Today I want to talk about the P word.
Productivity.
What we pride so much but we’re all desperately struggling with.
These days, I see many people from my generation (Z) struggling so much to be productive.
We have all these ideas that we want to explore.
All these creative projects we want to develop.
Some of us even want to start businesses and gain financial independence.
We have all these goals that we want to achieve. But it’s so hard for us to get off our butts and actually go after them. And then we feel guilty for not doing as much as we could. And the cycle continues.
I’ve been feeling this a lot lately. If you clicked on this article, maybe you have too.
That’s why this article will focus on small lifestyle changes designed to help us get back on track to go after the cool things we want to achieve.
It’s not so much geared at how to be productive in general but how we can regain our drive and make small consistent steps towards our goals each day.
I have compiled different points from successful people I admire from my personal life and from afar.
These are things I want to bring back to my daily life to help me be more productive again. I hope you find these helpful too.
1. Identify your why
This is very important.
Like the amazing Mel Robbins once said, “Motivation is garbage!” (link).
It’s completely unreliable.
Sure one day, you might feel super pumped and energized to get through your to-do list or work on your side project.
But other days (let’s be honest most days), you won’t. (Unless you’re a superhuman who ALWAYs feels motivated, in which case I have questions for you!)
But yes most days you won’t feel like working on what you need to do. Why? Because most likely, whatever you need to do is HARD.
It’s uncomfortable. It forces you to get out of your comfort zone and makes you face the possibility that maybe you’re not good enough. Maybe you indeed don’t know what you’re doing.
You know, those sucky thoughts that pop up when it’s time to sit down and work on your project.
That’s why it’s paramount to define your “why”.
When motivation goes out the window, your why is there to pick up the slack.
When I decided to start taking this blogging thing seriously, I was NOT prepared for how hard it would be. As fun as it is in general, this is not easy and it requires serious consistency and work ethic (those who want to start a blog, take note)!
Honestly, there were a couple of times when I didn’t know if this was really for me. However, I remembered that I wanted to have a hobby that would allow me to have fun and be creative from anywhere in the world while making some additional income to allow me to spend time with my friends and family.
My top priorities in life are my peace and my relationships. So on days when I feel like I can’t keep going, all I have to do is think of that, which helps keep me going.
So whatever you are trying to get done, take a minute and think deeply about your why.
What will this project allow you to accomplish in your life? Will it give you financial independence so you can do more things you love? Will it make you healthier so you’re able to do activities you can no longer do?
Whatever your why is, zero in on it, hold on to it and NEVER let go of it.
2. Be willing to make sacrifices
Nothing great comes easy in life.
So the sooner you accept that you’ll need to make some sacrifices to be successful at whatever you’re trying to do, the better.
By sacrifices, I mean, “minor” lifestyle changes that will allow you to optimize your energy and focus for your project.
For instance, you may need to start getting up an hour or two earlier to get ahead on your work.
You may need to cancel some plans with friends to stay home and get ahead on your tasks. And maybe (definitely lol) you, should delete your social media apps so you be more focused.
That last one really works btw. I deleted Instagram last year to preserve my focus and mental health and haven’t looked back since. You should try it!
Now, I get it it’s hard. Considering the aforementioned examples, we don’t want to have fomo.
Those of us who REALLY struggle to get ourselves out of bed might struggle with getting up super early.
And you probably don’t want to miss that dopamine hit from scrolling aimlessly on your phone and spending (really wasting) 1 hour on youtube without even realizing.
I personally love watching life advice reels on YT but I can sometimes lose track of time when I do.
Depending on your lifestyle, this will definitely be an adjustment.
This is why if it’s something you know you are not able to sustain, try it for a specific amount of time.
If you can keep going great. If not, go back to your old routine but at least, you’d have taken out some time to get some serious work done.
3. Reward yourself!
One of my favs from this list!
You know what’s the best way to get me to do something I don’t want to do? Give me a reward for it!
The same applies when you need to be productive.
Depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, the process is probably hard enough. You may already be struggling with early mornings, late nights, laziness, procrastination and a low attention span.
So why not make the process a bit sweeter by rewarding yourself for your efforts?
Rewarding yourself associates the difficult task you’re trying to do with a positive feeling and reinforces the behavior thus encouraging you to keep doing it.
When I need to write an article for my blog or I need to sort through my finances for the month, 99% of the time, I don’t want to get started. But playing some nice music when I work makes these tasks a bit less difficult for me.
Or, when I remind myself that as soon as I’m done, I’ll get to enjoy my favorite snack or watch an episode of Bridgerton, it makes me more likely to start working because I can’t wait to be done!
4. Understand you WILL have bad days and there’s nothing wrong with that
You know being productive is great and def something to be proud of when you’re able to do it.
But let’s be real, we’re going to have OFF days. You’re going to have days when you just don’t feel like working (despite everything I’ve said above).
And that’s okay! I honestly think more people need to accept that and stop beating themselves up for it.
For example, when I wrote my first novel, I used to procrastinate A LOT.
I went through this cycle of beating myself up about it and then procrastinating some more.
But I read some interesting advice from writer Jerry Jenkins’ newsletter. It taught me to accept procrastination as a part of the writing process. As a time when you may not be physically writing, but new ideas are silently brewing in your head. That really resonated with me tbh.
So if you have a day or a moment when you just can’t get yourself to work, don’t be so hard on yourself, but rather lean into that feeling. Take some time to clear your mind and distract yourself. That time away from your work can help give you a fresh perspective and new ideas and help you get right back on track later on.
5. Not everything is a priority
…..even if it feels like it is.
If it feels like everything is a priority, then nothing is really.
I know this is a bitter pill to swallow for those of us overachievers who pride ourselves on how much we can get done.
But this is not realistic at all.
Giving yourself more tasks thinking you’re being hyperproductive doesn’t work because you will just end up burning yourself out which will affect the quality of the other tasks you’re desperately trying to add to your pile.
Which makes you wonder really, what’s the point then??
Instead, be strategic about it. Don’t try to do everything at once. Pick a couple of key tasks, focus on them and do them really well, then you can move on to the rest.
If you want to write a book, start with 5 pages a week instead of 20.
If you want to start exercising more, start with a 10-minute walk every other day then gradually increasing to more challenging exercises.
Little by little, you’ll achieve what you’re trying to achieve.
6. Know your limits and prioritize your rest!
You can’t pour from an empty cup.
To continue to be productive, you can’t neglect your health!
And this is what’s wrong with our culture today. People are losing sleep, and skipping meals in the name of hustle and productivity and it’s making them sick, anxious and burnt out.
So yes this is a post to help you be a bit more productive but one big aspect of that is taking care of yourself.
For a long time, especially in college, I thought I could function normally with little sleep and it has come back to bite me in the butt now because I struggle often with fatigue and low energy. So now, I’m doing everything I can to prioritize rest and improve my sleep quality so I can feel healthier and more energized.
So please don’t deny your body the rest it needs.
Get enough sleep so you can stay alert and focused.
Eat nutritious foods that fuel you.
Remember to take time away from work to spend time with family and friends–it’s good for your mental and emotional health.
Bottom line: Show up for yourself, so you can continue to show up in the world through your work, your art, your business or whatever else you are working on.
What else helps you stay motivated and productive when you don’t feel like it?
