The ability to focus and be productive for long chunks of time is rare in this day and age.
Whether you’re a student, a stay at home parent, a full-time worker, or you run your own business, productivity is important.
It’s something we all want, but struggle to do.
I have another post sharing productivity tips, but below I share with you a few impactful ways to be more productive.
Get into a peak state as often as possible
Being in a peak state means you feel energized and motivated to take action.
You know those times where you feel excited about the task at hand and the work feels effortless? That’s a peak state.
Most times that we have to do something, we’re not very motivated or energized. And while you should still push through any resistance and just take action, you can make it easier by getting into a peak state as often as possible.
Getting there is all about your mindset.
So how do you enter a peak state?
1) Remind yourself of your why or your goals
This is the most impactful technique for me. If I ever feel too tired or unmotivated to get my work done, I remind myself of why I’m doing this. I remind myself of what I really want in life and who I want to be.
This gets me fired up and excited about taking action to get there.
2) Visualization
Envision how it will feel to complete whatever it is you need to do. Really feel that sense of accomplishment. You can also visualize your future and why it is you’re even doing this.
3) Meditation and/or deep breathing
Meditation and breathwork can be quite powerful. Both give you some time to sit with yourself and just be. They can help you feel refreshed and ready to take action.
4) Hype music or motivational speeches
Put on your favorite music to dance to and feel your vibration increase. I also love listening to compilation videos of motivational speeches with intense music in the background. There are tons on YouTube like the one below.
5) Powerful physiology
Before doing something, evaluate your physiology first. Are you sitting/standing up straight? Is your facial expression strained or relaxed? These things are important because your mind and body are correlated.
Maintaining a peak state isn’t easy to do, but the more you practice it the better you’ll get at reaching it.
We all know it’s easier to be productive when you feel motivated and energized.
Incorporate regular movement
Regular exercise is easily one of the best habits you can develop.
However, even if you exercise every day, it may not be enough to cancel out the effects of prolonged sitting.
By increasing your movement throughout your whole day, you’ll improve your health AND productivity.
If you’re sitting down to be productive, you can make it more effective by incorporating movement.
Schedule in standing, walking and stretching every hour or so. All of these increase blood flow throughout your body and therefore to your brain.
This increased blood flow and oxygen to your brain will increase your energy and attentiveness.
I also love to break up my workday by taking a 20-minute walk after lunch. I come back feeling refreshed.
Manage your energy
When do you feel the most energized? When is it that you perform the best?
I do believe time management is super important, but so is managing your energy. More specifically, managing your tasks AROUND your energy.
Everyone performs best at different times.
For a lot of people, they are most productive 2-3 hours after waking up and maybe 30 minutes after drinking their coffee.
However, what do you spend your time doing during those peak moments of energy?
A lot of people check their e-mail or complete small, unimportant tasks.
Instead, try completing your most difficult tasks that require the most energy. This will allow you to be more productive and focused while you complete your hardest task and will lead to more momentum to complete smaller tasks.
For you, this time may be in the evening. Whatever time of day it is, just take advantage of it and get your hardest work done.
Theme your days
Anyone can theme their days to increase productivity.
Identify your priorities and the main things you need to do throughout the week. Then assign a theme around those priorities for each day of the week.
For example, my Monday evening’s are dedicated to YouTube work. I edit videos, create a thumbnail, etc. On Tuesdays, I split half of my evening into YouTube work and the other half into social media scheduling/planning. On Wednesdays, I write a blog post.
In the past, I used to spend my evenings editing a bit of a video, writing a bit of a blog post, thinking of social media ideas, and so on. By the end of the night, it felt like I was super productive, but nothing was getting done.
By theming my days and focusing on the result I want to achieve each day, I’ve been able to get way more done each week.
Commit to completely focused time
If you struggle with staying focused and being productive, start small.
Pick a task and commit to 100% focused work for a period of time (15 minutes to an hour). During this time, do not allow yourself to give in to any distractions.
Put your phone in a different room and have everything you need in front of you.
If you get distracted at all, start the time over or do it again later.
Distractions are a huge part of society and all of the new developments in technology have decreased our ability to focus.
By committing to focused work for a set period of time, you can retrain your brain.
The idea is to start small and increase the length of time every couple of weeks or so.
Productivity requires discipline and commitment.
If you improve your productivity you can create more freedom in your life by taking control of your schedule, the actions you take, and the things you accomplish.
Stop wasting the precious time that you have and start taking control today.