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 cycle of inactivity. The biggest reason that projects are never brought to completion is because – we aren’t getting off our behinds! Imagine that! If you are in a pattern of inactivity, passivity and/or procrastination, deadlines will pass by, opportunities begin knocking somewhere else, and we’re still in the same spot we were when we began wondering if we should get on that project or not. Whether you’re getting bogged down in the preparation process, spending more time talking and dreaming rather than doing, or just plain old being a lazy bum, you must begin challenging yourself to be an active participant in your life. The very moment you act, you start to finish. Don’t talk, dream, or chill – DO!
2. Start small. How do you feel when you stare down a huge project? Typically, you wind up thinking, “man, this is over my head I don’t see how I can spend that much time and energy doing one thing. Maybe some other, easier opportunity will come my way and I’ll still achieve my goals a different way.” Guess what? Things don’t work that way. To earn anything worthwhile, you cannot get around the fact that you’ll need to put in a lot of effort. So, instead of fretting over the mountain, fix your gaze on the next highest ledge, hoist yourself up, and keep going – that is, create a list of small, immediately attainable goals that will gradually lift you higher and higher toward your finish line. Smaller tasks are so much easier, and we often forget that all that larger goals are is a collection of smaller ones.
3. Screw up. A LOT. The best way to learn the right way to do anything is to have stumbled through and learned all the wrong ways. No one is keeping score, so it isn’t necessary to beat yourself up if you didn’t get something right the first time. We must fall before learning to stand – observe an infant learning to walk for the first time. They have no problem with falling, over and over again. Eventually, those bruised up knees will permanently stand a few inches off of the floor once they learn to walk! Feeling as though we need to master everything on the first try is a MAJOR barrier to achievement. Stop feeling blue over your trials and errors; get up, think to yourself, “OK, lesson learned”, and try something else. Sooner or later, you’ll have all the ins and outs down and you’ll be unstoppable!
4. Create simple objectives for tasks, and revisit them regularly. If you don’t know what you’re trying to achieve how will you know when you’ve achieved it? Instead of just aimlessly doing things and wondering why you’re not getting anything completed, set a target and stick to it. It could be as simple as something like “learn 10 new words in Spanish by 5 pm today”. Your targets don’t have to be extreme to be worthwhile. So start any new task by just defining what you’re trying to complete. That way, you’ll know when you’ve completed it!
5. Develop a routine. Consistent action is dynamite. Why? Well it explodes your outcomes. If you read for 20 minutes each day you for a year you will have read for 7300 minutes. That’s over 120 hours! That’s a lot of reading – and it’s also a great lesson on why it’s incredibly important to maintain momentum. The important thing isn’t how much you do – it’s how often you do it. It’s true that routines can seem boring and uninspiring, but – on the contrary – they create a foundation for getting what you want.
6. Learn to pass. Ever heard of ‘Burning the candle at both ends”? Getting into the habit of saying yes to every opportunity that passes by is one that will truly become a detriment to your progress. You have a finite supply of time and energy, and although you certainly need to set time aside to have fun, relax, visit with friends, etc., be sure that this time isn’t impeding on the time that you’ll need to make the incremental progress that you have planned for yourself. Sometimes making the grade you’ll need to get to the next level means passing up on things that appeal very much to you, but just think! Once you’ve met your goals, there will be plenty more time to sit back and enjoy life – likely with much more resources with which to do them!
7. Remember that rules – even productivity rules – are made to be broken. All of these tips here should only be followed as long as they are working for you. Don’t beat your head against the wall. If moving forward has become impossible with your current routines, then it’s time to try something new. Do what works for you. But make sure you do something. Do nothing and you’ve fallen behind. Do nothing again tomorrow and you’re even further behind. Do nothing again the day after and – well you get my drift. So get moving today!
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