The Key to Your Productivity Lies in Your Mindset

Knowing What you Want

If you’re going to be productive, you need to know what it is that you want. If all you can come up with is, I want to be more productive then your efforts will fail. You need clear and specific goals, written down if possible (but at least remembered).

For example, I will read one chapter of my textbook every night before bed. I will go for a run every day after work. I will spend 30 minutes a day studying Korean vocabulary.

In order to find what makes you productive, you have to know what you want. This means figuring out your goals, or why it is that you need/want to accomplish what it is that you’re looking for. The process of working towards a goal also helps motivate people when they are trying new techniques for their productivity;

Knowing what it is that you want can help keep your mindset positive and remind yourself how beneficial becoming more productive will be not only for yourself but also for those around you.

If you have an idea of what you want your day to look like, it’s easier to get there. Do you know exactly what your ideal routine looks like? It could mean answering yes when asked: What will you be doing first thing in the morning? What do you want for lunch?

What are some productive habits that will get you where you want to go each day? Once you know how much time and energy each activity takes — and how important it is — you can put together a schedule that maximizes your productivity throughout your workday.

Eliminating Mental Blockages

There is a fine line between productive and unproductive. It all lies in your mindset. What drives you? What is yours why? Think of what will keep you going even on those rough days when nothing seems to be moving forward. The things that will get you through are often difficult but important or they might not appeal to anyone else but yourself.

These goals allow you to focus on why it is important for you, especially when times are tough and confidence is lacking. Find your goals and write them down. Then revisit them throughout each day as reminders of where you want to go and why it’s so important for you!

The key to your productivity lies in your mindset. What do I mean by that? Simply put, you need to adopt a productive, proactive mindset. The people who are most successful are those who are actively striving for success.

On a daily basis, they think about their goals and tasks, making sure that they take steps forward each day. Every morning before starting their day, they imagine what could go wrong and how they will deal with these issues. Imagine if you adopted a similar mindset!

It’s not as hard as you think; it just takes some effort. The first step is to eliminate mental blockages by rethinking your perception of both time and money.

If you want to be more productive, ask yourself, What does a day look like if I only had two hours of work to do? Or, If I only needed $200 a month from my business, how could I make that happen? It’s hard for most people to answer these questions when their mind-frame is stuck on having three or five times as much time and money.

Focusing on Why it Is Important for You

There’s a reason why you have an important task, deadline, or project to complete. Maybe it was given to you by your boss, client, or yourself. Whatever it is, remind yourself of that reason before you start working on it. Focusing on why will help strengthen your mindset.

And more importantly, research has shown that people with a growth mindset perform better than those with a fixed mindset. What’s interesting is that when we focus on what we are learning while doing something difficult, our performance improves (and so does our brain structure). People with an I can attitude do better because they believe learning and improvement are possible and want them for themselves.

When you want to accomplish something, one of the best ways to motivate yourself is by focusing on why it’s important for you. How will your life be different when you accomplish your goal? What will you gain from it? Identifying with a long-term vision of success can get you through those days when motivation feels low. It’s all about having an effective mindset.

It’s hard to look at an item and know why it is important, which is exactly why it is best to dig deep into a project. When focusing on what needs to be done, or items that need attention, turn each task into a situation where you focus on why each one needs your attention.

If you focus on specific steps for how you want things done, then you will notice if you are starting to lie about something. Be honest with yourself as much as possible when looking at a project, but especially when looking at tasks that need completion; they don’t have time for lying.

Noticing Your Successes

When you start noticing your successes, you stop focusing on your failures. Keep a daily log of everything you do well and celebrate those achievements. Set goals for each day, and do something every day that makes you proud.

It could be as simple as saying thank you to a colleague or making time for reading. Recognizing what went right that day will take your mind off other things that didn’t go so well, leading to a more productive mindset for tomorrow.

The number one thing that will help your career is noticing where you’re succeeding and giving yourself credit for it. We often think we have no success because of our misgivings about who we are and what we’re doing. But even if we’re not where we want to be, there are steps on our path that can count as success. When you find them, give yourself a pat on the back!

Start your day with a few small wins. By starting off your day with a few small successes, you’ll build on that momentum and have an easier time tackling larger tasks. Recognizing what you accomplish — even if it’s something small — will make you feel more successful for having made progress toward your goals and will encourage you to keep going forward.

Make a note of these accomplishments in your planner or journal (or just take a few seconds to think about them) when they happen, so that when 3 p.m. rolls around and you feel like quitting, you can look back at how productive (and awesome!) your day has been so far, instead of focusing on how much work is left ahead of you.

Being Gratitude-Filled

Being grateful can boost your productivity in a number of ways. It makes you more aware of what you have and thus less likely to take things for granted. Gratitude helps make you appreciate your accomplishments and feel positive about your future, which decreases stress.

Gratitude also forces you to slow down and savor good experiences, which increases happiness. Many studies have shown that people who are happy tend to be more productive than those who aren’t. It’s easy to see how being grateful could help give rise to both happiness and productivity — and maybe even their opposites: resentment and unhappiness!

If you have a positive mindset, you’re more likely to approach challenges and tasks with confidence. When your attitude is solid, it’s easier for you to work through problems and difficult circumstances.

This means that when things get tough, you won’t be afraid of failure. Instead, you will see failure as a learning experience, helping you build your skills in preparation for future success. In fact, several studies have linked positive thinking with higher job performance (Read More…)

Think about what you’re grateful for each and every day. Having a gratitude mindset boosts your energy and will help you realize that even when things don’t go as planned, there are things that you can be thankful for. Plus, if you take time out of your day to reflect on all that is good in your life, then everything else will fall into place.

No one wants to work at a job they hate, but many people do because they aren’t grateful for what they have — simply being thankful brings positivity into our lives and allows us to feel fulfilled. Be positive; surround yourself with positivity by writing down something every day that makes you happy.

Reminding Yourself of the Future Benefits

All too often, we get lost in what is immediately before us. We’re so easily distracted by texts, tweets, and TV. It doesn’t help that there are so many distractions around us. Try to remind yourself of why you wanted to be productive in the first place and remind yourself that you’ll feel great when you’ve accomplished what you set out to do.

Not only will your work be done but it will also relieve some stress off your mind. Getting things done is always a good feeling and being more productive can actually make you feel healthier as well!

When you feel tempted to slack off, remind yourself of what’s at stake and how it will benefit you in the future. For example, that report due next week might seem daunting now, but if you get started on it right away, it’ll be done with plenty of time left over for other tasks — not to mention a sense of accomplishment. It’s also important not to get discouraged when progress feels slow; remember that even steady progress is progress toward a goal.

Our minds are wired to value immediate payoffs over future rewards, which makes it hard for us to ignore instant gratification and stay focused on long-term goals. The key is to view your bigger goals as long-term rewards and think about how they’ll feel once you achieve them.

For example, if you want to save more money, start by visualizing what you’ll do with that extra cash when you finally have it — whether it’s buying a house or taking a vacation.

Spending time imagining that moment can help reinforce your motivation and keep your eye on your long-term goal. And it doesn’t hurt that actually achieving these rewards will also give you something new to look forward to!