Productivity Guide: What You Need To Be Insanely Productive

You’re frustrated. You feel like you have so much to do, but can’t make progress on any of it. You have some goals in place, some lofty objectives you’re aiming for, but productivity seems like a pipedream at this point.

It’s even more frustrating because of your ambitions.

You’d love to leave your boring job for something else. Something amazing. Something they write books about. It’s not like you don’t enjoy your job, or the people you work with, it’s just that you imagined something more for your life.

I get it.

And at the same time, you feel like you have so much to do in your day-to-day that you’re constantly battling to simply keep yourself afloat. The thought of doing anything up and extra, of trying to change course to do something new, is overwhelming and downright impossible.

Or… so you think.

Productivity Guide: What You Need To Be Insanely Productive

At the time of this writing, I am in the process of moving. And as you probably know all too well, moving is the worst. There are so, so, so many time-consuming logistics that need to be worked out that it’s hard to do anything else. Between:

Setting up utilities

Choosing paint colors
Signing contracts
Plus fifty other things at the same time

Moving has consumed a large portion of my time for months. But, being productive is all about understanding what your priorities are in the moment, focusing on them, and handling what needs to get done without delay.

Productivity also means taking a step back, looking at the big picture, and using your time wisely when you have those inevitable moments of calm before the next storm.

Balance

This moving process has taken up a great deal of my time. A painful amount. But there’s no use in procrastinating on the tasks that need to get done.

I’m better off focusing on what’s in front of me, tackling the problem, and then moving onto the next challenge.

And it also means that if I have less time during the day to work on QuickBooost, that when I do have an hour or two to work on it, that I am fully concentrated and working on the most important thing that I can do for QuickBooost in that moment.

It’s a balance. And it’s one that you’ll learn how to navigate in this productivity guide.

Balance is the key to making productivity work and if you feel like you’re drowning in a sea of to-do’s, don’t panic. I’ve felt how you’ve felt.

In fact, I’m feeling it right now.

But take it from me – you can make it work. You’re reading this post right now, right? I was clearly able to make the progress I needed and so can you. Productivity is possible, even when chaos surrounds you.

What is productivity? Let’s define productivity

First and foremost, let’s start at the beginning. Let’s define what productivity is. According to the dictionary, the definition of productivity is:

“The effectiveness of productive effort as measured in terms of the rate of output per unit of input.”

That’s too complicated of a definition though. Let’s make it simpler.

Instead, think of productivity as your ability to get stuff done. It’s how effective you are at a given task at a given time. It’s a combination of speed and accuracy. A thorough but timeliness in your ability to complete a task – whatever that may be.

Productivity, in other words, is a measure of getting stuff done.

Why productivity matters?

You may be wondering why productivity matters – the answer is simple.

The more productive you are, the faster you will be able to complete your tasks, the more you will be able to get done, and in turn, the more time you will have leftover to work on what matters most to you.

Think about productivity in terms of your goals – those things in your life that fill you up with hope and excitement.

The more productive you are each day, the faster you will be able to move in the right direction towards where you want to go. Towards achieving those goals.

Here’s an example…

Venice

Let’s say you need to write a report for a job that leaves you uninspired. Your job is boring and you desperately want to start traveling the world.

Your boss gave you a deadline for a week and that’s normally how long it takes you to complete the report. But, there’s this thing called Parkinson’s law that states that tasks will only take as long to complete as the deadline you set for them.

So you decide to set your own personal deadline to get the report done in three days as opposed to five.

You get to work using the productivity tips from this guide and boom! You get it done in three days. That’s two whole days early.

And then with those two bonus days, guess what? That’s time you can use to start planning that trip to Venice that you’ve been talking about for so long.

Time that you can use to finally start pursuing your goals.

That’s the power of productivity and of using your time wisely. The more effective you are each day, the more time you will free up to do more of what matters to you.

Efficient vs Effective vs Productive

Efficient, effective, productive – 3 words that often get interchanged for one another, but they are vastly different. So let’s clear that up right now.

Productivity = Efficiency + Effectiveness

Efficiency in this case is your ability to get things done quickly – it’s speed. Effectiveness is your ability to get things done correctly, error-free – it’s accuracy. When you combine both speed and accuracy, your result is productivity.

The more productive you are, the more you are able to get done in less time, the more time you have for what matters most to you.

Starting to make sense?

How to be productive

You’re here because you want to increase your productivity. By now you’ve come to understand that the more productive you are, the sooner you will be able to reach your goals.

Perfect.

The next step of this puzzle is to figure out how you can start doing more with your time. There’s a lot of ways to make that happen.

My goal success course is one major way to do that. There are a lot of things that you can do to be more productive though. Here are a few productivity tips for you to try:

Stop multitasking: when it comes to your high-level goals, you are much better off single-tasking (focusing on just one task at a time) instead of splitting up your attention on multiple tasks.

Start with a challenge: begin your day with your hardest task first and watch how the rest of the day is a breeze in comparison.
Write it down ASAP: instead of letting items pile up in your head throughout the day, write them down on a separate note that you can revisit later. That way, you can focus on what’s important in the moment and leave the rest to be handled when you have more time.

I have a whole list of ways that you can be more productive. You can check it out here.

More productivity tips

There are a lot of different things that you can do in the name of productivity. Some may work for you, others may not. It’s all about experimenting to find which ones help you move forward and which don’t.

Here are some productivity tips, tactics, and strategies that you should keep in mind during your productivity pursuits:

Productivity apps

Apps are a great way to enhance your productivity and streamline your daily actions. Whether you use them to stay organized or for planning, there’s a lot of benefit to be gained by trying them out.

Plus, they’re often free! You can check out the best productivity apps < there.

Productivity hacks

Some of the simplest hacks yield the greatest results.

Utilizing productivity hacks is one method that you can use to take your productivity game to the next level. They’ve certainly helped me out over the years.

Here are some productivity hacks that you can start utilizing.

Productivity music

The music you listen to can make or break your focus. Don’t let tunes derail you. Instead, use them to your advantage.

Understand the difference between the right and wrong types of music that you should be listening to when it comes to being productive. See music as a tool and let it help you get that much more done.

Check out my post on focus music to learn more.

Productivity motivation

Sometimes you may not be in the mood to be productive. You may be tired, stressed, or just completely over it. Don’t fret.

Instead, learn how to regain your motivation so that you can continue making progress on your goals. Here’s how to get motivated when you’re not in the mood.

In-depth productivity

At this point in my productivity guide, you may be feeling a little overwhelmed. You may be thinking:

What am I supposed to do with all this info?
How am I going to implement all this?
Seriously, where am I supposed to even start here?

I get it and I know it can be a lot.

I also know that you value your time and don’t necessarily want to spend numerous hours trying to construct a brand new productivity process for yourself.

Makes sense. You’re busy.

Because of that, I recommend enrolling in my goal success course.

My goal setting course is made for someone just like you. Someone that is frustrated and stuck, someone that wants more, someone that is driven and wants a better life but isn’t sure what to do or where to start.

It’s the perfect course for someone looking for step-by-step instructions on how to get more out of their time. Why is goal setting so important? Because it gives a direction to your time. And with that direction, you can begin to improve your life like never before.

You can learn more about my goal success course here.

Time management and productivity

At this point, you may be wondering where time management comes into play with all of this. You’ve read on and on about productivity, but how does time management factor into the equation? See it like this:

Productivity + Time Management = Achieved Goals

Time management has to do with how you allot and manage your time.

For example, if you’re going to start training for a half marathon, time management is blocking out an hour each morning to train.

Productivity, then, is how effective you are within that hour each morning.

When combined properly, productivity and time management will lead you to achieve your goals faster and more often than ever before. And the more goals you achieve, the better the life you will create for yourself.

It’s all connected.

You can learn more about time management < there.

Moving forward

Start utilizing the time that you get each day. See each of your 24 hours as an opportunity to make progress in the right direction and then get after it.

Remember, as long as you keep taking steps forward, you will have a mountain of progress to show for it.

So keep learning, trying, iterating, and pushing.

Revisit this guide from time to time. Refresh yourself on all things productivity. Put the lessons you learn into action, measure the results, improve, and grow.

After all, this is a continuous work in progress. You will get better over time as long as you keep up and keep at it. It’s a marathon that will bring you to new heights and allow you to make progress like never before.

…

If you’ve made it to the bottom of this post, you clearly have an appetite for productivity that I have yet to quench for you. I like a challenge.

With that in mind, have you seriously considered enrolling in my goal success course?

For someone that is driven and determined, but maybe a little frustrated with how your time is being spent, this course is a good fit that I highly recommend.

You can learn more about my goal success course here.

Tags: 1-A-Tuesday

Productivity Guide: What You Need To Be Insanely Productive

Productivity Guide: What You Need To Be Insanely Productive

Balance

What is productivity? Let’s define productivity

Why productivity matters?

Venice

Efficient vs Effective vs Productive

How to be productive

More productivity tips

Productivity apps

Productivity hacks

Productivity music

Productivity motivation

In-depth productivity

More productivity articles

Time management and productivity

Related time management articles

Moving forward

Want to hear more from me?

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