Did you have a productive 2020? Don’t answer that. No matter how much you got done last year or how efficiently you did it, you are probably due for a change in this year ahead.
Maybe it’s a change to your morning routine or a different approach to your to-do list. Or perhaps it’s reducing your reliance on to-do lists altogether. Because everyone’s productivity problems differ, so should their solutions. Below are six ways you can have the most productive year ever (anything’s gotta be better than 2020). After reading through this list, sit down and think about which areas of your life you’d like to become more productive. Then make a plan that will help you get there.
1. Build Your Day Around Your Best Times
Are you a morning person or a night owl? For some, they are most creative in the morning and like to complete their most challenging tasks first because the anxiety of finishing them will get the best of them if they don’t. Approach your to-do list according to who you are inside. Maybe you work best in 45-minute chunks of time, or perhaps you would rather spearhead your projects first thing in the morning. Work hours can often limit the amount of creative control you can have over your tasks, but use your time according to when you can be most productive. Save those monotonous tasks for the afternoon slump when you’re tired and don’t need as much focus.
2. Figure Out What Doesn’t Flow
Often, what’s really not working in our lives isn’t what’s causing us the most significant pain; it’s what we feel most unmotivated and uninspired by.
Pain is a tricky thing because it’s actually a component in working toward most of our goals. Pain and discomfort aren’t what we’re trying to avoid. But apathy, disinterest, and a lack of motivation are. Those are the telltale signs that you’re not doing something you’re genuinely interested in, and you need to reassess. If something you do doesn’t make you feel good or fit with your flow, change it.
3. Work Smarter, Not Harder
You can have the longest to-do list in the world, but if it doesn’t actually help you accomplish your goals, what good is it? Focus on the tasks that will help you work towards completing your goals. Have a project due for work? Focus on the aspects you can control, and don’t harp on the ones you can’t. Wasting your time worrying for others won’t get you anywhere.
4. Choose Goals That Make You Feel Uncomfortable
Have you heard the saying before, “step outside of your comfort zone?” If you stay within your comfortable little box, you’ll never get further or genuinely challenge yourself, both personally and professionally. When you imagine what you want your life to look like in the next year — and onward — remember that your frame of reference is only what you’ve known. Imagining something better than what you have previously experienced will most likely make you feel slightly uncomfortable, fearful, or nervous. And that’s okay! Expect this, and embrace it. Be open to seeing your life unfold in more extraordinary ways than you can comprehend at the moment.
5. Turn Off Your Notifications
This move is a real game-changer. And it isn’t an easy one. But turn them off, just do it. You don’t need to know who opened your email, commented on your latest social media post, or updated their news feed on Twitter. Choose a block of time to focus on your work, and turn off those notifications that distract you from diving in. Whether you realize it or not, those little notifications pull you away from your priorities, and even if it’s only for a few minutes, those minutes add up. Allow yourself complete focus on your work but blocking out the outside distractions.
6. Don’t Forget About Yourself
Being a hardworking, focused, driven person is something to be proud of. But if you never take care of that person from the core, it won’t last long. Allow yourself time to take care of yourself, be yourself, and enjoy things other than work. Making an effort to take care of who you are and how you feel is imperative to the professional you will be in the long term. Whether it’s 10 minutes of stretching a day, reading a book each night, or a solo walk around the block, determine what makes you feel good, and make them non-negotiable in your daily life.
Bottom Line
You can work at your life for the next 12 months straight, and even if you see significant progress on the outside, you’re not going to feel much different on the inside unless you allow yourself to be happy and allow your life to be good, right here and right now. Nothing will change your outlook and your perspective on your life other than changing how you think and feel each day. Start now. Not after you accomplish something more. Not after you’re different or better. Changing your life is really just changing how you are in the present moment. The rest will take care of itself.