The first week of 2018 has been productive. Towards the end of 2017 I found myself being lackadaisical, uninspired, and procrastinating the goals that I had in mind. This was a big part in my feeling down in the closing months and weeks of the year. Don’t get me wrong – the majority of the problem was pushing through and completing the first draft of my book (which I have yet to even take a look at). However, I wanted to continually exercise and do some other things business-wise, but my energy was just not there. When I came home from work I wanted to eat, play a video game, watch TV, and go to sleep. I don’t know if it’s the start of a new year that’s got me on this upswing of productivity or not, but I did watch a video by Marie Forleo that made a difference. In it, she says that she writes down all of her tasks for the day and uses check boxes to make sure she gets them all done. I’ve since adopted this method and its definitely helped. Check the clip here.
Increase Your Productivity
When I started doing this, it reminded me of when I was super productive a little over a year ago. I was exercising every day, writing every day, and just in a great space. At some point, I lost my practice of writing down everything I needed to do for the day. That’s right, I used to do exactly what Marie suggested in this video.
It’s funny how sometimes you get so comfortable in doing things a certain way that you forget that it’s a practice. It’s something that you have to do daily no matter what. When I stopped doing that, I definitely lost some productivity. Looking back, I think that it was due to my job search and subsequent hiring at the company I work at now. Through that process, I was so focused on getting a job that I left all of my other good habits by the wayside. It’s taken me until now to finally get back to a place where I feel comfortable enough with my daily routine and the amount of time I have that I can come home and do more work on my own endeavors.
If you have been lacking in productivity, I suggest you take this advice. At the end of the day, take a sheet of paper and write down your goals for the following day. As Marie says in the video, the key is “you have to do it.” Stick to it and it will eventually become a habit for you. I’m going to do my absolute best to make sure that I continue to be as productive as I am today.
