are getting things done, it will be easier to keep going because you will feel like you have accomplished something.

Eat the Frog

From the book, Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy the concept is to do the hardest task or the one that you don’t want to do, first. Get the hardest thing you need to do out of the way first before anything else. This will make everything else look like a breeze.

Time Block

One of the methods I personally use to be more productive is to block out sections of time. With a busy schedule, time blocking can help you be very effective in getting stuff done. Here’s how it works…

1. Make a list of everything that needs to get done
2. After each item, write how much time you want to designate for that task
3. Pick out the most important things (to avoid wasting time on unproductive tasks)
4. Analyze how much time you actually have – *If you don’t have time for everything then make sure you get the hardest and most important things out of the way first, return to the easy things when you have a short break later
5. Carve out a time slot for each task you need to get done

Using this time blocking method will help you stay focused better on the task at hand because you won’t be worried about what else needs to get done. You have that time slot to really focus and get into what you need to do.

Focus on one thing at a time

Multi-tasking is great for a lot of things, but when you are trying to be productive and get more done, multi-tasking is the enemy. When you have a list of things to get done, it is more productive to take one thing at a time. Focus fully on that one thing and most importantly COMPLETE that task BEFORE moving on to the next one.

See the brain takes time to adjust to a new subject so if you are jumping around, you will spend more time thinking than you do being productive. If you narrow in one one task, and complete it before moving to the next one you will get a lot more accomplished in a shorter time frame.

Stop procrastinating

Procrastinating is seriously my middle name. LOL jk but for real, I procrastinate a lot. It really sucks when you procrastinated so long that you now have multiple things on your To-do list and you haven’t got to any of them. That is when you start to feel overwhelmed.

I have found the fastest way to stop procrastinating is to get up and take action. Even if you don’t know what to do just do something. Something is better than nothing.

There are numerous reasons why people procrastinate. It could be because the task is just overwhelmingly boring and mundane, or it is a lot of work, or you are distracted, or maybe you are procrastinating because of fear. Either way you have to decide how important what you need to do is, have it take priority, and focus in on it.

When we procrastinate we seem to think up every excuse in the book to not get something accomplished. We say it in our head and it instills a defeated attitude. Stop giving yourself excuses on why something cannot be done.

Have a clean work space

I have noticed that when my work space is crowded and messy, the last thing I want to do is work. I am distracted by papers and old food and numerous other things that is making my space a mess. It is hard to focus unless you have a nice a clean work space.

Check out: Quick and Easy Ways to Organize Your Office Space

(coming soon)

Get enough sleep

You can’t be productive if you are tired. You’re mind won’t be on the task at hand, it will be just waiting for time to pass so you can catch some zzz’s. Don’t be sluggish when it comes to work, get the sleep you need. If you are super busy, make sure you schedule in a nap or a good night’s rest. It will make a world of difference.

If you are unable to get sleep because of a time crunch or long hours, make sure you stay awake and functional. You can do what I do and get a large 24oz mocha latte… yes, that is my life line most days.

Take breaks

Taking breaks in between tasks is a great way to prevent that burned out feeling. When you are working on something for too long, you begin to get lazy with it. You don’t function how you would when it is fresh.

Taking short 10 minute breaks in between your work will actually help you to be more focused and in turn more productive.

Save passwords

Saving your passwords in an easy to get to area will cut down on a lot of time. Before I had a book of passwords, I would spend most of the time going around resetting forgotten passwords. By the time they were all reset, it would be an hour later with nothing done.

Using a notepad that is accessible across all platforms such as Evernote will give you access to passwords quickly or you can get a password book like this one.

Practice saying no

When you are an empathetic person like I am, it is hard not to take on the time-consuming issues of everyone else. If someone asks me for help on something, I jump up and am ready to do it immediately.

This is super counter-productive when you need to get things done. The best thing you can do for your sanity is practice saying no. You need to designate time for yourself and your tasks. Don’t let anyone distract you from them.

Let go of perfectionism

The biggest drawback that I have experienced is trying to make everything perfect. My perfectionism is overwhelming sometimes. I won’t even start something unless I have a good idea that I will be successful with it.

Perfectionism keeps us attached to meaningless tasks that just waste your time. What if you spend all this time perfecting something, and it doesn’t gain any traction or fails. You need to know that before you spend all your time on it.

Let go of perfectionism. Tell yourself it is okay to fail. It is okay to put something out there before it is done. Like Thomas Edison, who tried numberous times and had numerous failures before he got it right. You need to put it out there so you can fail, numerous times, so you know what to improve to get it right.

Delegate and outsource

There is no reason to spend a bunch of time on something you are not interested in or not good at. Be more productive by delegating tedious tasks and outsourcing work that you don’t want to spend time learning.

When I first started building webpages, I just couldn’t get the design right. I hired a designer on Fiverr and had them redesign the site to convert better. It saved me a lot of time and money.

It’s hard when you want to do everything yourself and feel the accomplishment of it being your work, but outsourcing is definitely an option. Especially if you want to cut down on time and be more productive with something you do know about.

Reward yourself

Little accomplishments are great. It’s even better with a reward.

You reward your employees and you reward your children when they do something right. People don’t always reward themselves. That is the most important reward of all.

You need an incentive to continue your tasks. You need to feel like you are doing something for a reason. A little reward can go a long way when it comes to your psyche.

Be held accountable

Get someone else involved with your tasks. Talk to a friend or family member and have them encourage you and cheer you on. Tell them to remind you about your tasks and congratulate you when you finish them.

Knowing that someone else is checking in on you will make you ten times more likely to get up and get things done.

So that is all I have right now for methods on how to be more productive in getting things done. My personal favorite is let go of perfectionism because I am that way most of the time with anything I do. One I need to do more often would be “eat the frog” making sure that laundry and dishes are done, completely finished before moving on to hobbies.

See also: How to Create Actionable Goals (that you actually follow through with)

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