Many people associate productivity with “getting more done”. But this doesn’t make sense for a simple reason: the amount of things we could do is unlimited, so getting more done just leads to trying to get even more done and constantly feeling like there is yet more to do.

Instead, becoming more productive is a three-fold path:

1. Decide what is important and don’t get distracted.

Decline or delegate the rest if you can — even if many of those things sound like fun. You’ll do a substandard job on everything if you spread yourself too thin and end up exhausted.

2. Work out a routine and rhythm that suits your disposition.

Everyone has a particular manner of working that suits the grain of their brain, and going with it makes everything easier. I work best in the early morning, in two hour chunks with half hour breaks (ideally with a walk) in between, so I try to schedule my day accordingly.

3. Establish a cadence or work rate that is sustainable.

I know that I can only concentrate hard for 4-5 hours a day (with breaks) so I don’t try to exceed that. Some people might be able to do more, others less, it doesn't matter. The key is to discover and stick to a pace that you can continue indefinitely. Anything worth doing is likely to be a long term commitment — attempting to sprint a marathon is a bad idea!

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