You may believe that only really smart or super motivated people get things done. You might even think that being "productive" is really just a business term that was created by employers to measure how much stuff their employees were doing. But being productive is more than that. Being productive is the difference between sitting on the sidelines watching life pass you by and actually getting in on the action and making life happen! If you don't do anything you can't achieve anything. Can you? It's not possible is it? But getting everything done all the time isn't some myth that only parents, teachers and bosses believe exist - anyone can make it happen - even you. So without further ado, below are the 7 laws of productivity that serial executors consistently engage in.
1. Break the habit of inaction. It is a really hard habit to break, but it can be done! The most common reason our dreams or goals aren't getting completed is, well, because you are not completing them! We need to apply action to them one step at a time. Do not expect to go to bed one night content with inaction and wake up the next morning as a superhero. This step takes time but it is worth every moment. Since we are busy, stressed, and emotional creatures, we tend to get bogged down with things in our daily life. We can get past this though! It only takes a few minutes a day to take your first next step toward what you need to do. Think about it, the minute you start something, you are starting to finish it. It isn't as far away as it looks.
2. Take small steps. As mentioned in step one, this is essential into getting you up and moving and on board the action packed train. The problem with working for one big goal is it can become overwhelming very quickly to think about. For example, you have to take a test and need to study for it. If you sit down in front of a 400 page text book, you immediately feel the rise of anxiety on your chest and the fear of failure lingering nearby. You may think "I will never get through all of this!" and at that point, most people feel the stress overwhelming them and they give up. What if you took one small step at a time? You sat down and said, "I am going to read one chapter right now", and that was it; nothing further, nothing more. You would read your one chapter and then take a break to do something else. Then later, you will come back and read the next chapter and repeat the process. Before you know it, you have read that whole book with little to no stress and especially no looming feelings of doom. You did it! It just takes one small step. If you know where you want to go or where you want to be, it doesn't have to be a race to get there.
3. The fail trap. Almost everyone will hit a stumbling block at some point, an obstacle on the way to their goal. As hard as these trips and falls are, they are important. They help us learn and they help us grow. Without failure, you would not know success. Let's say you have a project due for work. You decide you are going to take those small steps we mentioned before but something goes awry. Somehow you did not plan enough time and you are now rushed in the end, not finishing your project anywhere close to your standards. You may turn it in, and you may get an earful from your boss. It is a temporarily stumble and fall, but it was necessary because you learned something! You pick yourself back up, dust yourself off, and learn not to make the same mistake again. Whenever we start anything new there are bound to be obstacles in our way, but with time and persistence, you will only get better and better until you will see those roadblocks from far ahead and jump with ease over them.
4. Create ordered task lists. If you don't set up benchmarks to help you actualize what you're aiming for, how will you know when you're gaining any ground? In addition to thinking small, it's always a good idea to give yourself a specified goal that you can put behind you within a specific timeline. For example, you can decide you'd like to, "learn five new American Sign Language letters by the end of the day". Simple, and totally doable is the way to go, you can get it done and it feels great to be that much closer to your goals! Don't stress yourself out with enormous day-to-day goals, or you could risk burnout.
5. Set, develop, and keep to a routine. Yes, it's true, routines do seem boring but they are what life is founded upon! Thinking even back to our hunter-gather ancestors, they had a routine they stuck to day in and day out, and that is because it produces results! The important idea with routines is it isn't how much you do but how often you actually do it. They say it takes 7 days of consistent adherence to a new task for it to become natural for you, reprogrammed in your brain we'll say. We talked about starting small, so just start with those 7 days. Plan and follow a routine. You will soon see that organization will set you free and your routine will create a solid foundation for getting you want you need or want.
6. It is okay to say no! What we mean by this is you must value your time as much as your friends and family may not understand, it is incredibly important you do not run yourself into the ground trying to help others. This, of course, does not mean you need to push your family and friends away. What it does mean though is when they approach you with tasks and lists that really don't fit in with your new routine or rules of productivity, it is okay to tell them no. Let them know you will get to it as soon as you can but your schedule is packed tight right now. And it really is! You are making time for you, your goals, your routine, and your productivity!
7. Know that hard and fast rules can be broken - even those you're reading now! Tips and tricks are only as good as the success they bring you. If something doesn't work for you, tweak it, reformat it, or leave it behind totally if reaching that next step is impossible in the current state of your affairs, try something else. Your trials and errors will soon teach you which moves work for you and which ones should be dropped. Of course, don't take this to mean that you can throw progress out the window to opt for inactivity - do what works best for you, but always be sure to do something! Inactivity will find you falling behind, and fast. Get familiar with your routine, and keep moving!
1. Break the habit of inaction. It is a really hard habit to break, but it can be done! The most common reason our dreams or goals aren't getting completed is, well, because you are not completing them! We need to apply action to them one step at a time. Do not expect to go to bed one night content with inaction and wake up the next morning as a superhero. This step takes time but it is worth every moment. Since we are busy, stressed, and emotional creatures, we tend to get bogged down with things in our daily life. We can get past this though! It only takes a few minutes a day to take your first next step toward what you need to do. Think about it, the minute you start something, you are starting to finish it. It isn't as far away as it looks.
2. Take small steps. As mentioned in step one, this is essential into getting you up and moving and on board the action packed train. The problem with working for one big goal is it can become overwhelming very quickly to think about. For example, you have to take a test and need to study for it. If you sit down in front of a 400 page text book, you immediately feel the rise of anxiety on your chest and the fear of failure lingering nearby. You may think "I will never get through all of this!" and at that point, most people feel the stress overwhelming them and they give up. What if you took one small step at a time? You sat down and said, "I am going to read one chapter right now", and that was it; nothing further, nothing more. You would read your one chapter and then take a break to do something else. Then later, you will come back and read the next chapter and repeat the process. Before you know it, you have read that whole book with little to no stress and especially no looming feelings of doom. You did it! It just takes one small step. If you know where you want to go or where you want to be, it doesn't have to be a race to get there.
3. The fail trap. Almost everyone will hit a stumbling block at some point, an obstacle on the way to their goal. As hard as these trips and falls are, they are important. They help us learn and they help us grow. Without failure, you would not know success. Let's say you have a project due for work. You decide you are going to take those small steps we mentioned before but something goes awry. Somehow you did not plan enough time and you are now rushed in the end, not finishing your project anywhere close to your standards. You may turn it in, and you may get an earful from your boss. It is a temporarily stumble and fall, but it was necessary because you learned something! You pick yourself back up, dust yourself off, and learn not to make the same mistake again. Whenever we start anything new there are bound to be obstacles in our way, but with time and persistence, you will only get better and better until you will see those roadblocks from far ahead and jump with ease over them.
4. Create ordered task lists. If you don't set up benchmarks to help you actualize what you're aiming for, how will you know when you're gaining any ground? In addition to thinking small, it's always a good idea to give yourself a specified goal that you can put behind you within a specific timeline. For example, you can decide you'd like to, "learn five new American Sign Language letters by the end of the day". Simple, and totally doable is the way to go, you can get it done and it feels great to be that much closer to your goals! Don't stress yourself out with enormous day-to-day goals, or you could risk burnout.
5. Set, develop, and keep to a routine. Yes, it's true, routines do seem boring but they are what life is founded upon! Thinking even back to our hunter-gather ancestors, they had a routine they stuck to day in and day out, and that is because it produces results! The important idea with routines is it isn't how much you do but how often you actually do it. They say it takes 7 days of consistent adherence to a new task for it to become natural for you, reprogrammed in your brain we'll say. We talked about starting small, so just start with those 7 days. Plan and follow a routine. You will soon see that organization will set you free and your routine will create a solid foundation for getting you want you need or want.
6. It is okay to say no! What we mean by this is you must value your time as much as your friends and family may not understand, it is incredibly important you do not run yourself into the ground trying to help others. This, of course, does not mean you need to push your family and friends away. What it does mean though is when they approach you with tasks and lists that really don't fit in with your new routine or rules of productivity, it is okay to tell them no. Let them know you will get to it as soon as you can but your schedule is packed tight right now. And it really is! You are making time for you, your goals, your routine, and your productivity!
7. Know that hard and fast rules can be broken - even those you're reading now! Tips and tricks are only as good as the success they bring you. If something doesn't work for you, tweak it, reformat it, or leave it behind totally if reaching that next step is impossible in the current state of your affairs, try something else. Your trials and errors will soon teach you which moves work for you and which ones should be dropped. Of course, don't take this to mean that you can throw progress out the window to opt for inactivity - do what works best for you, but always be sure to do something! Inactivity will find you falling behind, and fast. Get familiar with your routine, and keep moving!
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