How to be more Productive by being Intentional

“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.” ~ Stephen King

Are you a productive person? Do you want to be more productive?

What is productivity anyways?

Productivity is getting results. A more involved definition deals with the ratio of output and input. Basically, productivity is getting the desired result for the amount of work you put in.

When I talk about productivity, I mean seeing results that justify the time and effort spent on a task or project.

There are immense benefits to being productive.

1. We get more done and can impact the world more
2. We make better use of our time
3. We have a sense of success and accomplishment

We all want to be productive, but often find that we are not executing at the level that we desire. And that can be disheartening and frustrating.

So we have to ask… how can we be more productive?

Drum roll….

Be intentional (in huge flashing neon lights)

Productivity is a product. It does not just happen, someone or something has to PRODUCE it. If you want to be more productive, you have be intentional. Rather than being passive, be purposeful.

When you are intentional you are aware of what you are doing, why you are doing it and what you want to get out of it. You approach your work with a sense of purpose.

So how can you be more intentional ?

Have clear goals

Zig Ziglar said it best

‘if you aim at nothing you will hit it every time’.

You need to have clearly defined results that you are going after. For parents, here is a good example: instead of scheduling ’spend time with kids’, schedule something specific ‘go to park… ride bike… play checkers’. It will give you the clearly defined goal, and in turn give you an intentional approach to your time. This leads to the next item… being results oriented..

Focus on results

When you make your schedule, schedule productivity, not activity. Often we fill our calendars with activity, not results, and then in the end we have nothing to show for it.

For instance, today I am blogging. Instead of scheduling ‘blog for an hour’, I Scheduled ‘write two blogs: one on productivity and one on the benefits of thinking big’. This gave me a clear result to go after which in turn makes my time more focused, strategic and directed.

Take action

As I said at the beginning, you cannot be passive. Productivity is a product, a production is the result of action. Nike’s slogan is powerful because it calls us to action, ‘just do it’. Many good ideas, plans, dreams and intentions have vanished like a vapor simply because they were never acted on.

Plan it. Schedule it. Do it.

A wonderful thing about action, is that it is pro-creative. It leads to more action. There is a snowball affect of sorts. Once you take action, you notice you develop momentum and get more done.

Eliminate distractions

Because productivity requires so much focus, it is vital that we operate in a productive friendly environment. Such an environment will be clean, inspiring and eliminate any distractions.

How many times have you been in the middle of something and then something pulled you away and killed your progress. Phones, email and social media, all these have the power to pull you off course and ruin your progress.

Whatever might distract you, eliminate it immediately.

In summary, productivity is going to require intentional, strategic and sustained effort. Apply these 4 steps to be more intentional and watch your productivity multiply.

Thanks for reading. I write on related motivational topics to productivity like personal vision, goal setting and time management to name a few. If you want to read more posts like this give me a follow… I will give you my best each post!

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