3 Tips on How to Spend Your Day To Be More Productive

How are you spending your day?  I’ve heard this question one too many times in my life.  However, the question does have a valid point.  We all want to be more productive, but we seem to wonder and be all over the place when in reality we need to focus on our tasks at hand.

I started thinking about this question when a former employer kept on asking this question.  I have a tendency to analyze situations and learn from them.  I noticed when I evaluated my tasks I wasn’t doing what made me happy.  And a secret I learned was that to be productive, find that thing that makes you happy.  And also, I was multi-tasking, so I thought, and kept on doing things that didn’t bring me to my desired outcome.  I was spinning my wheels.

How do you value what you are doing? Yes in the corporate world some tasks are tedious.  I am aware of that, however always find a reason on why you need to get the job done and focus on the value that it brings to the table.  It is so important to know the Pareto Principle 80/20 rule.  I’m sure you’ve heard of it before that 80 percent of the value of your outcome comes from 20 percent from the activity you put into it.  I like to keep things as simple as possible, and I came up with three tips to help you be more productive throughout your day.

It’s fun to see how by focusing on learning new ways, your mind helps with the change.  You are probably doing these three tips already, or you have found other ways to improve on being more productive, and I would love to hear about it just comment below and share it with me.  I came up with these tips by listening to successful people like Brian Tracy, Gary Vaynerchuck, and Evan Carmichael just to name a few.  They all had similar habits that when I tried them and combined what worked for me, it made a world of difference.  My tips are Wake up earlier, Do what matters and Be intentional.  

1. Wake Up Earlier

How many times have you heard this? Yes, it works.  Ask yourself, what do you get done before breakfast?  Another secret to this tip is that if you start the night before, waking up earlier allows you to jump right into the task at hand and you don’t have to waste precious time planning.  We can lose a lot of leverage by over planning.  So, keep that in mind.  Always look into the task and ask yourself the most important question of all, and that is what value does this task have?  Because if it doesn’t have value, stop.  Don’t do it.  But only you will know the real value.  Trust me when I say, that waking up earlier gives you a head start to working smart and not hard.

2. Do What Matters

Yes.  Are you learning something new?  Even if it’s something that you have never done before, but it will bring you closer to that sale, do it.  Learn from it, make it happen.  This step is different for everyone.  What is your goal at hand? Then focus on that, and make decisions that bring you closer to your goal, because time is precious and by wasting it in on things that don’t matter will only frustrate you.  Remember, keep it simple and work with what will bring you to your next level, whatever that may be.  

3. Be Intentional

Why are you doing it?  That is the question that takes you to your intention.  Be intentional, focus on one task at a time.  Research show that there is no such thing as multitasking.  If you want to do something right and have an excellent outcome, focus on one task at a time.  I know what you are probably saying, but I have to multitask, I have so much I need to get done.  Just evaluate and prioritize, do that one thing that matters first.  Focus on that task and move to the next as soon as you have completed it.  Having good time management helps, keep track of how you are spending your day for the next seven days and analyze what you are doing to improve your productivity.  

Bonus - Yes there is one more tip that I can share that also helps me a great deal.  And that is to break your tasks into small chunks and make them more manageable.  I recommend putting this on your list.  

In summary,  my goal is to keep on sharing what works for me.  I honestly wake up earlier, plan the night before,  and spend my time doing what matters, and by being intentional, I know that what I’m doing is getting my full attention.  Try it.  

Which tip resonates with you more? Tell me by commenting below.