61 Ways To Increase Productivity And How To Achieve Goals In Life





I originally read this article on goal-achiever.com but as that website appears to have disappeared I decided to republish it here.

I can’t vouch for how scientific some of the tips are but nonetheless there are some great tips on the list!

1. Eye Of The Tiger

Practice your best “eye of a tiger” in a mirror (or cellphone), and use it liberally on anyone who enters your space…

2. The Less, The Merrier

A critical step to be productive is to get rid of unnecessary things. When you have a responsibility in front of you ask yourself: do I need to do this? If the answer is no, then don’t think twice about trashing it.

3. Operation Remove All Clutter

Clean your room. Create more open space by rearranging your room. Trash whatever you don’t need. Catch up on dirty laundry.

4. Learn How To Say No

We can’t do everything so… learn how to say “no”. In order to save our sanity, we must learn when and how to say no.

5. Break The Routine

Avoid doing the same thing every day. It is important to stimulate your brain or it will get bored fast.

6. Recharge Your Batteries

Be sure to get enough sleep and rest each day so that you have the necessary energy you need to achieve all of your goals.

7. The Early Bird Gets The Worm

Get up early before anyone else does. Nothing beats a silent house.

8. Bookworm

Reading is knowledge and knowledge is power!

”You can learn new things at any time in your life if you’re willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you.”- Barbara Sher

9. Discover Your Mission

Increasing productivity will be far easier if you have a goal you whole-heartedly believe in. Your goals will energize and empower you to go through each and every obstacle. If you do what truly matters to you, you have nothing to worry about

10. Discover and Claim YOUR Territory

Do not, and I repeat DO NOT share your productive space with wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends, work associates (you may not have any say in this one). You need a sense of ownership in your tools. They need to know that the tool that they need that minute is available and not being used by someone else.

11. Honor Your Core Values

When you honor your core values, you honor your true self. When you live by a clear set of values, it is easier to align your life with your goals.

12. Take Full Advantage Of Your Zone-Find Your Peak Time

Your body has an energy cycle and there are times when you are more productive. For many people, it means you should rise early and start working early. Many performers say that early morning is their most productive time. Just find what works best for you!

13. Discover and Use Your Talents

You will accomplish much more if you are doing something you are talented in. Instead of fixing your weaknesses, find your personal strengths and focus most of your effort there.

14. Use Your Strengths To Your Advantage

If you’ve got great people skills, then it means you should be taking the time to engage as many folks as you can in conversation. Whatever your best talents are, use them as often as possible. It’s always good to stretch yourself, but there’s no reason not to use your natural strengths to your advantage.

15. Productivity Soul Mate(s)

You can accomplish much more if you have the right partners by your side. To discover partners, don’t just find people who are like you… find people who will complement you.

“The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”- Marcel Proust

16. Relax! Clear Your Mind

Keeping your mind clear of stuff is important, but there could still be noise in your mind. The noise could be guilt, fear, distracting thoughts, or the party animal that exists in your mind. Get rid of them. The voice in your head is your strongest enemy.

17. Meditate To Levitate

Increase your willpower, focus, and concentration.

18. Replace Negative Self-Talk With Positive Self-Talk

Your attitude towards your goal is determined by how you talk to yourself regarding the task. Learn to love what you do. Whenever you recognize negative self-talk in your mind, tell it to shut up!

19. Jot It Out

You should not use your mind to memorize ideas or things to do. Get them out of your mind by writing them in an external system such as a post-it, or loose leaf.

20. An Abundance Of Opportunities

Instead of dwelling on the problems and obstacles you are facing, think about the possibilities and opportunities presented by this task or project. You are more likely to want to do something if you are aware of the benefits and rewards that come with actually getting it done.

21. Have A BLAST

Having fun is a critical part of being productive because it renews your energy and motivation. It increases the quality of your work and it also allows you to accomplish more.

22. Acceptance

The issue with many of us is that we always think that we’ll be happy when we reach a certain goal. Instead, try being happy with where you are, with who you are, and what you have!

23. Happiness Is A Choice

Happiness is a state of mind. The Dalai Lama believes that the very purpose of life is to seek happiness. You can train the mind to be happy and to have a higher self-esteem.

24. Rome Wasn’t Built In One Day

Before you start, it’s important to know how long to run a race. Starting off a marathon by sprinting isn’t going to get you to the finish line.

25. Be Present

Don’t let your life slip by, enjoy it while it’s here.Time can go by quickly.

26. L’Inspiration

Read inspiring blogs, books, articles, listen to audio programs, attend seminars, listen to music, listen to eBooks, watch an inspiring movie, etc.

27. Picture The Finish Line

When the task is finished, what will that mean to you? Before you begin a task or project that has a high procrastination potential, get in touch with your outcome.

28. Back From The Future

See your goal as already accomplished. Put yourself into a state of mind where you are basking in success. Make it real in your mind, and you’ll soon see it in your reality.

29. Enjoy The Journey

It’s important to maintain a balance between going where you want to go, and being happy through out your journey. Goals are important, but not at the expense of your current happiness.

“I truly believe in positive synergy, that your positive mindset gives you a more hopeful outlook, and belief that you can do something great means you will do something great.”- Russell Wilson

30. Fail To Plan, Plan To Fail

If you plan ahead, you will be acting instead of reacting to all of the obstacles that will come your way. The most strategic time to think about what goals you need to achieve is not when you take action, but beforehand, when you have perspective.

31. Avoid Problems Through Planning

Before you do something, take time to think in longer term and anticipate problems that may occur. Don’t over think; periodical reflections are sufficient.

32. The Greatest Shortcut

Become informed. You will be far more productive if you are well informed about what you do. Find as much info as possible regarding the task you do. What are the best practices that you can incorporate into your strategy?

33. Set Goals

You may think that you are productive while in fact you aren’t. How do you know that you are productive if you don’t have a goal to measure your progress?

34. In Your Face

Put your goals where you can see them. It will keep you motivated and you are constantly reminded of your goals.

35. Deadlines, Deadlines, And Deadlines

Give yourself a deadline to complete a task and stick with it. Otherwise, the time it takes to complete the task will prolong indefinitely. Procrastination is a ditch.

“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”- Henry David Thoreau

36. The Eraser Method

The most efficient way to get through a goal is to delete it. If your task doesn’t need to be done, nuke it.

37. Reducing Your Commitments Reduces Your Stress

We have these tensions in our lives. They cause some level of mental stress. How do we solve this issue? Eliminate the source.

38. Ditch The Cell

Letting people have access to me 24/7 ended up creating a lot of wasted time. My life has become a lot more simplified without a cell phone and I get a lot more done as well without the interruptions. Give it a shot!

39. Group S.S. Tasks

S.S. stands for Small and Similar. Group up your small tasks (taking out the garbage, fixing a door hinge, organizing binders, etc.) and do them all at once. Also, shopping for instance can also be batched. You can save your time and money if you batch them all and just go shop once a week.

40. The Lazy Method

Find the simplest, most direct route to accomplish a task.Sometimes we look at something in a complicated way while there are simpler ways to do it.

41. Time Management

Be honest about how much time you can afford to set aside purely for writing without distraction. Create a weekly timetable for yourself.

42. Optimize Your Habits

When investing in your craft, invest the time to figure out how to optimize them. Are there steps you can eliminate? Is there a way to get it done faster? Most people just do their routines as is, but investing time to learn the fundamentals of your craft will make a huge long-term difference.

43. The Beauty Of The Leftover

Avoid having to cook everyday. If possible, cook your meals in bulk so that you will have plenty of leftover food and time.

44. 15-5

Set a timer for 15 minutes, and then work like heck until the timer goes off. Then set the timer for 5 minutes and do something fun. The key is sticking to your timer- don’t stop until your 15 minutes of productivity are over and avoid going beyond your 5 minute break.

45. The Pareto Principle

The Pareto principle is also known as the 80-20 rule. The 80-20 rule states that 80% of the value of a task comes from 20% of the effort.

“A particular shot or way of moving the ball can be a player’s personal signature, but efficiency of performance is what wins the game for the team.”-Pat Riley

46. The Most Important Step Is The First Step

The most difficult part of being productive is taking that first step. Taking that first step is where many people falter in the process. You will have no success until you begin.

47. Crank Up The Pressure

Nobody creates their greatest work under pressure, but it will be enough to get a completed draft finished. You can always perfect it later, but get it done first.

48. Multi-Task

I know. This sounds like the easiest way to distract yourself, but it works =)

49. Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

Whichever activity you are dreading the most is probably the one you need to complete first thing in the morning. Complete your most dreaded goals first thing in the morning. Out of sight, out of mind!

50. Get Ahead

Because if something causes you to fall behind, you’ll just be on pace.

51. The 45 M Dash

Be productive for 45 minutes of your day. Although 45 minutes is recommended, you can start with smaller amount of time if you decide to do so. Every time you feel like stopping, just decide to take one more step forward. The important thing is to remain persistent!

“Action is the foundational key to all success.”- Pablo Picasso

52. All-Time Bad

Defeat perfectionism by completing your task in an intentionally terrible fashion. Write about the taste of pepper; write a four sentence first draft. With a truly terrible first draft, there’s nowhere to go but up.

53. And One And Two

Exercising keeps your energy levels high throughout the day. Exercising allows you to work on your goals with increased concentration and excitement.

54. Go For A Walk

There is something about a walk that helps me see issues I’ve been trying to solve in a new light and to get a unique perspective. Walking is an excellent time each day for you to think. Going for a short walk is a great way of refreshing my mind and body.

55. Say Thank You 20 At Least Times A Day

This is a wonderful practice for increasing productivity. Every night before you go to bed, spend 5 minutes saying thank you out loud for all the experiences you had during the day: the people you interacted with, the work you accomplished, etc. Gratitude yields positive energy!

56. Change Your Work Environment

Changing your work environment will refresh your mind. You may arrange things differently or change your laptop’s or cellphones theme and wallpaper.

57. Just Like Music

Turn on some fun and upbeat music and let it pump you up!

58. Take A Break

You can’t always be working at optimum productivity. Instead, you should shoot for working in short, productive bursts.

59. Draw A Picture

Drawing inspires creativity and stimulates the right-hemisphere of the brain. Get out the colored pencils and give it your best Pablo Picasso impersonation.

60. Snack Time

Grab a bowl of your favorite snacks, such as fruits, nuts, or any other snack. Eat one piece for each small goal you complete. One bite per line of code. One bite per email. One bite per sentence. Just make it a small goal.

61. Nap Time

Adapt to a polyphasic sleep schedule. A polyphasic sleep schedule involves taking multiple naps a day while completely doing away with a normal or siesta sleeping session.