Everybody wants to be more productive in life.

It’s a universal thing. 

I don’t know how many Google hits “productivity tips” receives daily, but I can only imagine it’s a lot. 

I’ve been somewhat obsessed with productivity hacks and tricks for as long as I can remember. 

And since you’re here, I bet you’re into this topic as well. 

Being productive and staying in the zone is hard. 

Procrastination somehow always tracks us down, and we find ourselves doing all these random things and activities that are in no way related to our dreams and goals. Procrastination shifts our focus from what is important to us to something like Netflix or YouTube. 

How to have a productive day and get things done ain’t easy, but I hope this article will help you on your journey of becoming your best and most productive self. 

 

 

Related Reads:

• How To Plan Your Day And Stick To It Like A True Girl Boss
• My Online Course: The Dreamer To Doer Academy

 

 

How To Be More Productive In Life:

 

 

What Is Productivity

Productivity is measured by what you PRODUCE.

It’s not about the time and effort spent doing something.

It’s the value and result that come out of doing that specific task. 

You could be working hard and be “busy” all day long and not have produced a single thing. 

What matters is the what and the value of what you produce, not how long it takes you to produce it.

Productivity is about working smarter, not harder.  

The results you currently have in your life is a reflection on your productivity in the past.

 

 

1. Track How You Are Spending Your Time

The truth is, we are wasting SO MUCH TIME. 

Every. single. day.

Netflix, YouTube, our next-door neighbor, that party we weren’t supposed to go are just some of the things that get in our way of being our most productive self. 

The average person spends over 2 hours Netflixing every single day (and that is NOT counting other distractions or social media). 

Now, that is valuable time that could have been spent on your goals and dreams. 

I’m not saying you can’t have ANY fun in your new productive life – but become aware of when you are wasting time and when you are enjoying it on purpose.

There is a difference. 

• How much time do you spend online everyday?
• How many hours do you Netflix daily?
• How much time do you spend on Instagram and Facebook?

Start by implementing a time log in your daily routine. 

Make notes and observations of how you spend your time. 

You get to decide what is a healthy amount of Netflixing per day.

Make the decision and own it. 

 

Rescuetime is a time-tracking app that paints the exact picture of how much time you are spending on, for example, social media. I was shocked to find out when I thought I was having a productive day, I was actually spending hours on Facebook, Pinterest, and casual browsing. 

 

 

2. It’s All About Prioritizing

After you have become aware of how you spend your time, figure out what you want to spend your time on, and prioritize your time accordingly. 

Prioritizing your tasks will help you become more efficient with your time and limit unwanted distractions. 

Where and how do you want to spend your time?

What is important to you?

Focus in on the things that matter most to you.

For example:

• You wish to be healthier and lose weight – Exercising daily and eating healthy will be your new priorities.
• You want to start an online business– Signing up for hosting and a domain and writing your 10 first blog posts will be your new priorities.

I love to use my Productivity Planner for planning out my days and prioritizing my daily tasks. 

I’ve written a review about it here if you want to learn more about the Productivity Planner. 

 

 

3. Eliminate What You Can

Similar to prioritizing, you will do yourself and your mind a favor if you eliminate tasks that you know deep down you don’t really have to do.

When confronted with a task, ask yourself the following questions:

• Can I eliminate this?
• Can this wait?
• Is this directly related to my number one goal?
• Am I the right person for this task or can I ask someone else to do it?
• Can I automate this in some way?

These are valid questions to ask. 

If you always give your time away to other people, it snatches you from having enough time to focus on what is most important to you. 

Eliminate the things you can and get on with your dreams. 

Elimination = more freedom. 

 

 

4. Wake Up Early

This is my (and soon to be your) favorite way to sneak in a few extra hours in your busy day.

This means no staying up all night to work on your goal.

You will need to go to bed at a reasonable hour, preferably so you get at least 7 hours of sleep every night. 

Your morning routine starts the night before, so make sure your evening routine is equally as good.

If you wake up an hour or two earlier than you usually do, you’ll be given the gift of MORE time. 

That is what we all are striving for, right?

Do as many tasks as you can in the morning.

It’s such a wonderful feeling having done more before 9 AM than most people get done all day.

Can you imagine?

Set your alarm back an hour tomorrow morning and get started with your new productive morning routine. 

 

 

5. Motivate Yourself

Motivate yourself with an inspiring podcast, audiobook, put on make-up or whatever else helps you to feel motivated for the day. 

Pinterest is a wonderful platform for motivational quotes and general inspiration.

Stretch your motivation muscle daily and you’ll feel so much productive instantly.

You can’t find productivity without motivation. 

Here are my absolute favorite podcasts and books for you to check out. 

 

 

6. Move Your ‘Bod

Productivity and physical health are heavily intertwined.

Your energy levels are dependent on you treating your body well.

Get some fresh air every day and move that body of yours.

A 20-minute walk is better than nothing.  

 

 

7. The Power Of Saying No

Your time is your most valuable asset. 

Treasure it with your whole heart.

Learn to say no at least once a day.

Don’t just say yes to please other people. 

People-pleasing is THE productivity-stealer. 

Spend your time wisely with the people you love and devote your time to the things you believe in and align with your goals. 

Quality trumps quantity when it comes to people in your life.

Say no and don’t feel bad about it. 

For example:

• An old friend reaches out to you and wants to grab breakfast and make this a weekly thing.
• You say no.
• You have plans with yourself.
• You are committed. 

Don’t let other people steal your focus.

As humans we want to be part of the pack, we want to be with other people and do social things.

We also want to live a balanced life. 

If you live a so-called balanced life, you’re saying no to your dreams because you are so concentrated on everything else going on in your life and wanting to do it all.

Chasing your dreams means you have to stay focused, determined and committed for a specific amount of time until you start seeing results. 

This is why so many don’t achieve their goals, they are distracted or pulled in another direction by other people.

They get off course and leave their dreams as their last priority of the day. 

It can be hard in the beginning, especially if you’re used to saying yes to everyone, but then again you’ll get the evening to yourself and can spend it however you want. Also, you never have to explain yourself to anyone.

Just say no, no explanation needed.

Don’t excuse yourself.

Learning to say no is a practice you will get better at with time.

Say no to other people and yes to yourself! 

 

 

8. One Thing At A Time

Eat the frog.

Take one bite of the elephant at a time.

Start with that ONE thing.

Do these phrases sound familiar?

There is so much truth to them though.

Our to-do list and planners can be overwhelming places. 

Decrease the amount of time thought to complete one task and just start. 

10 minutes is better than no minutes at all.

I find that if I start producing, inspiration will eventually find me and before I know it, I’ve found my flow as well. 

Focus on one important task at a time and just start.

 

 

9. Limit Phone Use & Social Media

Turn off all possible distractions when you need to be your most productive self. 

Turn off your phone, disable notifications on your phone, computer, and leave your phone in another room. 

I love the Facebook News Feed Eradicator for limiting distractions. 

Your Facebook newsfeed completely vanishes and is replaced with an inspiring quote.

Let’s be honest, we shouldn’t be on Facebook when we are trying to be productive in the first place but this makes the Facebook session much shorter. 

I highly recommend it. 

 

 

10. Make Quick Decisions

Saying “I don’t know” or living in indecision is a true dream-snatcher. 

The more time you spend wallowing in “I don’t know” the more time you are wasting.

If you’re struggling to make a decision, weigh the pros and cons and set a deadline for you to decide.

If you don’t set a deadline you’ll find yourself weighing those pros and cons indefinitely. 

Make the decision.

Follow your gut, weigh the options against each other and decide which result best supports your life, and don’t look back. 

Don’t second guess your decision, move forward and own it.

Prepare your to-do list the night before, make decisions ahead of time, so your actions in the morning will be a no-brainer.

This is a true life hack, I promise you. 

 

 

11. Multitasking Is The Enemy

Ah, multitasking.

Something we all do but are truly rubbish at. 

Multitasking steals our brain’s focus and clouds our judgment. 

Don’t think that if you juggle things simultaneously you will get more done in less time.

You won’t.

Start with your most important task of the day, focus in on that, and only that and move down the list, task by task. 

 

 

12. Plan Ahead

Planning ahead is THE way to be more productive in life. 

The more you plan and honor your plans, the more clarity you will have and the more productive you will be. 

Once you know what your priorities are and what you need to do in order to achieve the results you want in your life, you can plan for them on your calendar.

If you do the prep work properly there should be nothing standing in your way when it’s time to take action.

You’ve made the decision ahead of time and you show up for yourself. 

Your to-do’s for the day should be detailed, actionable and broken down properly to avoid feeling stressed or overwhelmed. 

Plan your actions on your calendar ahead of time and plan down to the hour.

Planning is tedious work but if you really take the time to structure your days, weeks or even months down to the very last detail you WILL have amazing results. 

My favorite planning tools for day-to-day planning are the Productivity Planner and the good old Google Calendar.

Note: Don’t forget to plan for fun things as well – your downtime, social activities and anything you are looking forward to.

 

 

13. Reward Yourself Along The Way

Be kind to yourself. 

Once you’ve completed an important task on your to-do list, reward yourself with a healthy treat, self-care and something that is genuinely enjoyable for you.

Setting up a reward system for yourself can be the kick-in-the-butt you need to get that thing done. 

I usually treat myself to a little fancier coffee from my local coffee shop, a bath or en episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S on Netflix. 

That’s just me.

How will you treat yourself? 

 

14. Track Your Progress

What gets measured, gets done. 

Track your productivity and your progress.

Check-in with yourself every evening and make sure you are producing the results you want in your life.

Sometimes, we may think we are being productive but we are actually just procrastinating. 

If you continue to evaluate your productivity, you will be successful. 

You got this girl. 

 

 

Before You Go

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article on how to be more productive in life and that it has given you some helpful insight and tips to increase your productivity.

Our time is our most valuable resource, so it’s vital we make the most of it, agreed? ✨

Comment below and let me know YOUR favorite productivity hacks because let’s face us – we just can’t get enough.