August 15, 2022
Future Self
6 Simple Steps to Increase Productivity
“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” – Carl Jung
Are you really giving out the amount of work that is required of you or are you just keeping yourself busy?
Keeping busy does not always result in higher productivity. You can be doing multiple things at once but not really accomplishing anything at the end of the day. Productivity on the other hand, is your ability to produce more over a given time. It is how efficient you work or do things.
Productivity directly affects the quality of life. For example, if you are more productive in your job or business then you will have higher income. Having more money will allow you to acquire more of the things you want and need. This can also give you a feeling of being successful.
It is therefore imperative to be more productive to have a better life. But why do people struggle with increasing their productivity or see its benefits?
The Challenges
People want success but most people do not want to be productive and just settle for what they have. One reason for this is they do not know their future selves. They did not prospect and determine who they could become. They think that who they are is who they are always going to be.
Not knowing who you can become nor deciding who you want to be and not forming a relationship with that person can lead you to temptations. You are more prone to procrastinate, ruminate, make excuses, and easily get distracted because you can not see your life beyond your present and your past.
Another hindrance to increasing productivity is that you let your emotions rule. You let how you are feeling direct your actions. You do not want to get out of the familiarities in your life because you do not want to be vulnerable.
So how do you now overcome these challenges and increase your productivity? Continue reading and get to know the six simple steps to increasing your productivity.
Be future goal oriented
The first step to increasing productivity is to be aware of your future self because your goal is your future self. We as human beings are goal oriented. If we always keep in mind the person we want to become, we will always act and do things to be the person we have set ourselves to be.
Remember that whatever you do now will always have an outcome and that outcome will affect your future life. You will achieve the future you want if you are more productive and continue to increase your productivity. Whereas if you have no empathy for your future self and keep yourself distracted, you will only do so much and will remain the person you are today.
Aside from having your goal of your becoming your future self, you must also set mini goals. Smaller targets that will lead you to a better life. Setting mini goals allows you to accomplish tasks easily and keep you motivated to do more.
These mini goals must have a floor and a ceiling or reasonable targets. For instance, instead of aiming to lose 50pounds in three months, why not set yourself to only eat sweets twice a week and slowly lessen the amount on a bi-weekly basis until you are able to ignore the delicious treats.
Recognise the importance of what you say you are going to do.
Once you have set your goals, you now must recognise the importance of what you say you are going to do. Remember that what you do today is a vote for your future.
We often say and plan out things we are going to do in a day, but most of the time those plans do not materialise because we lose our focus of our view of the future. We allow ourselves to be distracted by the world around us, to procrastinate, and ruminate.
You must be aware that if you do not do what you have set yourself to achieve, your goals will remain to be goals and dreams. The great life that you have been wanting to have will not be your future life.
I have talked about ways of overcoming procrastination and rumination in my previous podcasts. You can check those out in the Future self Podcast with Pete Cohen.
Get in the game
The third step to increasing productivity is to be in the game, to act. Do what you say you are going to do regardless of how you feel. Right now, you are living a life that you do not like primarily because you have not acted towards the person you want to be. You prefer to dwell on the feeling or thought of not doing anything.
If you identify with your future self and have a relationship with that person. You will make better choices. You will choose to act because you know that a better life awaits you. Avoid procrastinating and getting distracted. Have the courage to face your vulnerabilities.
The moment you notice yourself taking a different path, feel like procrastinating or being distracted you must immediately stop. Take a deep breath and think what would happen if you continued to tread this temptingly easy and comfortable path? Ask yourself, will you have a better life if you continue to do what you are doing?
Once you reground yourself on your goal, your future self, start taking a different path. A technique you could use is by counting yourself down. If you feel the urge to procrastinate stop then begin your countdown. Recite 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go, then commence doing what you said you were going to do.
Counting down will let your mind realise that you are not doing what you say you are going to do and make you rethink why you need to do the things you have set for yourself.
Be productive everyday
Getting in the game must be an everyday act. To develop a habit of success you must be in a productive role every single day. The more you practice being productive the easier it will be as it slowly becomes a habit.
Productive people produce a set of results every single day to bring about what they want. They always want to accomplish their mini goals because they know that it will lead them to greater rewards.
Habits are things that we do instantaneously and without thinking. We do them often enough that they have embedded in our minds and in our actions. Installing habits and breaking habits are not impossible, only challenging.
You need to be determined enough to accomplish your goal. Creating the right environment for productivity and having supportive people around you will make it easier for you to change habits and be in productive mode always.
Recognise the little things you do
The fifth step to being productive is to recognise the little things that you do. When it comes to our achievements, we most often than not focus only on our big accomplishments. We barely notice or commend ourselves for finishing tasks in a day like meeting our deadlines.
However, these little things that you do are exactly what you need to accomplish your greatest task of being the best version of you. The little things that you do add up, they compound every single day to give you the extraordinary life that you have been aiming for.
It is likewise important to celebrate these little accomplishments. Recognising and celebrating them gives you a sense of fulfillment and motivation to do more. It gives you strength to face the challenges and not give up doing what you are doing.
Do not give up on investments
Being productive and remaining productive is an arduous task particularly if we let our emotions rule. But we must be resilient enough to overcome challenges. The struggles we face are only temporary. And it is important that we continue to strive towards the person we want to become.
Every single act towards your future self is your investment. The goals you set, the time and effort you spend, these are all investments towards yourself, the person you want to become. And it is important to remember that to keep yourself on the right path.
You must not waste nor ignore the investments that you have already made on yourself or the investments that you still need to make for these are the things that will lead you to a more fulfilling life, the extraordinary life that you have always wanted.
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