Twelve Ways I Became More Productive… And You Can Too.

After evaluating my decisions over the last twelve weeks, I have twelve key steps to becoming many times more productive.

I had a disaster in March. It sent my life into the abyss.

I got my head together and got a job in May. I always said that once I got the job, I would look at other areas of my life. And I did.

Over the last twelve weeks, I have switched it up that much I couldn’t even imagine what life was like earlier this year.

I’ve become several times more productive. I wanted to share my reflection on what I believe has given me this new-found motivation.

Assess what you want from life

How can you set goals and work towards a long-term vision without assessing what you want from life, to begin with?

The first step for me was to reassess who I was.

You have to ask:

What do you want to do?

Why do you want to do that?

What makes me think I would be so good at that?

The second step is to assess where you want to be.

What do you want?

Where do you want to live?

What do you want my day to consist of?

Why type of people and projects do I want to work with (or on)?

The next step was to create a plan to create that vision and bring it into fruition.

Then you work for it. Hard.

Attaching emotion to your desires

To work hard for something means dedication.

Dedication requires some form of reward.

And that reward must have some meaning to you… or forget it.

Money is not enough. It’s a feeble goal.

Instead, it should be about the life you want to live.

How that will make you feel.

To provide that life to your family.

To no longer feel the pressure, the stress, the anxiety.

To accomplish that hard task.

How will that make you feel?

I am playing a high-stakes game.

I am all-in.

And I am all in because I have attached a high level of emotion to my desires.

It gives me the reason to work hard and focus now when times are uncertain, and I am beginning on a new road of becoming a professional writer.

Things aren’t always clear.

Doubt creeps in.

There is no guide, no mentor to show me the way (yet).

But the road is here. And I’m walking on it. And I have all my possessions. And there is no turning back.

Eliminating choice and focusing on the one thing I want? It’s priceless.

I have done that by attaching a high level of emotion to my desire of becoming a copywriter and going all-in on that concept of my ‘self’ to turn that vision into a reality.

And you can too.

Focusing on your long-term goal

Goals are easily set.

And most of the time, they are easily achieved.

The problem isn’t that the job is too small. Though it may be.

The real problem is the goal is not set to be reached over a long period.

If I set a goal of owning my own business and making ￡2000 a month, with six months of hard work that is attainable.

But if my goal is to become one of the best copywriters in the industry?

That requires me to get a hell of a lot more intense with my study.

And it can never be achieved in a short period of time, considering the decades of experience I will need to get a fraction of the way there.

Think about long-term goals that you can set for yourself that will command your behaviour and control your intent on a daily basis, keeping you motivated to do what it is you set out to do.

I may not become one of the greatest.

I truly believe if I put the work in, I will.

It's up to me.

It also sets me up well.

The aim becomes to be one of the best.

That keeps me studying, learning and putting new techniques to use.

It keeps me exploring the ways to enter the world of advertising and soak up as much experience and knowledge as humanly possible.

It keeps me focused.

Waking early and taking immediate action

Waking up at 4 am is just waking up at 4 am.

You can wake up at 4 am and sit and watch TV for three hours while you yawn, smoke and drink coffee.

Waking up at 4 am, hitting the yoga mat for twenty minutes, a quick ten-minute shower and then starting to write?

That is a different story.

By 5.30am you’ve already been writing for forty minutes, considering the two breaks you took to make yourself a drink and reflect.

This writing could be writing down daily intent, goals, aims. Or like me, it could be writing a blog.

5.30 it’s time for more writing, exercise - you want to switch it up.

You have an hour before you have to start thinking about getting prepared for the working day.

Wake up early. Take immediate action. See the difference in your day.

Deleting social media

Do you understand how toxic Facebook is?

I never had Twitter, so I can’t comment for that. But I hear it’s worse.

Last year I proclaimed to be a digital marketing specialist who generalised in every aspect of digital marketing.

Social media became an extension of my brand (which in the end was whatever work I could get my hands on).

But since I focused on copywriting and stopped freelancing, I decided social media was not for me.

I wasn’t using it personally beforehand. It was a professional endeavour.

That was over.

And the utility Facebook severely diminished, at least for me.

Since deleting the platform, I have listened to five books on my Audible account and read two paperbacks. In six weeks.

It’s astonishing how much more focus you have.

A simple truth will always remain true: Facebook is full of garbage.

Nobody has anything good to say on the platform, at least half the people on there are negative.

You wouldn’t eat out of the rubbish bin, would you?

Then why allow that stuff into your brain? It’s all rubbish.

Delete it and get on with your life.

Following your intention

There are things I love to do. I have begun to choose not to.

For example, I love watching a series on TV. I restrain myself from binge-watching them now, consuming TV for a maximum of just an hour a day.

Why?

To build self-discipline.

My intent is to become a great copywriter and fulfill my potential as a human being.

I started swimming an hour a day again, something I loved doing last year but fell out of due to lazy habits. I haven’t been in ten months – but I went four times this week.

7.30am on Sunday, I was on my way up to the baths.

Do you know how easier it would have been to lay in bed and watch Faulty Towers for the hundredth time?

I have a goal to work towards.

I’m 26.

There is no way I can afford to spend hours upon hours of my day consuming mindless programmes on TV or videos on YouTube (no matter how ‘motivational’ they proclaim to be).

There is nothing like tangible results from putting in the work. Everything else should be secondary.

You should be thinking about your future, concentrating on making yourself better, looking at new ways to expand your life and experience while you are here.

What other facets can I add to my life?

Can you box? If you tried...

Can you run a marathon? If you put the work in, sure.

Can you become a great thinker? Yes, if you practice focusing.

You can do what you please, it's your choice. You don't have to please the immediate self. You can work towards a better future. But your intention is all well and good. What are your actions saying?

Faulty Towers is funny though.

Exercising and escaping your comfort zone

This is a big one.

Exercise is something I never paid much attention to.

I was too busy watching sitcoms on the TV instead.

I never had to; I am eleven-stone wet through.

It must be said though, as I grow old… I don’t want to be one of those weak, frail old men.

Being slim when you’re young is fine.

As you grow old, you don’t want to look like a child.

Back to the point: exercise has too many benefits to ignore.

You start to see progress, which is a huge motivational factor.

It makes you realise that perseverance and effort every day give results, and that translates into anything you are doing.

You also start to become a little more aware of what you’re eating.

You must be, you need the fuel.

And finally, you bring yourself out of your comfort zone.

This bringing out of your comfort zone? It’s a big deal.

Too many of us are constantly in a comfort zone with every with do. Everything we do, we could do blindfolded. We are indeed creatures of habit. And working out is no place for comfort.

When you start to exercise and push yourself, crossing boundaries with your body and doing the unthinkable, you start to realise your potential.

You start to realise that you are not trapped. You are simply untrained and raw.

All you need is focus.

You already have the recipe, the oven, and the gas. You just need to cook the meal.

I’m sure there are a million other benefits to exercise too. And if you don’t do it, you should start.

Stop worrying about what others think

It’s too easy to conform.

I am not one for friendship groups.

I find myself slipping too deep into the group and every time I find a way out.

I’ll always revisit my friends. But I think they know.

I’m my own person.

I wasn’t always like this. It was just a natural occurrence over the years, I grew from my friends. I’ve always been able to make new friends and have floated between social groups for years, and I stay in touch with plenty of long-time friends.

But it’s occasionally. Because I have my own life.

There have been those people I let too close before. They became fixtures in my life. Their opinions influenced me.

Having noticed it, I’m becoming more and more focused on my day-to-day habits and my own vision, removing any need for approval or validation from others.

The more I tell people that I am doing something, the less I do.

The more I do, the less I feel the need to tell people.

You are too busy doing the thing to tell somebody you are doing that thing.

And if you’re telling somebody you’re doing the thing, you’re not actively doing it.

Get it? Just get on with it. The time you spend telling people about what it is you’re doing or you’re going to do, the less time you have to execute.

A simple fact remains nobody cares about what you do. They care about what they do.

Scheduling my time

When you stop agreeing to spontaneous calls to go out and play with your friends, you can take your time more seriously.

This means you can effectively schedule your time, providing you with structure.

Plan your days in advance.

I know lane swimming is on at 8 pm.

If I can get into work early and start at 7.30am after my early rise, I can finish at 3.30pm (the perks of flexible working hours).

I am home for 4.30pm. It gives me three hours to get comfortable, write and eat.

Then it is time for a quick stretch and a walk to the baths. An hour swim and a walk back.

9.15pm – it’s time to read for forty-five minutes, then sleep for six hours.

Back to it at 4 am.

It’s easy when you think about it.

Setting days aside

Saturday is my writing day.

Sunday is my editing day.

All week I will write.

Saturday, I write intensely.

Sunday, I do some reflection on the week and edit.

I spare some time on the weekend for my partner, I will spend 12 hours between those two days – writing and editing.

There are some days when I get the luxury to a day to myself, I will write for the full day.

I’m obsessed with my writing, but for you, it might be different.

Setting days aside could be for:

• Family time due to a heavy work schedule
• Starting a part-time business
• Enrolling into an online college
• Developing a new skill
• Time to yourself to assess your life
• Exercise
• Planning and goal setting

I have used this ‘setting days aside’ rule for a while and for a variety of the above. It works. You just have to make sure you do everything you need to leading up to that day to get rid of the ‘guilt’ you may feel for not working.

‘Days aside’ also work better when they are regular and become part of your habit. Every Saturday is my writing day.

Holding yourself accountable

You are responsible for everything that happens to you.

You don't need help.

You don't want it either.

Not that you should refuse guidance, feedback or criticism.

But you don't want everything given to you.

I need to suffer through this and be accountable for my own actions.

That's how I learn...

When I mess up.

And then when the good things happen? You can also know that was my creation too.

I was once in the victim mentality.

I thought I was owed something from life.

Life is not about what you can take, life is about what you can give.

The quicker you realise that; the easier life becomes.