We’ve all been there, it’s a couple months into the new year you already feel like giving up.
If you’re already feeling like 2020 is your only hope, I’ve got news for you! It’s not! Right now is as good as any other time to make your dreams happen. Like they always say, “where there’s a will, there’s a way”. And with the right tools and mindset you can still achieve any goal you set.
At the end of the day, the key to achieving anything you want to do in life lies in productivity.
Productivity, is defined as “the quality, state, or fact of being able to generate, create, enhance, or bring forth goods and services”. In the fast-paced world of today time is money, so being a more productive person is a essential quality to have if you want to succeed. Being more productive will enable you to get more things done which will in turn increase your chances for success.
Despite productivity being such an essential quality to have, at certain stages of our lives depending on what we’re going through, it can be a difficult lifestyle to cultivate. With so many distractions, procrastination and personal issues to deal with, we really have to make an effort to design a more productive lifestyle for ourselves so that we can get things done. So to get you started on your journey, here are 7 simple steps to designing a productive lifestyle.
- Self Examination
- Set clearly defined long term goals
- Plan your time and set actionable and measurable goals
- Limit social media use
- Declutter
- Work in productive work spaces
- Rest & recharge
1. Examine Yourself and Learn from the Past
The first step to designing a productive lifestyle really is a mental one. To start, take a good look at your current lifestyle and honestly ask yourself, “Why am I not as productive as I want to be right now?” By doing this you can reflect on past successes, failures, life changes and personal issues that may be affecting your level of productivity and come up with better solutions. Analyze and reflect on the productivity strategies you are currently using and the level of success you have achieved by using them. From this you may find that certain strategies aren’t working as well as you initially thought or see opportunities to use the strategies that do work more often.
For example, in the past, my strategy for productivity was to write to do lists and schedule times to complete the tasks. The pitfall I experienced with this is that I would underestimate the amount of time it would actually take me to complete the tasks and, at the end of the day, end up completing only half of the tasks I initially intended to. It was not a good approach and in the end I had to be honest with myself and set more realistic timelines for completing tasks.
Another way you can analyze your current level of productivity is to use the Productivity Formula which states that
Productivity = input/ output
where the input and output are whatever variables you decide to measure.
When you’re done with this analysis and reflection, jot all your main findings down and think of this as your starting point. You now have a list of all the factors affecting your life and productivity, all the strategies that have worked for you, the mistakes you need to avoid and your current productivity rating. You might be surprised by your findings but don’t dwell on it. Accept it for what it is, learn from your past and use this as a reference for future growth.
2. Set Long Term Goals
The second step to being more productive is really visualizing what you want your future to look like and setting the goals you need to achieve to make it happen. When you know what you want out of life you are more motivated to make it happen. For example, visualize this:
The year is 2030. It is a beautiful Friday evening and you’re finally able to get out of all your design meetings for the day. You tell your Personal Assistant that they can take off early today then head home yourself. You drive home to your beautiful mansion in your new Mercedes Benz, your spouse and children are coming to meet you asking questions about your new fashion line and your 73 questions with Vogue Interview that just aired. You are filled with love and gratitude for the amazing life and business you built over the years and think back to all the times you almost gave up but fortunately never did.
Now, think about what it would actually take to have a life like that in the example.
How do you start your own business?
What kind of income would your business need to generate in monthly to afford to run itself and give you a salary that allows you to afford a mansion and Mercedes?
Seriously investigate these questions and do the math.
What education goals would you have to set to become a successful fashion designer?
How long would it realistically take you to get the required amount of experience to become an expert in the field?
What are you bringing to the table that would make you sought after for interviews with Vogue?
How would you achieve the level of work/ life balance required to run a business, start your own family and have a good relationship with them?
Now I know what you’re thinking, these are a lot of big questions and it’s not even your dream life! Imagine the kind of questions you will have to answer to achieve your own! Whatever you do don’t be intimidated by how big your dream is and don’t limit yourself. You are worthy and capable of having the life you’ve always wanted. Be bold enough to set your intentions and make it happen!
When you’ve finished doing all your visualizing, investigating, consulting and calculating I imagine you’re feeling pretty scared but excited. Congratulations! Welcome to Real Life! This is your wake up call! Now you can focus, with clearly defined goals, on becoming more productive. If your dreams don’t scare you then you’re not dreaming big enough and quite frankly you probably need to do the exercise again. Never aim for average, always aim high. That way if you don’t quite reach your target you won’t land too far off. I wouldn’t really want you to aim low and fall flat on your face now. None of that around here.
3. Plan your time and set mini goals that are actionable and measurable
The third step to to designing a productive lifestyle is all about planning your time effectively. Now that you know what goals you want to achieve you can break them down into smaller more manageable actionable goals and tasks.
The key word here is actionable.
The whole point of being more productive is to actually DO more productive things. Now is not the time for wishful thinking! It’s time to DO! For example, If you say your goal is to be a happier person, what are you doing to make yourself happy? Happiness doesn’t just show up by itself. You need to find actionable activities that bring happiness to your life and incorporate them into your week.
When it comes to planning there are several systematic methods you can use to effectively plan and schedule your time. It’s not that anything is wrong with just having a simple to do list, but, the habit I’m really trying to get you to is looking at the big picture. A weekly to do list on its own cannot do that. You need to be able to plan ahead for activities you know are happening in the future and have a realistic view of the next quarter, six months and year. Therefore, some key planning methods you can consider for increased productivity are:
- a planner/ diary
- calendar blocking on iCal or google calendar
- Using project management apps like Asana or Trello
- Journaling
My personal favorite from this list is journaling which I do in the form of a bullet journal. Bullet journaling, in its basic form, follows a simple yet systematic principle of rapid logging that is easy to learn and customize to suit your needs. The best thing about it is how creative you can get with the layouts and really put your personality into it. Everyone’s bullet journal looks different and it’s honestly so fascinating to see each persons individual style.
4. Limit Social Media Use
The fourth step to designing a productive lifestyle is limiting the amount of time you spend on social media. This, my dear friends, I know is a tough one. In this age of information, social media has become increasingly important. It’s hard to maintain friendships or stay up to date on current affairs without it. Not only is Social media super addictive, but, almost everyone is on there and that’s how most people prefer to be contacted. Because of this it feels like you can’t escape from the social media trap even if you really want to. On top of that, people today are just addicted to information in general. We always need to be looking at, watching, listening or reading something. To learn more about how you can limit your social media use check out my in depth post about it here.
5. Declutter
How can you be more productive if everything around you is a unorganized mess?
You can’t.
You can ignore the growing mess for awhile and say “It’s not a problem because I still know where everything is!”, but, at some point it will start to get to you.
So what exactly is clutter?
The dictionary defines clutter as: “A collection of things lying about in an untidy state.” From this we can see that clutter isn’t necessarily dirt and garbage but really is a collection of the things that we “just put down for a second” or “just in the mean time” and totally forget about for weeks. While most creatives benefit from a creative mess, as clutter enhances creativity, this kind of clutter is a bit different. I’m talking about the stuff that you’ve left unfinished and unorganized for weeks or even months. The junk that has been lying around the house so long that it has become part of the decor.
The biggest issue with clutter is that it slows you down and is generally a huge visual distraction. We don’t always intentionally mean to create clutter but inevitably it happens. When it does, the best thing we can do is to be mindful of when it is happening and take action.
For example, one day you decide that you’re going to sit down at your desk and get some work done. Now, instead of simply sitting down at your desk to do work, an exercise that should take two seconds, you find yourself having to move stuff from off the chair to another area to make space for you to sit. Then, when you sit down, you realize that you can’t find anything. Your pen and the to do list you made are lost under the piles of papers, nick knacks and bills that have piled up on the table. Now, not only are you taking longer to actually start working, but, now you are also more irritated, distracted and less motivated to do anything and end up cleaning instead.
In short, seeing all that clutter around you makes you feel overwhelmed and that is definitely not an emotion you need to be feeling when trying to be more productive.
And now, this is where decluttering comes in to save the day!
Decluttering is one of the most helpful things you can do to become more productive. If you’re not sure if you’re in dire need of decluttering, look out for these telling signs:
- It’s hard for you to find things in your personal space.
- You are embarrassed to invite people over because your personal space is so untidy.
- You’re constantly complaining about never having enough space for things despite constantly expanding your storage.
- There’s a room or closet in your home that you avoid using because navigating it is so stressful and cumbersome
- You are buying more things than throwing things out.
- You have a lot of things in your personal space that you haven’t used for at least 6 months.
Any of these sound familiar? If so then maybe it’s time to seriously make decluttering a priority. The sooner you do this is the better you’ll feel and it’s the best way to rid yourself of distractions and help you to focus. For more in depth advice about decluttering, check out my 5 great tips for decluttering your home.
6. Work in productive spaces
The sixth step to being more productive is to work in productive spaces. As a designer, this is the step that’s really close to my heart. You might be wondering now what is meant by a productive workspace and how this step different from decluttering. Well it’s pretty simple, while decluttering is essential for creating a productive workspace, it is not the only requirement. So not only should your workspace be free of clutter, but, the whole room should be laid out in a manner that boosts your productivity.
A productive workspace is a healthy physical work environment that helps the user to stay focused, work efficiently and boosts productivity. Therefore the room’s spatial qualities, organization and furniture impact how the user will feel, physically and emotionally, when in the space and contribute to their productivity.
Considerations in making a productive workspace include:
- Choosing a quiet clutter free location – the space should be free of distractions and solely dedicated to work
- Adequate lighting, both natural and artificial lighting
- ergonomically designed furniture
- an efficient desk layout – all your frequently used items should be easy to access and within reach.
- Adequate ventilation – a comfortable regulated air temperature is necessary to make the room comfortable and pleasant to work in.
7. Rest and Recharge
The seventh step to cultivating a more productive lifestyle is to incorporate rest and recharge into your everyday routine. While this may seem counterintuitive, it is very important that you don’t underestimate the value of taking a break. The human brain can only focus on something for about 90 minutes on average without needing rest. Anything longer increase the probability that your mind will start wondering off and get distracted.
In general, working with a tired brain is not ideal. As Tony Schwartz, CEO of The Energy Project, put it, “Without any downtime to refresh and recharge, we’re less efficient, make more mistakes, and get less engaged with what we’re doing.” It is estimated that for every 90 minutes of intense focus in the morning you should take a 15 to 20 minute break. In the afternoon, when our biological rhythms begin to stabilize you can use the pomodoro technique to keep you going.
Think of it this way, when you exercise you start out by warming up with simple exercises. Then, as you progress, the exercises get harder and more demanding. In between these exercises you have rest intervals and then you begin again. Afterward you do your cool down exercises and stretches and your workout is complete. You don’t just go from 0 to 100 immediately and never take a break. That approach will only cause you to burnout quickly and recovering from that is way harder.
This is not to say that every 90 minutes you should stop working, stare into space or go on social media. Use your breaks to do something that will enrich your day. Take a walk, go outside, have face to face interactions with coworkers or just go out for lunch. Just take a break from technology and get out there! You won’t regret it!
At home be sure to schedule adequate “me time” for yourself. You’ve worked hard all day and you deserve it. When you invest in your wellbeing, you are better able to produce high quality work and give back to others.
So there you have it! These are my seven steps to designing a productive lifestyle. Thank you for reading! If I left anything out please share some of your tips in the comments below.
