Being productive involves putting yourself in a situation in which you can work best. Hopefully for you, this includes being happy! While we usually focus on concrete things to immediately improve personal productivity, sometimes we can overlook the bigger things that may also have an effect, such as happiness in life.

So I’ve looked up some tips from Dr. Timothy Sharp, a.k.a. Dr. Happy, at The Happiness Institute, and I’ve picked some of my favorite ones.

Tip 1

Make happiness a priority. If happiness is not at the top of your list then other things will take precedence. If other things take precedence, they may well interfere with your efforts to feel good.

This is a no-brainer. Obviously, just doing whatever you want to make yourself happy is not the idea here. Happiness in the long run may involve doing something that is not something that you necessarily enjoy.

Tip 5

Set yourself tasks from which you’ll gain satisfaction. As well as pleasure and enjoyment, satisfaction is also an important part of happiness. So make sure that when you’re planning your tasks and activities you include things that might not be fun, but from which you’ll gain a sense of achievement.

Life is nothing without purpose, so be sure to make your mark on the world through achieving goals that you can be proud of.

Tip 9

Be curious. Constantly search for new ways to be happy. Keep a lookout for new ways to approach life and to have fun.

Virtually everyone gets bored at some point- keep exploring the world and discovering new things about yourself. You never stop learning!

Tip 10

Be grateful and appreciate what of you have. We all have many choices in life one of which is whether to focus on all the things we don’t have (of which there might be many), or to focus on all the things we do have. There’s no doubt, that gratitude and appreciation will significantly increase your chances of experiencing happiness.

This point is key. While you should explore new things, also keep in mind of how important your current possessions/environment is to you. If you never stop to smell the roses, how can you understand the importance of what you have?

Tip 15

Plant happier, optimistic thoughts. As noted in Tip 14, there are two parts to developing helpful, optimistic thinking. The first is to weed out unhelpful negative thoughts and the second is to plant more positive, optimistic ones. This is essentially a skill, and like any other skill becomes easier and more effective with practice.

I think happy, therefore I am happy.

Tip 16

Live a healthy life. Eat well and keep active. Exercise regularly. Although not impossible, it’s difficult to be happy if you’re constantly sick and not very healthy.

You could not be happy if you were going to the doctor’s office every other week, and worrying about your health.

Tip 18

Manage your time and priorities. Happy people tend to believe they’re more in control of their lives. In doing so, they’re more likely to take an active approach to solving problems. If something’s not quite right in your life, do something. And further, make sure that what you’re doing is important. Put first things first.

Well, I couldn’t leave this tip out. Manage your time with the Priority Matrix! Happiness is not found in chaos.

Tip 19

Control what you can control. Accept what you can’t control. And learn to be wise enough to know the difference.

At the end of the day, no longer how healthy you are, how hard you work, or how well you plan; there are things that you just can’t control.

“[I]n this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” —Benjamin Franklin, 1789

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