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Many of the things you do each day to reach your goals can be achieved by creating small routines or daily habits that you perform primarily without thinking about it each day. By making your actions routine and, more importantly, a habit, you’ll get more done and not feel like you’re always working.
Creating habits and routines to help you achieve your goals is important because they take advantage of the power of our subconscious mind. Our conscious minds are limited in the amount of information they can process at any one given time. So by creating small, consistent actions that represent our goals, we can direct our brains to work on them automatically.
And that helps us to be more productive and efficient. For example, if you want to be in better shape, you might decide that each day you will go for a walk after work as part of your routine. Actually, this is something I've started doing and I've kept off 5lbs even when my food isn't great. But all of that to say, walking on the treadmill daily has become a new habit for me. And it's all because I chose to create consistency with it.
And now, on the days I don't get my walk in, I feel a bit lost. Anyway, all of that to say, creating a routine where you show up it super important.
I'm going to share with you a few simple ideas to help keep you productive.
How Daily Routines Can Boost Your Productivity
I'm going to dive into some of the things that I feel has helped with my productivity. Take what you like and what works for you and leave what doesn't. I hope they spark some ideas too! I know when I'm reading about what helps others, especially with productivity, it gets my juices going.
Get Hydrated
Start each day with a couple of cups of filtered lemon water. You can enjoy it cold or warm depending on the time of the year. Honestly, it's what you prefer. I absolutely LOVE ice cold lemon water. It wakes me up and I just feel better, in general.
Starting off your day hydrated will boost your productivity and energy!It will also make it more likely you get to your to-do list. If you don't like lemon water, that's A-OK! Find something that you like and that you can stick with, so it makes it easier for you.
Establish a Morning Ritual
Take some time in the morning to meditate, do yoga, or review your goals. Focusing on these things will help you get into a more positive mindset first thing in the day. You’ll be better able to focus on your work and less likely to procrastinate. I honestly think it's about self-care too.
Review Your Schedule
As you go through life, you should use a to-do list each day. Before you start your day, glance at your to-do list to get an overview of what you need to do during your day. Then, prioritize the items according to your needs. This will help you to stay on track and keep you focused on your goals.
If you find that your schedule is overwhelming, consider breaking it down into more manageable tasks. One way to do this is by scheduling smaller deadlines for each of the items on your list.
And if you need help managing your time, there are many tools and apps out there to help you stay productive.
Invest in Your Nutrition
One way to become more productive is to eat right. Your diet is more important than whether you walk or bike for exercise. Honestly, when my nutrition is on point, I have more energy and I'm getting more things done. When I'm not eating like I know I should, I am tired and slacking.
You can always get your blood tested too. There are places where you can get a blood test to determine your vitamin and hormone levels. You can see if there are any foods you need to stop eating that could be affecting you. And you can see if there are any vitamins and nutrients that you need more of.
Once I know this stuff, then I meal plan so that I'm getting the foods most of the foods I know I should be eating each day in. You could even track your energy levels as you're making this change. If it is helping, keep it up 🙂
Develop a Positive Mindset
Find ways to look at the positive aspects of your life. When you have a positive mindset or outlook, it tends to strengthen your motivation. The motivation usually comes after you take action and focus on the feelings you experience after you take a specific action. That successful experience encourages you be more positive because you feel more productive and helpful.
Of course, life happens. Give yourself some grace and allow yourself to feel other things when you need to. But when you are taking the time to be aware of your consistent thoughts, it helps. I used to be in a state of annoyance 100% of the time. It wasn't productive, it wasn't helpful and I wasn't showing up from a version of me I liked.
When I noticed that, I was able to shift my thoughts to more joyful ones. It wasn't and still isn't perfect. But it really does make a huge difference in how I show up throughout the day.
So, try to find small ways to stay positive throughout your day. You could do this by focusing on what you have accomplished or by finding small things that make you happy. Whatever it is, focus on the good stuff and not the negative aspects of life.
Celebrate Your Victories
When you are successful and accomplish something, find a way to celebrate, no matter how small. You can draw on the experience to motivate you to take more actions. For example, as I'm editing and writing this, I am celebrating me being present in this moment and listening to Christmas music while moving this task forward.
It might not be a “huge” victory, but I'm closer to my goal of creating consistent content that helps you move forward. It makes me feel excited and grateful and I definitely want to celebrate that.
Set some small wins for yourself each day, like accomplishing a task or finishing an assignment. Then, when you have these successes, give yourself positive feedback and allow yourself to feel good about it.
Segment Your Workday
Don’t work all the time. This is especially important if you work for yourself. The work never ends. Set specific hours for your workday. Stick to these hours at least 80 percent of the time. Keep in mind that remaining flexible is important. Sometimes working hard is going to be required, but it’s not required every single day.
I actually take it to the next level. I do 50 minute blocks of work and then I take 10 minutes off. I will tell my Alexa to set a timer for 50 minutes so that when I hear the alarm I am not picking up my phone to turn it off, but I'm actually getting up from my desk so that my mind can reset. It also helps me focus on different clients too since I'm breaking up the day. And it helps with content creation too. Maybe this could be helpful for you?
Final Thoughts On Productivity
Each time you add a routine to your day that can be repeated regularly and easily, you are beginning to create a habit. Habits create productivity. Habits are difficult to stop. This is because they incorporate a trigger and have a rewarding response. This is called conditioning. Set up your triggers to be rewarding so you can trigger yourself to succeed in all areas of life.
Overall, productivity is about finding ways to make your life easier and help you achieve your goals more quickly. I hope this sparks some joy and new ideas for how you can be more productive!
