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Do you feel your productivity has been down lately?  Maybe you are looking for some pointers to boost your low-energy levels and do more in your business, career, or calling. If this is you, we have some practical tips that could give you the output you need. Stay put as we take you on a path to increase your productivity.

This blog post lists seven things you can start doing to increase your productivity levels. Please don’t wait until next week to implement them. After reading this piece, it would help you much if you start acting on them. As Tim Ferriss puts it, ‘Focus on being productive instead of busy’ Let’s get moving.

How to Increase Your Productivity

1. Wake Up Early

I know the night owls are going to put a fight here. You are entitled to your lifestyle. But time and again, starting your day early gives you space to get done with your important stuff before the world starts running helter-skelter.

Early mornings are quiet, serene, and solemn giving you the conducive environment to immerse yourself deep in your core work.

If you have been sluggish and dragging yourself lately in almost everything, consider getting done with your most important stuff early in the morning.

Whether it’s the morning run, house chores, reading a book, or attending an online class, you can get done with these things early in the morning. I must mention that sleeping early enough is key to waking up early. Your body needs enough rest to function optimally.

2. Increase your Productivity by Reducing your Social Media Time

We are in a digital era, and social media apps compete for your time and attention for the better part of your waking day. For you to be productive, you must regulate your social media time.

Memes are suitable for light moments but don’t add value to your life. I’m not lost because many online businesses have used social media apps to market their products.

Boutiques, equipment, and merchandise selling ventures and individuals are now getting most of their buyers via social media, which is a good thing.

In fact, e-commerce is the other hype. But if you are on social media for other reasons, you should spend less time there to focus on doing more productive stuff.

3. Take Short Breaks

Work is the best antidote to overthinking. However, there are limits to how long and how much you can do at a time to avoid burnout. We used to have breaks in class timetables for unwinding and basking in the sun at school.

That should be a typical routine with you to promote your work-life balance. Overworking doesn’t improve your productivity but kills it. Conversely, choosing to work between breaks re-energizes you for more cycles of productive output.

4. Have an Accountability Partner

You can be accountable to yourself if you have the discipline to do so. However, if you find this challenging, the best way would be to seek an accountability partner who can account for what you have done and what you intend to do in a given period. Trust me, it works.

You may procrastinate and blame many things that denied you the opportunity to meet your goals but not your accountability partner. They will be there to make sure you achieve your goals or meet your targets.

You could also join an accountability group where you meet weekly or bi-weekly to assess what worked, what didn’t, and what could increase your odds of success.

5. Set SMART Goals

The rule with goals is that they have to be SMART. The problem is not just in having goals but also in setting realistic SMART goals. If you have never been intentional about this, maybe it’s time you started.

What are your weekly, monthly, and year goals? What are you doing daily or monthly to ensure you meet your five-year goal? Nothing falls from the heavens; you have to merit whatever you earn in life. As we advance, start being intentional about goal setting.

“The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.” Benjamin E. Mays, American civil rights leader

 

Avoid living life on autopilot, expecting miracles to happen. Think about your personal development, business, career, or humanitarian activities. What is your vision around them, and what SMART goals are you setting to ensure you realize your vision?

If your goal is to be financially independent in the next five years, you need to do something today, whether spending less, earning or saving, and investing more to ensure you achieve it.

Don’t beat yourself down if you don’t meet your goals. You can constantly shift the goal post, but you should always strive to realize them.

6. Have a Routine

Being spontaneous is a good thing and can sometimes make you fall for opportunities you never expected. Think about this: Your friend passes by your house and asks you to accompany them to an event. You had other things to do, but somehow you chose to be good to them.

You attend the event, and it ends up giving you your next job or business deal through so and so. But the truth is, the odds of success are also relatively low. It’s not a guarantee that every act of spontaneity will bring a difference.

 

 Successful people have a routine and stick to it. Like habits, routines become our second nature and make us peak performers, especially if it borders productivity.

A typical routine could be waking up at 5 am, meditating/jogging/exercising, taking a shower, making breakfast, reading for 30 mins, and moving on to your next assignment.

Yes, routines can be boring sometimes, and that’s why I began by mentioning spontaneity. That being said, a routine makes you increase your productivity and sets you up for success.

7. Live your Dream

 

There is more to life than your daily job, business, eating, sleeping, and drinking. What fuels you up? What drives you to get out of your bed every morning even when you don’t want to?

Don’t tell me money because money is a means to an end. You need to have a dream. As Theodore Roosevelt puts it, ‘ Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.’

You need to aim at something more significant than your reality and strive to achieve it. That’s how you increase your productivity.

Wrap Up

I’m not a productivity guru, but I thought it wise to share these productivity tips that I’m implementing myself with you and possibly spur you to increase your productivity. Do you have more productivity tips you want to share? Would you mind leaving a comment below and joining the discourse?