Hoping 2019 is your best year yet? Of course you do. You’re not made of stone! Setting clear, energizing goals is a great tool for getting laser focused on what you want most. However, it’s not enough.
With 80% of New Year’s resolutions failing by February, it’s important to use strategies to create consistent progress. That’s where the art of productivity comes in. Today, I’m sharing 4 practices to boost productivity all year long, so you can supercharge your resolutions, blow through your goals, and have the best year yet.
1. Create a Mindset Practice:
There are 3 building blocks to create progress in any area of your life: Mindset, Strategy, and Execution. Without a solid mindset, the strategy and execution is likely to fail.
If your goal is to hit an ambitious revenue goal but you believe sales is sleazy and disingenuous, you’ll struggle endlessly to make enough sales. Many of us aren’t even aware of the beliefs that hold us back, and awareness is the first step to reworking them, finding new answers, and stepping into our potential.
Two years ago, I started journalling every morning and it’s been life changing. By checking in with myself daily and asking pointed questions, like “why am I feeling resistance in this area of my life,” I’ve felt a huge shift. I feel more confident, decisive, optimistic, and grounded.
I always suggest that my productivity coaching clients create a similar morning routine of journaling and/or meditation to tune into their current state and uncover measly limiting beliefs. This simple practice helps them create a ton of ah-ha moments and major clarity on what’s holding them back, so they can break through it and prime their mind for taking big action.
2. Fine-tune your Focus
Focus is the greatest currency today because it’s in such short supply! In a survey, 70% of people said they feel distracted at work, and it’s no secret why. Disciplining your mind and controlling your environment is more difficult than ever before! The internet, social media, and email are landmines of distractions.
Tapping into laser-focused work and focusing on one task at a time pays off in droves. By giving high impact projects or tasks your undivided attention, you’ll feel more creative, less scattered, and a million times more productive.
With our phones grabbing at our attention 2,617 times every day, we must be really proactive in clearing distractions. I always recommend starting with technology and external distractions. Make a point to turn off the wifi when you’re writing or brainstorming, silence unnecessary notifications, check email less often, and use ambient music to block out noisy environments.
For internal distractions, like a worrying or wandering mind, use the pomodoro technique. Set a short timer for 20 minutes and zone into one task at a time. Practice focused work like any other skill. Trust me, it becomes easier!
3. Leverage your Peak Energy
It’s no secret that we get our best work done when we’re energized. However, energy is finite. By the end of the day, making decisions and producing our best work becomes a lot more difficult.
That’s why doing your most cognitively demanding tasks when you’re most energized is so effective. This simple shift can skyrocket your productivity! Whether it’s first thing in the morning or midday, take note of when you feel most energized and guard that time with your life!
Use times when you’re feeling less quick and energized for maintenance tasks, like checking your email, meetings, or organizing. By matching your energy levels with the type of projects you’re tackling, you’ll maximize your best hours.
4. Plan & Prioritize
A solid plan will prime you for decisive action. And without action, you’ve got nothing! First, make sure you have a strategy or method to support your goal. A simple way to land on a strategy is to find someone that’s been successful in achieving your goal before and model their behavior.
If you’d like to run a marathon, ask your runner friend how they train. If you’d like to launch an Etsy store, read articles on running a successful store and curate tips. This will help you create a clear roadmap and save you time doing all the wrong activities.
To prioritize on the fly, ask yourself, “what’s one thing I can do today to move me towards my goal?” Separate your to do list by “high impact” and “maintenance” tasks and make sure majority of your time is going towards the high impact tasks that will make everything else easier.
For more Productivity tips, come hang out with me on Facebook.
xo,
Melody
