In the article why motivation is overrated, I talk about building momentum with action instead of waiting to feel motivated or inspired to do something. To understand this momentum, think about a car. In the morning, the car is still cold and lifeless. But then you turn it on, and slowly you start moving. You start with a small speed but as you increase your gears, you increase your speed. By the time you are at gear five, you are moving swiftly at the speed you desire.
People and motivation are like a car that won’t start. Waiting for inspiration is hoping that somehow that car starts running. Building momentum, however, means that you look for some guys and you push the car to a slope. Once the car gains enough momentum, it starts automatically and you’re on your way.
The problem is that you won’t be driving forever. Even on long journeys, people stop for gas, to stretch or to answer natures call. Once they go back into the car, they feel rejuvenated and ready for the next part of the journey. This scenario helps illustrate productivity.
Productivity by definition means a state of producing something. In industry terms it is seen as the rate of output per unit input. Productivity is a continuous process and the goal is to always improve and do more in the same amount of time.
For people, productivity works the same way. If you keep doing something on a daily basis, you get better at it and with time, you get more done in the same amount of time. We all have the same 24 hours in a day, how we use them determines whether we will be successful or not and this is where productivity comes into play. Since we cannot increase the time we have in a day, our next option is to increase the amount of work we can get done in the same amount of time.
But how do we achieve this effectively? Because it’s not easy. From the moment we wake up, various things in our environment start demanding our attention. From our phones, to our laptops, the people around us and so on. These things make continuous work flow a problem, but even with this out of the way factors like laziness and fogginess are still something else to worry about when it comes to productivity.
In this article, I have compiled five great tips to for better productivity. These are tips I keep in mind every time I work on a task and they give me better results while keeping me focused and motivated.
Go outside:
In the modern world, most people spend most of their time in front of a computer. When their break comes, they switch to things like social media and internet browsing. While this may get your mind of work, your body remains in the same position. After the break they go back to work and after a while they start feeling lazy and tired. While social media may be a good pastime, it may not be the best way to relax after a few hours of work. Getting out of your work station will go a long way to helping you rejuvenate and be more focused when you come back from the break.
Avoid productivity killers:
Productivity killers are thing that keep interrupting you as you work, they include the phone, noisy co-workers, email among others. These things are productivity killers since they distract you from working on the stuff that matters. A great way to handle this is to set a time for everything so that you can focus on what need to be done in the moment and work on everything else later.
Organize your workplace:
If you’ve watched the movie limitless, then you recall Bradley cooper struggling with writing his book. He has no ideas or content to write. Then he meets this guy who gives him NZT, the drug that helps him become a genius. The first thing he does is clean up his place. As he cleans up the place, he remarks, “Who can work in an environment like this?” For better productivity, organize your workplace as it will help you think more clearly and focus on the task at hand.
Prioritize your tasks:
If you are a self improvement fanatic, you have come across the book eat that frog by Brian Tracy. The book emphasizes the importance of starting with the toughest task first thing in the morning. This task is compared to a frog because just like eating a frog, it won’t be as easy to do or even enjoyable. But if you push through, everything else will fall into place, and it will work as a great motivator for you throughout the day. Prioritizing is like eating that frog; you start with the most difficult tasks and deal with the rest later.
Exercise:
By exercise, I do not mean get a gym membership then a trainer, then start doing some squats. It is a good idea, but for most people, this can be too big a step and it may overwhelm them. Exercise in this scenario means get moving, walk out of the office, stretch and jog if you can. Exercise has many benefits one of them being increasing focus. Next time you feel stuck at work, leave your work station and take a 5-10 minute walk, it will do wonders.
Reward yourself:
I said I would be sharing five tips but I had to include this one. Rewarding yourself is important as it motivates you to keep going and it makes you feel acknowledged. It is essential to reward yourself as it gives you something to look forward to after a long day and it helps you relax. So after you have implemented the tips above and crossed things off your to do list, give yourself a reward, you deserve it!
Have a good day :).
Exploring Perspectives 