How to Be More Productive & Get Stuff Done
Does anyone else wish they could get more stuff done? My to-do list feels like it’s a mile-long most day’s #momlife. It always feels as though there’s just so much to do and not enough time. I’m determined to change that though. I want this year to be a productive year. A year I can look back on and feel a sense of accomplishment. And I think that starts with examining my own life and figuring out how to be more productive. So that’s what I’ve done! Below you will find all the different ways I plan to increase my productivity and get more done this year.
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How To Be More Productive
1 | Get motivated
I don’t know about you but I’m quite the procrastinator. It’s really hard for me to start and finish tasks that I just don’t feel like doing. But that’s what being an adult is all about, right? Doing things we don’t really feel like doing because if we don’t, life falls apart. So how do we fix this? We need to get motivated. The secret ingredient to productivity is motivation. However boring or mundane the task is, we need to get ourselves motivated to actually do it. So how do we get ourselves motivated to mop the floor? To fold laundry? To do the dishes and all the rest of the not so fun stuff that comes along with being a grown-up? Read this post to discover 7 motivation tips.
2 | Increase Energy
What do you do if you’re super motivated but too tired to do anything? Your mind is energized but your body would prefer to stay lying on the couch. You need to energize your body. You can’t be productive without having the motivation and physical energy. So how can you get the energy you need to tackle your to-do list? You need to get back to the basics when it comes to caring for your body. To find out what that means and all the different ways you can get the energy you need read this post.
3 | Make to-do lists
I have lists for everything. I’m a little obsessed. There is just something about getting things out of my head and on paper that help me to focus and concentrate better. And let’s not forget about the incredible satisfaction that comes from crossing things off the list once they’re complete. When it comes to increasing productivity, lists are a must. Because even if you have the time and the energy to complete tasks, without to-do lists you may feel kinda lost or confused about what you should do with yourself. At least, this is what happens to me.
I personally have four different goals/ to-do lists. I have a life goals list, a yearly goal / to-do list, a monthly goals / to-do list and a daily to-do list. I’ll go into more detail about these lists in a future post. But for now, let’s just focus on the daily to-do list. Every night before you go to bed think over all the things you need to get done the next day. Make a list. It’s so easy to forget and become distracted through out the day. A list serves as a constant reminder of the things you need to do. Lists provide our lives with the structure and organization required to make the most of the time and energy we have available to us.
4 | Turn off the tv
TV is a huge distraction. And all though I’m completely guilty of binge watching entire seasons of shows on Netflix, I know that television really is a complete waste of time. If you desire to be more productive, you need to be completely honest with yourself about how much of your time is spent watching TV everyday. And if it’s more than an hour I would suggest cutting down in order to increase your productivity.
If this is a challenge for you than I suggest using your time in front of the TV to do something productive. Like folding laundry or cutting coupons (if you’re a couponer). Or try rewarding yourself with TV time after completing a few things on your to do list. For example, tell yourself that once you’ve cleaned the kitchen, folded the laundry and scrubbed the toilets you can watch 30 minutes of your favorite show. Rewarding yourself is one of my top tips to get motivated and TV is a great reward 😉
5 | Less Social Media
This tip is similar to the last. How many of us spend way more time on social media than we’d like to admit? Time spent on social media is time we can never get back and it’s usually not time well spent. I am not completely against social media. I think there are many positives to social media but there are also many negatives. Like sitting down to check your Instagram for just a minute and soon realizing an hour of your life has gone by. I’m not saying in order to be productive you have to completely eliminate social media from your life but in order to get more done we should be more wise about the time we spend on it.
Some ways you can be more productive while still getting your Instagram or Facebook fix everyday, is use it as a reward just like I suggested with the last tip. After you’ve completed several of the tasks on your to do list, allow yourself 15 minutes on the social media of your choice. But make sure you set a timer or before you know it an hour will have passed. Or when you’re in your car waiting to pick up your kids from school or waiting at your doctor’s office use that time to hop on Twitter or Snapchat. It’s time wasted anyway so you might as well do something you enjoy while your waiting.
6 | Use a planner
Everyone should own a planner. They don’t cost very much money and they don’t involve a lot of work and you can get a super cute one, like this one. Planners help you organize your life. As moms and wives our brains are already packed to the brim with all kinds of information. We’re the usually the ones who have to keep track of doctors appointments, and birthday parties, school events and so on and so on. A planner will save your sanity. Get it out of your head and get it on paper.
Planners help to increase productivity by helping you plan your days, weeks, and months in advance. For example, if this month your kids have two birthday parties to attend, your son starts baseball season and your daughter has a major school project due, you can make one shopping trip for the birthday presents, baseball equipment, and uniform and supplies for your daughters project instead of making three last-minute shopping trips. Or better yet, order all the things you need online and save yourself time and gas money. Planners give us an overview of the weeks and months ahead which helps us to better plan how we spend our time and be more productive.
7 | Complete the most important things at the start of your day
There is no better feeling than to look at the clock and realize you’ve gotten the most important things on your to-do list complete and it’s not even lunchtime. It feels so good. So at night when you’re making your to do list for the following day make sure to highlight or circle the things that are the most important. Make a commitment to do those things before you do anything else. I promise you’ll feel like superwoman.
So there are all my productivity tips for the new year. I hope they help you to accomplish everything your little heart desires. If you have any other tips you’d like to share, please do so in the comments below! I’d love to hear them 🙂
