Learn The Productivity Mindset

Do you know people who get things done? We all do. But have you noticed that productive people tend to be happier and more well-rounded too?

The skills that these achievers use to help them complete tasks, hit deadlines, and finish projects are the same skills that can help you become a happier, more balanced individual in every aspect of your life.

Everyone should aspire to build a productive mindset. Here are seven tips to improve both your productivity and your life:

Have a Healthy Routine

Some of the most productive people in the world swear by similar morning routines. Rising early to have an exercise session, a protein-rich breakfast, and a spot of meditation feature in many productive people’s mornings from big business owners to presidents. Having a good start to the day gives you all sorts of benefits, including a clearer head, a healthier body, a better mood, and more focus.

Be Positive About Yourself

People who don’t get things done are often sabotaged by their own lack of self-belief. If you don’t think you’re capable of achieving anything, why would you try? Productive people don’t allow negative self-talk to steer them away from their goals. Not only does a healthy sense of self-efficacy help you focus and achieve more, but respecting your unique skills, qualities and strengths will make you feel happier too. It’s really a self-fulfilling prophecy — if you pep talk yourself, you’ll probably find that you’ve got much more to cheer about and you are more likely to perform better when you have a positive outlook.

Look at the Bigger Picture

Productive people don’t get distracted because they’ve always got the bigger picture in mind. They don’t think about a report as a piece of administration or see a spreadsheet as a list of numbers - instead they view these things as necessary steps to achieve their goals. And beyond that, they’ll know why this particular goal is of value to them and how it will enhance their life overall. Whether it’s to make money, to gain security, or to revolutionise the world, productive people see tasks as vital cogs in the greater machinery of their project and their life. Whenever you need to do anything important, bear in mind how good it will make you feel to do it or how it will enhance your well-being. Focusing on these positive things allows you to stay motivated and happy at home and at work.

Streamline Your Life

You might marvel at how much productive people seem to get done in a day, but what you’ll usually find is that they’ve set things up in a way that makes it easier for them to succeed. Whether it’s putting automated systems in place, delegating, or just having all the necessary tools ready to hand, productive people have a head start because they’ve simplified and streamlined their processes. If you invest a little time in decluttering, preparing, and organising, you’ll not only save yourself time in the long run, but you’ll save yourself stress and headaches. And you’ll have much more time to do the things you really value later on.

Be Solution-Focused

If you focus too long on a problem, it can really start to bog you down. You can end up going around in circles, feeling more and more frustrated and worried about the pickle you’re in, rather than doing anything to fix what’s wrong. Productive individuals take one good look at the problem and then immediately move on to search for solutions. Focusing on finding answers helps you feel more in control and gets you out of the problem more quickly. Finding solutions helps you accomplish things, and the sense of pride you get from that can make you feel happier too.

Know Nothing Has to Be Perfect

If you tried to be perfect in everything you did, you’d never ever get anything done. Perfection is an impossible marker, and trying to live up to it just leaves you feeling frustrated and depressed. Productive people focus on doing their very best, but don’t allow a few flaws to delay their dreams or stop their progress. Not only does letting go of perfectionism allow you to get more done, it also takes the pressure off you, letting you enjoy what you are doing and have more fun with it.

Respect Time

If you really thought about what’s precious in life, you’d realise that time is one of the most valuable commodities — it’s one that we only get a certain amount of, and once it’s gone, we can’t get it back. Productive people know the value of time and have a healthy respect for it, which is partly why they are able to stay so focused. You’d find it far less tempting to play Candy Crush if you knew it was your last day on Earth. Respect the time that you have in the world and it’ll be easier to live your life to the fullest, cherishing and enjoying every moment.

Let me know how you adopt these seven principles of productive people into your life.

That is all - 

David