Learn How to Really Be Productive from Mr. Productivity
The age of distraction is a recurring phenomenon in response to new technology. The rise of social media is akin to shoving distraction in our faces. And as the digital natives that we are, we eat this up. But this trend has resulted in a decrease in productivity. Now it begs the question: How do we stay productive during these challenging times ?
Mister Productivity, aka Mark Struczewski got us covered. His mission is to help people identify the big distractions in their life and give solutions on how to overcome them. In this episode he’ll share some tips on how to get the best out of our day.
If you’re committed to be productive, you have to agree to the fact that our phones offer a great deal of distraction. But Mark offers a simple solution on how to part with our phones. We just have to get over one, hard truth.
You and me and the people in the audience, we’re not that important.
Unless your job is emergency response, we can afford not to check our phone everytime it goes off. We must learn to discipline ourselves to do the task at hand. Without self-discipline, it’s hard to be productive.
Now that we got that out of the way, we can move on to the tips on how to really be productive.
Tip #1: Be Intentional About Your Time
Setting three things that you want to accomplish for the day is a good way to be intentional with your time. Instead of skipping from one thing to the other, you have a concrete and actionable goal for the day. You become productive this way because you will be able to differentiate what are distractions and those which are not. Which leads us to the second tip.
Tip #2: Be Proactive Instead of Reactive
The lack of intention in our days forces us to be in a reactive mode. The reactive mode happens when we go about our day, with no set plan. We’re going through the day by reacting to whatever comes our way. By being reactive, we are living in response to the situation that may arise. Being proactive on the other hand, is to take control of the situation as it happens. Having an intended set of tasks for the day stops us from slipping into the reactive mode.
Tip #3: Make that plan
You'll have the best laid plan and then something will happen and you'll have to pivot.
Part of being proactive starts by having a plan. No plan will be perfect but the act of making a plan, or something like it will help us in becoming more productive. It’s important to point out that we are all different people. What works for some won’t work for others. So take the time to discover your own planning routine.
Tip #4: Moving the Needle is the Priority
In terms of prioritization, you must get clear on your goal first. Your goal is your needle. The things that you should prioritize are those that move that needle. So if your goal is to have more clients, you should prioritize things that will help you with this.
Tip #5: Cultivate the Entrepreneurial Spirit in You
Just because you were trained this particular way doesn't mean it's the most efficient, most productive way to do whatever that is.
Even if you’re working a corporate job, you should also think like an entrepreneur. It’s easy to stick to the routine of how things were done. But in order to combat unproductivity, you should learn how to improve these routines. Thinking like an entrepreneur will help you self-motivate while also making yourself indispensable to your employer.
?Conclusion:
Always tell your time where to go instead of wondering where it went.
Striving to be productive is good. What we need to remember though is that there are also bad days. Unproductive days are just inevitable. Which is why, we should take advantage of our good days. Be intentional, proactive instead of reactive and plan wisely.