In today’s blog post I will share 7 MORE habits to increase productivity. Before you read this post, make sure you check out PART 1 of this blog post. Also make sure to check out my social media platforms on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to get more updates from me on my day to day life.
1. Break Down Your Goals
It is easy to set goals at the beginning of the year and then to leave them there in the back of your mind. However, this is not an effective way to achieve these goals. In order to achieve your goals, you are going to need to break down your goals into small manageable mini-goals. What I suggest is to break down your large goals into monthly and weekly goals. For example, say you want to learn how to Photoshop by the end of the year. Your monthly goals could include different skills you want to learn, and those weekly goals could include watching online tutorials, practicing a technique, etc. The key here is to make the mini-goals as SPECIFIC as possible. Don’t just say, I’ll watch a video once a week. Find the video, write down the title in your planner, bookmark the page on your laptop, etc. By breaking down your goals you will be able to achieve them a lot quicker.
2. Outline Your Ideal Day
In order to be productive, you MUST know what “productive” looks like to you. Therefore, a great exercise to do is to write down your ideal productive day. You could do this in many different ways, it could be simply a list of requirements for your morning routine, it could be a checklist of things to do every day, it could be a graphic of intentions to focus on every day. Regardless of which form you chose, it is important to KNOW what productive looks like to you, that way you will feel satisfied everyday that you follow these patterns.
3. Use a Timer
It can be really hard to focus on a topic or task for a long period of time, so breaking down your task into small chunks of time may be very effective for you. I don’t follow this tip all the time, but when I am feeling particularly unmotivated or scattered, I will follow this strategy. I typically like to do 15min, 20min, or 30min timers. That way it gives you motivation to beat the timer. So, it’s almost like you are motivated to work against the timer, so you achieve a lot in that amount of time. After the timer goes off, I usually give myself 5min to do something, whether that’s getting a snack, stretching, or going on my phone, etc.
4. Dedicate a GYST Day
You know when you are so focused on work/school that the rest of your life is placed on the back burner? Yeah, we have all been there. Well that is exactly what a GYST day is for, it allows you to GET YOUR SH*T TOGETHER. Some people use every Sunday for this, some people do this one night a week, and some do it a few times a month. But, no matter how you do it, it is important to leave some time to catch up on life.
GYST days typically have a few different categories including, admin/cleaning, physical health, mental health, and beauty. Admin/Cleaning could include things like paying bills, checking your visa and bank accounts, running errands, doing laundry, changing the sheets, and scheduling appointments. Physical health could include meal prepping, scheduling fitness classes, doing yoga, and doing a good stretch. Mental health could include journaling, planning out your week and intentions, coloring, taking a bath, and meditating. Lastly, beauty could include, doing a face mask, painting your nails, shaving, dying your hair, etc. These are just some ideas that you could include in your GYST day. You don’t have to do it all but try to include some time to get your sh*t together a few times a month AT LEAST.
5. Don’t Multi-Task
It can be hard enough to focus on one task at a time, let alone multiple. Thus, I would suggest that for optimum productivity you try to focus on one task at a time. This goes hand and hand with my tip from my last productivity tip blog post. When blocking out your day, make sure to leave time for certain tasks throughout the day. For example, you should only check email once or twice a day, instead of throughout the day. Therefore, when it is not email time you can solely focus on the task at hand. This will help you to stay on task and create better content throughout the day because you will be more focused.
6. Track Your Habits
In todays modern world it is really easy to get sucked into social media and spend HOURS on your phone per day just aimlessly scrolling. However, this can be detrimental to your mental health long term. Thus, it is important to track these habits and others in your life. There are plenty of apps that can be used to track your social media usage along with other habits. Want to drink more water? Want to stop biting your nails? I guarantee that if you make a conscious effort to track these things you can diminish the amount of time you spend doing these bad habits.
7. Eat Breakfast
I know you have heard this before, but I am going to say it again. EAT BREAKFAST. It is so important to eat a healthy breakfast to start the day off right. If you start the day by eating something healthy and filling, odds are that you will continue your day with the same pattern. You will be more likely to eat healthy and make good choices the rest of the day. At the very least, eating breakfast will keep you focused and more productive in the morning hours of the day.
I hope that these tips help you to live your most productive life and to crush your new year goals this year. If you like this post make sure to share it with your friends and to follow me on all my social media accounts. Before you go, make sure that you subscribed to my blog to get email updates every time I post. Also be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to get more updates from me on my day to day life.
Your Trusty Gutsy Gal,
Nathalie xx
Gutsy Feeling 