Be glad. Just be glad!
You will notice the difference in your being even if you just spend 15 minutes a day reading. Successful people are constantly learning.
Too many of us start the day without deciding what we want to accomplish.
The most successful wake up knowing what they must do each day to bring them closer to their goals.
Try listing your tasks the night before, so when you wake up you don’t float into non productive activities.
2. MAKE SURE YOUR TASKS ARE SPECIFIC
If you don’t know the details of your task you will probably float around the edge of it and not really get stuck in!!
Once you have highlighted all the aspects and it’s clear in your mind, you will find it a lot easier to complete and not procrastinate.
3. MAKE YOUR TASKS MEASURABLE
If you can’t measure your task, how do you know you have completed it successfully?
Ensure you have a dead certain ending to a task so that you can come back and check it off.
4. MAKE THE TASK REALISTIC AND ATTAINABLE
If you have 10 tasks in your list and they each take half a day to complete, don’t say
“I will complete them all by tomorrow”Â
this wouldn’t be realistic and you will probably feel down if you didn’t achieve it.
However, someone else’s “realistic” might not be the same as your realistic.
You might look at the tasks and say “You know what, I can do this work in 2 days”
Then by all means, go out and SMASH IT!!
5. SET A TIME FOR COMPLETION
There is no use writing a task down and saying you don’t really care when it’s done.
You need to work to deadlines as that’s what will push you and keep you productive.Â
We’ve all been there when a piece of work we’ve not started yet needs to be handed in at the end of the week and we’ve have had 3 months to do it.
We get ourselves in gear and we don’t let anything distract us, in that 3 or 4 days we do more work than in the previous 3 months.
Why is this??
The reason is we have a TIME constraint.
6. BE PASSIONATE ABOUT WHATÂ YOU DO
It’s 100 times easier to be productive when you are working on a project or an idea that you love.
You’re not sitting and watching the clock, waiting for the day to end, you’re out there taking ACTION!
7. DON’T TRY TO GET THROUGH THE DAY, TRY TO GET FROM THE DAY
Rather than just completing meaningless tasks because you know once they are done you can go home and tuck yourself in to bed.
Try and look what you are learning by completing a task.Â
It may be as simple as you learn you never want to do that task again.
Either way, you will find it easier to select high priority tasks when you think about how they’re adding value to you personally.
8. DON’T START “B” TASKS UNTIL ALL “A” TASKS ARE COMPLETED
We all know that different tasks add different levels of value.
Too often do we start the day trying to tie up loose ends from the day or week before.
Don’t fall into this trap!! We are creatures of habit which means if you frequently start the day on small low productive tasks saying to yourself
“once I’ve done these I’ll get on to the big stuff”Â
Then you will get into a habit of always doing low priority tasks first.
Which 9/10 times don´t need not be completed at all.
GET THE “A” TASKS DONE as they are the 20% which give you 80% of your productivity.
9. CHECK OFF THE LIST AS YOU GO ALONG
There is nothing more fun than putting a big tick next to your task once it’s complete.
It increases your self esteem and makes you want to get started with the next task straight away.
Don’t believe us….just give it a try.
10. GET AROUND OTHERS WHO WANT TO BE PRODUCTIVE LIKE YOU
We are affected by the people around us.
“You’re the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with”
The reason WE work well together is that when one of us isn’t in the mood for being productive, the other IS.
So we encourage each other to get stuff done.
Having a great support network is more important than you might think.
So try to get around others who want to succeed.
11. RELAX
You can not work 24/7 – 365. You will burn out. It’s always good to take a step back and “sharpen your axe” (take a rest).
Have the weekend off, go see a film, have a nice meal, socialise.
Then get back at it first thing Monday morning.
You will be surprised what difference this makes.
“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which need not be done at all”- Peter Drucker