Hey guys, I wanted to start this thread to gather some ideas on how we can increase our productivity to hit our goals sooner.
I think we all know this: You are super hyped to get to work and work your ass off for a few days, maybe even a few weeks. But sooner or later, you start loosing motivation and stop giving it your all.
"It’s fine, I can take a quick break and continue later" "I’ve been working so hard lately, why don’t I reward myself for a change?"
These are things we’ve all likely told ourselves in these situations to justify our laziness. Enough of this. I have sworn myself that this will not happen to me again. Never. And I want to make sure you guys aren’t sucked in by the hole of procrastination ever again.
I’m going to list a few things that I feel like are really important for increased productivity. Feel free to add your $0.02 and I will add good suggestions to this collection:
You need to create a certain level of urgency! Remind yourself of what you’re trying to do and what you’re doing it for every single day. Make it a part of your routine. Do it before you go to bed or after you wake up, it doesn’t matter. Make sure to set yourself goals to ensure that urgency is present. If you want to hit a goal real bad by a certain point in time you don’t have any time to waste. Urgency.
Something that I started doing over the past 2 weeks is planning out the next day before going to bed. By doing this, you don’t waste any time “brainstorming” your next task or looking through social media trying to come up with ideas since you have a plan and a schedule you’re sticking to. When you complete a task you simply move on to the next one.
This has had some amazing effects in my life, it has been incredible. I am literally getting everything I used to get done in a day done a lot faster and am having “trouble” filling up the spare time with extra tasks. This is a situation you want to be in since it leads to you innovating every day due to all the extra time
These are my 2 most important tips when it comes to increasing productivity. I would love to hear what you guys have to add! Let’s gather our thoughts and long live MPSocial!
Having small and REALISTIC deadlines help me a lot, making deadlines to “tight” will easily stress me out and/or let me fall behind my schedule giving me less motivation.
I agree - that’s the beauty of planning 1 day in advance since you know what you can get done on the next day realistically and can make sure your day is productive but doesn’t stress you out
In the end a lot is about personal preference and what works for your mind - it’s not the same for everyone
For me it’s just about having clarity when I actually am working, and also structuring my day in detail.
Clarity is achieved with 5 minutes of meditation daily, along with 1 hour of reading.
I plan my whole day the night before in as much detail as possible, this often looks like: Coffee, Stretch, Meditate, Shower, Check VPS, Read, Eat, Coffee, ‘Whatever work I need to get done’, Gym, ‘More work’ and slowly tail off towards around 6-8pm…
I really underestimated the impact reading & detailed scheduling would have on my overall effectiveness!
Funny enough, my recent increase in productivity has come from working less to some extent.
Purposely setting aside free time and working less hours.
Basically before, I’d be working around anywhere from 7-9+ hours a day ( I was broke and hungry) and even in my “free time” I was doing light work like data entry, editing etc. This is cool and all, but it started causing a serious mental burnout for me. I then tested and found my optimal time to be around 5 - 6 hrs of actual productive work as anything after that and I’m just zoned out and fluffing around feeling busy, but not actually doing anything of significance. I also changed my free time activities to more fun, relaxing stuff.
Extension of the above, I started outsourcing more, which has helped immensely!
I now use the shit out of Fiverr for those light work tasks I mentioned and more. Data entry, VA tasks, editing, copywriting, all that good stuff. Before I was concerned with saving every penny I could and my reasoning was why pay someone to do something I can do. But have since changed my way of thinking (thanks Dan Lok) and realized it’s more of an investment, as the time I used to do those micro, light tasks are better spent focusing on the macro stuff I’m actually good at. I guess time really is money .
100%, I really like meditating too although I definitely don’t do it as often as I would like to/should.
I do exactly the same thing I also really like planning out my work in detail since it helps a lot to get a task done efficiently.
100%. I was so surprised in the past couple of days when for the first time in months I had no idea what other tasks I could do. I then use this time to develop new ideas/strategies and execute. That’s another opportunity I wouldn’t have had without planning.
Very interesting! I personally feel like setting aside free time is crucial too, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that working less hours is the way to go for me. I would rather work 10hrs/day and make my dream a reality sooner than doing it later. But again, it’s a personal choice
Increasing my productivity was a way for me to fit more work in the same amount of time. This is really crucial for me since I still go to school and don’t always have the luxury of working more than 6 hours a day. Maybe this is why I haven’t experienced what you’re describing yet.
Do you do this full time?
I completely agree - that’s the right mindset. Why waste time on something that you can pay $3/hr for However I still hesitate with outsourcing certain tasks if they are very expensive to outsource.
Loving this conversation - if you’re reading this why not share some of your experience with the community?
A structured day through a morning routine just after getting up and an evening routine before going to bed.
Morning routine: make bed, drink half a liter of water with vitamin D, brush teeth, cold shower and my favorite music (techno, hardstyle) to get me into the right flow, black coffee, meditate, read 30 min, watch my vision board and my goals edit or add new destinations, plan my day (with Google Calendar) I do not do a simple to do list, but set fixed time slots for certain tasks, I also sort my tasks according to priorities, to do a lot does not mean that I have to do the important thing, then I start working
Evening routine: brush teeth, read 30 min, write down 5 things (successful tasks, decisions, successes) of the day, write down 5 things that I am grateful for, hear sleep hypnosis and fall asleep (yes, you do not necessarily need Weed )
Not to mention sports, whether fitness, team sports or going for a walk, the main thing is exercise. For us Digital Junkies especially important. Exercise activates the body, and the body activates the mind.
Lmao at (weed) line I use weed as a resort to fall asleep on command way too much and I think this is also hendering my ability create a proper sleep/wake schedule which in turn makes my whole day a little structured at times bc my wake and sleep times always very but I’m definitely gonna try some of these hacks you mentioned And others. It’s very inspiring seeing all you guys have these productive schedules too get stuff done bc as someone with horrible anxiety and adhd I get overwhelmed so fast to the point where it’s hard to get stuff done[
Indeed this was me in the beginning too. But after a while with a lot of introspection, I just found that I wasn’t actually working in the last 2 or so hours of my work if that makes sense. I found that I more so just going through the motions but not concentrating and actually being productive. Kinda like running out of mental fuel. Of course, this is all personal .
Now I just get some reading in those last hours (non fiction, self improvement books) if anything.
Haha actually very relatable, as this was the same for me while I was in college before I dropped out and went full time. So maybe yes.
Yeah I assume to some extent it’s normal that we all have a cautious voice in the back of mind when it comes to the more expensive, specialized work. Sometimes I’d spend hours going through different freelancers and their reviews, experience, past work etc before decision to pick about 3 favorites and test them. Guess it is what it is .
Loving the urgency point, it purifies your task list.
For me though, I’ve found that energy and motivation levels simply fluctuate outside of my control. When I’m at 100% and giving it all I got, I feel great. But some days I just simply can’t reach that level no matter how hard I try. The best way to deal with it so far seems to do my best and not stress about only working with 70%. It’s still better than nothing, and being relaxed about it helps me get back on track sooner.
Obviously, being at 100% every day is the dream, not sure how achievable is it though.
Urgency is really a Pusher and you’ll do it faster.
What I always ask myself while Planning is what is the actual Problem? And what would be the solution/result? Then find a way and do it, so you have a result.
Focus on the Problem and it will bring you the Solution.
We always love to find solutions! So you need to ask what the Problem is?
Also I focus to do 1 big task a day, those small things you don’t really have to plan, like drinking coffee etc.
Also you are more productive without drugs, coffee and smoke most of time, because dispite of the small push it drains your energy. Meditation for 5-10 min works best for me.
Also if you need a creative solution you could meditate more then 10 min.
Even to the point like Dr. Dispenza promotes it, where it is a real transcendend state like with ayahuasca or dmt… but that is only for vision finding or to heal yourself, find bigger awnsers etc.
Else look what you eat. the Fresher the better should be the rule and not too much.
Everyone should do what is best for them. I myself have not had good experiences with Weed. Everyone reacts differently.
I’m a personal trainer and I rarely use and recommend any supplements, just a healthy and balanced diet with real foods. Vitamin D, however, is very helpful, depending on which zone of the world you are in. I live in Central Europe and there you get, especially in winter, too little sunlight. Sunlight is very important for plants, animals and humans, as we absorb vitamin D through it. It has many advantages. Prevents colds and other diseases and improves performance. Many people are probably familiar with winter tiredness. This is past with vitamin D. There are many good studies on vitamin D, if you want to know more about it.
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However I still hesitate with outsourcing certain tasks if they are very expensive to outsource.
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