How to be productive?

Well, We all want to be productive to become successful and in achieving our desires. We have dreams, aspirations, and ambitions, only to reach a goal in life. That goal can be –

• Career
• Entrepreneurship
• Improve the financial condition of your family
• Learn some new skill
• Study
• Etc.

Thinking about and making plans for the achievement of your goals is the easiest step you can take in terms of moving ahead toward your goal, but, 99% of us do not end up there. Do not be disappointed since it is not such a big deal to reach your goals.

It has become a big deal only because of the limiting beliefs and limiting conditions we have surrounded ourselves with.

Don’t worry, Lo Stilista is here for your rescue.

I will give you the shortest possible route for your success. I will tell you how to be productive enough to receive better results. And wait, the shortest route doesn’t mean, the shortest, it is the shortest if you remain in your lane, and can work determinately.

Let’s get started!

Follow these steps to reach your maximum potential.

1. Heal:

Well, you must be wondering what sort of guidance is it. I am not here to lie but to give you the path that will help you in getting results.

Healing is the most crucial part of your life. Not just in work, but, even if you want to successfully carry out a simple task correctly, you should be calm enough in your life.

Healing is very crucial because if your mind and heart are not in place, you can not continue on the path for very long. Sooner or later, the ghosts in your mind will come and hurt you badly enough for you to leave everything as it is. And, the less consistent you are with your plan, the more the chances of losing everything so badly.

Healing doesn’t mean you can not begin your plans until you heal, but it is a process, that will go side-by-side. But, don’t indulge yourself in work and career without simultaneously working on your mental health. If you’re not in your right mind, your goals are only going to be a product of your surroundings, not your own.

So, think about it and begin the process if you want to be productive enough in life.

2. Become an early riser:

You can say you’re a morning or a night person, but the body cycle and the connection with the sun is something you just can not deny. Waking up early is the most productive path you can choose for yourself. It might get difficult in the beginning if you stay up till late in the night, but, if you try, and are willing enough, you will be able to do it.

• The body’s internal clock, or circadian rhythm, influences alertness and cognitive function.
• Mornings are often a time when circadian rhythms promote wakefulness and higher levels of alertness.
• Serotonin plays a key role in concentration and it is highly active in the morning.
• The more consistent you get with waking up early, the more predictable it becomes for your brain to assist you in further helping you in making a routine.
• Mornings are quiet and calm, so you can focus without distractions.
• When your body is enough rested at night, your cognitive function reaches its maximum potential and helps you concentrate and strategize better.

3. Have a clear goal:

If you want to know how to be productive, you must set a clear goal first. If you have no goals in life, you will never be able to implement anything at all.

You must know why you want something. If it is only because of how your surroundings took you there, it won’t help. You will eventually live in a mediocre way in terms of your career. You must KNOW what you want and why you want it. Unless this is clear to your mind, you won’t be able to be productive enough ever.

REMEMBER: Everyone is made for something, everyone has a purpose, and everyone can contribute to society, greatly. You just have to figure out what aligns with you. To know that, you can do all kinds of research, and you can also attend workshops that will introduce you to the things you think you might enjoy. If you give yourself practical exposure to things, it will become easier to know your whats and whys about your goals.

There is a Japanese concept called ‘Ikigai’ that helps you understanding about where your profession and happiness intersect and how to find it. Read it here, to have a better understanding of how Ikigai works.

4. Keep a small diary and make plans for the next day:

I am not asking you to plan and schedule, since exact schedules never work for beginners. Yes, beginners!

Understand this!

“To do anything in life, you have to go through a process, it feels difficult in the beginning, but the more you walk on that path, the easier and more beautiful it gets.”

Monotony is a myth about productivity, yes it may feel like that in the beginning, but it is only a lie, a miscalculation by your brain. When you surpass the ‘Monotony’ factor, you’re going to be on a beautiful journey from there on. I personally feel it is a test from the higher powers that you have to pass to go to the next level, and for that, you HAVE TO go through that monotonous moments initially.

Once, you have set your goal, it becomes very easy to plan out your day. I would suggest you do it in the night, before bed. Things to consider while planning the next day-

• Do not over-plan: Know yourself and know your limitations: This will help you plan only as much as you can. Over-planning ruins your entire plan and your day. It discourages you from continuing to make plans further. So, plan only as much as you can do, maybe just 1 or 2 things in the beginning. And gradually, you will reach a point when you will be able to plan and execute 10-20 tasks per day, but, it only begins with 1.
• Stick by it: No matter what, stick by your plans. Do not distract yourself by other unimportant things in life. Take your plans seriously, or else, they will stop taking you seriously. So plan only 1 task per day in the beginning, but when you check off that task at the end of the day, you will feel a sense of completion and fulfillment, which further encourages you to make another list for the next day and so on.
• Write motivational words on it: For example, you can write, ‘You can do it’, or, ‘You will do it’, or, ‘God is with you and wants you win’, or, ‘You are a king/queen’, etc. These affirmations in your diary give you a charge when you open it when you begin working. It is a self-motivation like Karthik calling Karthik movie, trust me, it will work!

5. Implement and Execute:

It is easy to make plans, but not that easy to execute them. You must be driven enough towards your goals. That’s why I said, you must have a clear vision. If you don’t have it, this is the step where most of the people become still. You must stick to your plan and finish it, making it a priority. If you’re not feeling enough motivation, take a break, chill, do nothing, or do something that makes you happy, but, do not let your plans go.

Understand yourself, you are a human with emotions and not a struggle-free life. So, be practical about your limitations and give yourself all the love in the process. Take 10 breaks in a day if needed, but come back to your desk and finish the task. When you do so, you achieve your first milestone. This is where it gets difficult and if you surpass this step, you have set yourself to your success.

6. Take care of your health:

If you want to know how to be productive, you must understand that your health is crucial. If you’re drowsy, tensed, hurt, or unhealthy, you won’t be able to concentrate. You need to be calm to focus on your goals and for that, you must not eat things that contribute to your failure.

“You are not a foodie, you are just depressed!”

• Mind’s health is better when you don’t throw garbage in your body all the time.
• When you give movements to your body.
• When you heal.
• When you meditate & become calmer.

Do check my story ‘Benefits of physical exercise’, which will give you enough encouragement to work out and maintain your regular exercise routine.

You must also remember to learn to eat moderately. To know the moderation, stop eating after you’ve consumed 80% of your food. This way, you will never feel drowsy when you go back to your desk.

7.  Hobbies:

Well, I will never suggest you go crazily mad in achieving your dreams. This is too impractical. You are a human, understand this first. Know how a human behaves. Being a human comes with a lot of challenges and you cannot deny them.

But you can embrace them and that will happen only when you keep yourself happy.

Now, I’m not asking you to just be happy like that, you can make some efforts in doing so, like you do when you want to impress a girl.

Do all sorts of things that you’ve always enjoyed in your life.

I remember, once, when I went to watch a circus comedy and didn’t think twice about what a weird thing I was doing. There were many people but none without children. Same as the time when I went to watch a kid’s animated movie, ‘Angry Birds’. In both situations, I and my husband were sitting in the middle and we looked like two adult kids in the audience.

I have attended many events that had no relation to my work or career prospects. It was all for exposure to new and unknown territories.

So, invest in yourself, invest in your happiness, it will bring alive your inner child, and that child knows much better than us as to how to deal with life gracefully.

You just cannot keep looking everywhere for the answers to how to be productive without taking serious actions and making necessary changes. Trust me, you will be able to do it only if you consider yourself as a project.

Tip: You can split yourself in two. One part of you is someone who needs to learn, and the other part is the coach. The coach trains, but the coach give breaks as well. Be a good coach for yourself before you understand how to be productive and execute all the tasks that are presented by the coach.

Happy successful times ahead!