How To Be Productive

Some days I wake up and just don’t want to do anything AT ALL. I’m tired and dragging. I want to sit and play on my phone, or watch TV, and literally do nothing. But in the back of my mind, I know that I should be doing something more productive or I should be tackling my mental to do list. So how do I get myself out of this funk and move forward? Well, I’ve created a little strategy that I found works best for me. If I can do it, so can you.

Don’t be hard on yourself

First, let me just say that I’m very critical of myself so if I choose to have a lazy day, I often am regretful and hard on myself the next day when I’m rushing to get things done. I’ve learned to just be easier on myself and that it is so much more rewarding if I finish my tasks and then take time to relax. If my tasks are done, I feel accomplished and it makes it easier to actually relax and enjoy turning my brain off for a bit.

We are not super-human, so its not realistic to think we’re going to get the house cleaned from top to bottom, grocery shop, and cook dinner all in a few hours. This is not a realistic time frame. So instead, I might tell myself I’ll grocery shop Friday and cook dinner. Then, Saturday I can clean the house, start laundry, and cook dinner. This way, I can finish laundry on Sunday and still take time to relax. This makes things so much less stressful. I don’t find myself rushing around like crazy and then ending up exhausted or feeling defeated. 

Work now, relax later

One thing I’ve learned from taking too many days to “relax” and do NOTHING is that what I don’t do today, only piles up for another time. I may have my time to relax now, but then there’s more to do later. When I’m really lacking motivation, I try to remind myself of this. Here is what I learned works best for me to get motivated to be productive.

One Step at a Time

• Make a list of what you want to accomplish. (I love making lists) This way you can organize your thoughts and not forget something that needs to get done. I find myself to be scatter-brained when I try to mentally make a list and then the next day I’ll remember something else that I needed to do. So I make a physical list so that I can literally check items off as I go.

• Start knocking things off your list one at a time. Don’t try to multi-task. We would all love to be able to do five things at once and get everything done quickly, wouldn’t we? Unfortunately, if you try to take on too many things at one time, you may be more disorganized and you may not end up completing any of your tasks. By taking care of one thing at a time, you can ensure that you’re getting it done and you’re getting it done correctly and to your fullest ability.

• Hold yourself accountable. You don’t always have someone breathing down your neck to finish a task, so sometimes you have to be your own accountability coach and tell yourself that you NEED to finish these tasks. Don’t keep pushing things off just because you feel you can do them another time. Stay motivated. Stay focused. Think about how rewarding it will feel once you’re done.

• Don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t accomplish everything in one day. As someone who is a perfectionist, I struggle when I don’t complete something, or if something doesn’t go as planned. I’ve learned that some days we just have to accept things and move on. So don’t dwell on it if you didn’t get to the last two things on your to-do list. Be happy that you accomplished as much as you did!

• Set realistic goals and time frames to complete each task. If you are only allowing yourself two hours to complete five tasks, and one of those tasks is going to take you at least an hour; you may be headed down a disappointing road when you don’t have enough time to complete everything you wanted. If you set aside proper time for each task, you’re less likely to get frazzled or stressed. When you set time frames and allowances, you will also feel less rushed or pressured to finish in a limited amount of time.

• Reward yourself when you’re done. Once your work is done, you deserve to treat yourself! You’ve accomplished something. You were productive all day, you’re done with everything on your list. Now it’s okay to lay on the couch and watch TV, or play on your phone. You can have that glass of wine or take a bath. Reward yourself for the hard work you put in and give yourself credit. You deserve it!

These are just the things that I have done that I found work for me. Everyone finds different things that motivate them to be productive. Find what works for you. I hope that you can take away some ideas to help yourself.