How To Be More Productive

Productivity.

It’s a fairly subjective thing, in my opinion. Some people think that getting out of bed, taking a shower, and doing the dishes is a productive day. Others don’t feel that it’s a productive day unless they cross off half of their to-do list, cook every meal, and clean the whole house. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle of those, but wherever you fall, I want to help you increase your productivity.

Now, what works for me may not work for everybody and that is just fine! Try the ideas out and see if it works for you and maybe try tweaking it a bit to see what fits your life.

Make a to do list, then dwindle it down.

One thing that has helped me be productive is making a to do list of everything I want to do. The next thing I do is sort it into categories. I have these few categories: high priority, medium priority, low priority, and cleaning. This helps me make sure the most important things get done and that helps me manage my anxiety about any deadlines I may have. It helps me pay bills on time, not forget anything, and feel like what needs to get done does get done.

Examples of each category:

High Priority: Things that need to be done that day, bills that need to be paid that day or in the next couple of days, typically 1-5 tasks fall under this category

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Medium Priority: Things that will need to be done in the next week, things that may need preparation, or things that have a deadline and are often/easily forgotten about, typically more things fall into this category, anything from 5-10 depending on your life.

Low Priority: Things that you want to get done but don’t necessarily need to get done. Decorating, fun things, or small things that aren’t as important to daily life go here. Most of your to-do list will fall under this category.

Cleaning: Clearly this is for cleaning, but I love being able to organize it by room so I get less distracted while cleaning. I also love making a list of everything I have to do while I’m cleaning so I don’t have to try and remember everything that I have to do while I’m cleaning because my memory is awful. (Trust me, just ask my boyfriend)

2. Make a “side tracked” list

As I just said, my memory is terrible. I am notorious for being halfway through something, then realizing I forgot something else, and I have to go do that thing right now or I will forget again. I’ll be halfway through that then I realize that I never finished the first thing but on my way to finish that thing I get sidetracked with something else and it keeps going until I have a ton of half finished things and I still haven’t finished my original task. It drives me crazy. One way to avoid this is to have a “side tracked” list, or add it on your master to-do list. It will help you remember to get that done as well as get your original task done and not worry you’ll forget it again.

If you feel overwhelmed, break down bigger tasks.

This makes me feel so much better every time I feel overwhelmed with one task. If you have “clean the whole house” on your to-do list, that can be incredibly scary depending on how big your house is, if you have kids, or animals, or whatever your situation is. This is why I break down my cleaning by room, and then by task in that room.

For example:

Clean house

Bathroom

Clean toilet

Clean sink

Wipe down countertop

Clean shower/bath

Sweep floors

Swiffer floors

Kitchen

Do dishes

Sweep floor

Swiffer floor

Clear off counters

Clear off dining room table

Wipe off counter

Wipe off dining room table

Go through fridge

I can keep going on and on, but this is a quick peek into what my cleaning to do list looks like on a cleaning day and also how I break down tasks.

For a non-cleaning example:

Write Blog post

Brainstorm

Research

Write rough draft

Edit rough draft

Read edited version

Schedule post

I love breaking things down because I can also set timers and say I’m going to brainstorm for 30 minutes, or I’m just going to write for 30 minutes and see what happens and stop at 30 minutes. It makes it easier for me to start the task when I have a better framework on how much time that task is going to take me.

3. Just do it.

My final tip isn’t super crazy and links into my post on motivation, just do it. People think that after motivation you get productivity, which is not true. You have to be productive and do things in order to get the motivation after you see the results of your productivity. If you need a visual:

Action ---> Reward ----> Productivity/Motivation.

If you’re having problems getting started, one of my biggest tips is to tell yourself that you’re just going to clean for 10 minutes. Whether you stop at 10 minutes or keep going is up to you, but at least you’ve started. A lot of the time starting it is the hardest part. An object in motion tends to stay in motion. Just get started! Set a timer and start on a task from anywhere from 5-15 minutes. Whatever amount of time makes you motivated to start.

I do have a post on motivation in case you need more help with motivation, but in short you make your own motivation. Make a list of things you want to get done and tackle them. Just do it! Take a breath, count to 5, and do it.

I hope these tips help make you more productive! It’s easier than we make it out to be in our minds. We make things seem so much more difficult in our heads and in reality it’s very simple! Mind over matter, you can do it!