8 Simple Ways to Improve Productivity and Stay on Task
Today, I want to share with you some simple but very efficient ways to increase productivity that have helped many people to achieve outstanding results and become leaders in their industries.
1. Keep up with your daily routine
People who demonstrate high productivity tend to achieve it not through a strong will, but through building a familiar daily routine.
The famous writer Stephen King takes a vitamin pill every day at 8 a.m., turns on the same music, moves the same chair to his desk, and starts working — whether he feels inspired or not. It is this ritual that allows the writer to “turn on” his imagination and find inspiration if he has not been there since morning.
Make up the right routine for yourself and stick to it. Remember that inspiration is not random luck, but a planned result.
2. Use human disapproval to your advantage
It is characteristic of humans to like others and avoid conflict. You can either do your job on a world-class level or just like everyone else around you — you can’t combine one with the other.
The very essence of high performance and outstanding skill assumes that you must fully focus on your cause. That means that quite often, you will have to ignore the urgent requests to respond to your mail, turn off your mobile phone and reject a bunch of social commitments that only distract you from your work.
Of course, people will be mad at you for that. But the full realization of your own talents and skills is far more important than human disapproval. Moreover, it is necessary for you to improve your own skills.
3. Appreciate the burdens and hardships
In our society, everything that is disordered, uncomfortable, and disturbing is considered bad. And anything that is pleasant and comes without effort is considered wonderful.
But the fact is that every outstanding master of their own craft is doomed to hardships. You have to accept the fact that pain and suffering await you along the way, only through those you will achieve success.
Van Gogh lived in total obscurity, world fame came to him only after his death. But he kept painting. Steve Jobs was considered an eccentric loser prodigy, but with the persistence of a maniac, he sought the unsurpassed quality of his products.
In fact, all visionaries are ridiculed first and idolized after. All innovators hear cynical criticism and condemnation, but they are willing to suffer for the sake of the implementation of their original ideas; knowing that, what is given easily rarely becomes the best.
4. Do the real work, do not imitate it
People usually confuse activity and performance. Peter Drucker speaks very aptly in this regard: “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”
Do you check your mail in the morning, move around some papers, call for meaningless meetings, and engage in bureaucracy instead of creating value? If so, you’re just mimicking the job.
Just stop starting your day with imitation of work. Check your mail after lunch, make your calls in the afternoon, and surf the Internet in the evenings.
5. Implement the transformation gradually
Outstanding productivity growth cannot be achieved through a single revolutionary transformation. It’s exactly the opposite: a large-scale growth in productivity is the result of subtle daily victories. Five small steps forward every day will become 1850 victories in a year! Keep in mind that the things you do regularly are a hundred times more important than the things you do occasionally.
6. Remember that without “recharging” high performance can lead to total exhaustion
Try to carry a heavy load without a break, and soon, exhausted, you will have to stop. If you keep taking short breaks, you will eventually overcome a much greater distance than you could have imagined.
Try to work with maximum efficiency and concentration for an hour and a half, and then take a 10-minute break to rest, relax, and “refill” your energy. If you break your working day into such cycles, your energy and performance will reach heights unknown to you before.
7. Observe the “rule of loneliness + silence + peace”
The most successful entrepreneurs know how important it is to observe the “rule of loneliness + silence + peace.” This means you should find time for loneliness, silence, and peace every day. Surprisingly, after such a break in reflection, people become more focused and productive. By doing nothing, successful entrepreneurs achieve all their goals.
8. Imitate the leaders
Recent scientific research has revealed that it is easier to change a person’s thinking style with the help of a certain pattern of behavior than with the help of a certain way of thinking.
In other words, if you start to imitate in your actions the most productive of the entrepreneurs you know, then after a while your thinking will automatically “reset” to high performance.
Conclusion
Being productive is easy. All you need to achieve the success you have read above. Only people with high productivity achieve great success. Don’t be afraid, just gradually improve your productivity and stay focused on your task every day.