This blog post isn’t just directed towards being more productive writing or reading wise, but how to be more productive in every aspect of your life. These tips can be applied to your personal or work life, and will help you achieve more each day!

Step 1: Planning

• Brainstorm All Your To-Dos – Grab a piece of paper and a pen and write down everything you want to accomplish either today or this week. Don’t worry about the order of “most important to least important”, just get all your to-dos on paper so you can see them.
• Organize To-Dos Based on Feeling and Deadlines – Deadlines are important, but if you force yourself to complete tasks you really don’t want to do, your productivity levels will only go down. Of course, if it is something you have to get done, then do it, but if you can complete your to-dos based on what you feel like. You will be surprised at how much you will accomplish.
• Create Smaller Lists – Once you have organized your to-dos based on feeling and deadline, separate these tasks into smaller lists for each day. If you look down and have a massive to-do list for only one day, it will be daunting and might even make you anxious to begin. So, only tackle the things that are due that day or the next, meaning that each day will only consist of a few tasks.

Step 2: Tasking

• Work Your Way Down Your List – Now it is a time to actually start being productive. Pick an item off the list that you feel like doing, or maybe really, really need to do, and do it. Don’t think about it because then you might end up talking yourself out of that task, or losing any trace of motivation you once had to do it.
• Take Breaks – The last thing we need is to burn out after being super productive (or not), so it is important to take breaks. Maybe you work better in shorter sprints of work, and if so, think about taking a 5-minute break every 20 minutes. If you are like me and work better in the longer sessions, take a 10-minute break every 45 minutes to an hour. This will reduce the risk of burn out and you will be able to continue being productive!
• Reward Yourself – If you had a lot of things on your to-do list and you accomplished most of them, if not all, reward yourself! Some days it is hard to complete even one or two things on your list, so relish the days that are a success. After a while, this will train your mind to get excited, or at least motivated, to tackle your to-do list with the idea that something will be waiting for you at the end. Some examples of rewards that I choose are:
  • 30-60 minutes of TV or reading time
  • A coffee or tea
  • A longer break of doing nothing

Those are my tips for being more productive, and I hope you enjoyed! Don’t forget to check out my last blog posts and also follow me on social media so I can follow you back 🙂

Last Blog Post: May 2018 TBR

Other Places You Can Find Me:

Twitter:@zoermathers

Instagram: @zoematherswrites

Tumblr: @zoematherswrites

Pinterest: @zoermathers