How To Increase Productivity Without Getting Burned Out

Many people want to increase their productivity, whether they are an employee, an employer, an entrepreneur, or even a stay at home mum (who honestly, I think at times are the bravest of us all).?No matter what industry / niche you are in or even if it’s outside of a work environment, people want to be more productive in their lives.?And well honestly I don't blame them. For one thing, lifetimes are limited; sad fact, no one lives forever, without being too morbid we all come with an expiration date.?But unlike that can of baked beans sitting in your cupboard the last two years, about to go off, we don't know when our time is up, so we want to live it to the fullest, experience all there is in life and do as much as possible.

This can be hard though when you factor in there are only 24 hours in a day, we are meant to be sleeping for at least 8 of those, so there's a third of your life gone in terms of doing something. Now factor in the fact most people work 8hrs a day, on average 5 days a week for the majority of their lives (as you literally just swapped school for work). You are definitely coming up on almost another third extinguished. On the grander scale of things, that doesn't leave a lot of time for you to actually do the things you want to do, whether it be learn a new language, travel the world, master an instrument, make the guiness book of records for some wacky achievement, and generally just experience life in all it's glory, the way you were intended to.

Secondly, we have this misconception that if we are more productive, we will get noticed by our peers and by our superiors, which can lead to greater opportunities, profits, and success.?Society has this weird way of glorifying 'busy', it's like we aren't important if we aren't busy. That busy label buys us our status, and we start equating it with our self worth, which is total and utter bullshit, but it's the way in which we are being programmed. What is so glorious about getting burnt out, always pleasing others by adding to your already overflowing plate, and not even with things that you like doing in the first instance. This isn't living, not in it's truest form. This is simply exisiting, just muddling by in the hope that it will change, in the hope that when you have proved yourself someone will deem you worthy enough to live your own life!

So the challenge with increasing productivity then is to not get burned out in the process; which I'm going to talk your through briefly now.

When many people think about increasing their productivity, they think that they have to “pull all-nighters” or "burn the candle at both ends" and work non-stop in order to get more done, until that wick finally burns out.?While you absolutely can do that, chances are that you are going to get burned out pretty quickly by taking that approach, which can in turn have the opposite affect by actually decreasing your productivity and even your motivation over time.?Fortunately, you can increase your productivity without having to work non-stop or “pulling all-nighters.” You can ditch this myth of being productive must = getting more shit done!

One way to be more productive without having to up the hustle and grind ante is to remain focused on the work you are currently doing, the task at hand.?Too often, many of us will let our minds wander as we are working on something, often losing our train of thought.?Whether we quantum leap to the future and start to panic that we are never going to get there, or worse we time travel back to the past and start reminiscing over all the things we wish had gone differently, things we can't do a damn thing to change now. Then, we have to double-check our work to ensure we didn’t make a mistake while our mind was wandering.?By staying focused throughout a task, you are likelier to finish the work quicker and do it a high level of quality. Remember each time you switch between a task or lose your trail of thought, it takes on average 23 mins 15 secs for your brain to refocus to its' optimal power. That's quite a bit of time lost if you aren't keeping your mind in check.

A second way to increase your productivity is to get more rest.?As counter intuitive as it may sound, sometimes the most productive thing you can do is to do nothing at all. Your mind is more able to focus on work and complete complex tasks by getting enough rest at night.?You’ll also remain calmer when challenges arise.?People will notice that you get things done faster and that challenges don’t perplex or rattle you, which can lead to greater opportunities for you.

And finally, a third way to increase your productivity is by tracking how much you are doing each day.?Set up a plan for each day on what you want to get done, then see how much of it you actually accomplish at the end of each day.?See where you did well and where you fell short, then determine why you fell short.?Make adjustments and changes to your work routine based on the reasons why you fell short of your work goals, then reassess yourself the following day.?By doing this regularly, you’ll become more aware of how productive you are each day and want to keep striving to get more done each day.?

So tell me, what is your greatest struggle when it comes to increasing your productivity???