In my previous blog post, I told you that we are the sum of our habits. We do a lot of things rarely, some things often, and some every day.
These daily habits can make all the difference in your life. It’s the small habits that ultimately lead to a better way of life. You’ll have more in your life than you’d otherwise.
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now — Chinese proverb.
Think about a productive person in your life: perhaps your father, mother, brother, or sister — whoever it may be. Ask yourself when they became so productive.
If they’re still alive, you should ask them! You might get the answer, “I’ve always been this way, This is who I am.” Or maybe they’ll give you another answer. Perhaps your father would say, “I’ve been reading my Pareto’s and seeing what I can do to improve upon our family’s income.”
In either case, it may be true that they were always productive or that they read their Pareto and saw improvement in their life.
It would help if you never relied on habits you’ve always had — i.e., the patterns of your father.
Your habits need to be constantly improved to continue growing and improving. Therefore, it’s best to start with those things you want to do more of.
In this case, you should start with your Small Habits Plan.
Small habits can lead to significant, profitable patterns!
Below are five small habits that will help you become more productive.
1. Read 2.5 hours a day
This is one of the best small habits to get into because it can truly change your life. Reading allows you to learn new things, keep up with the world, and think about new ideas.
Reading allows us to open our minds and discover new ways of thinking and being.
This can make us more creative, resourceful, and inventive in all parts of our lives.
3 Simple Steps to Reading More Books:
- Set a goal of reading for 1.5 hours per day.
- Make a list of books you wish to read and get them, or you can read blogs on medium.
- Read 30 minutes in the morning, 30 minutes at lunch, and 30 minutes before bedtime. This can give you the recommended reading time per day! (or more, depending on your schedule).
This may seem like a lot of time, mainly if you’re not used to reading. Don’t worry; the more you read, the more you want to read.
Based on my experience, it gets addicting after a while, and you’ll be thinking of all the books you want to read!
It’s important to start small so that there is room to improve. The key is to start reading every day, a habit you can’t break.
2. Meditate: 30 minutes a day
Think about all the benefits of meditation. It affects our mood, our outlook, and our conduct. This is why it’s essential to read more books and meditate. The short time you get in a day allows us to accomplish this task easily.
Most people think meditation is hard to do and takes a long time. They might give up, considering this isn’t for me.
The truth is that meditation doesn’t take long at all, and it can do wonders in just a couple of minutes!
A simple method of meditation to try:
- Put on quiet music (I would recommend classical music).
- Sit in a very comfortable chair and close your eyes.
- Take five deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.
- Take 2–3 minutes to focus on something.
- Do another five deep breaths in and out.
- When you’re finished, open your eyes and get back to work!
This will only take a few minutes of your time, and it’s very relaxing. This can help clear your mind, relieve stress, and focus better throughout the day.
Doing this right after you wake up would be best because you’ll feel more energized. It’s also a great way to start your morning routine!
3. Do More of the Things You Love
It’s much easier to focus on the things you love than on the things you don’t love.
This is why I’m sure you don’t want to spend time doing stuff you aren’t passionate about.
Doing this will make it much easier to perform at your best regardless of the situation or task at hand.
There are many ways that we can make time for ourselves in addition to our work and family obligations. If you don’t have enough time, it’s essential to start making time.
If you spend more than 30 minutes a day doing something that you love, then there is no reason why you should ever stop! This will allow you to get the things that need to be done while still giving yourself that extra energy and motivation to continue growing in your own life!
4. Focus on One Task: Use the Pomodoro Technique
Spending 5 minutes a day is an easy way to live a productive life.
Five minutes may not sound like much time, but it’s much more than you think.
I know that, as humans, we can get distracted very quickly, especially when we have many things to do in one day! This is why it’s crucial that you only do one thing at a time.
You should also know that completing a task (like writing an article or a blog post) can help motivate you with other duties such as reading and meditating. This is because reading and meditation can help relieve stress and make you happy.
That’s why doing only one task at a time is essential. This will allow you to double your functions within 25 minutes! It’s best to tackle the more manageable workload first and then move on to the more complex tasks.
The best way to do this would be with a tool called IFTTT (If This, Then That).
IFTTT allows you to create recipes that can make your life easier. It’s straightforward to use, and you can make these recipes according to your needs. These IFTTT recipes will help you gain more time and productivity throughout your day.
5. Last but not least: Limit Your Social Media
Social media can sometimes be very addicting. It’s hard to walk away from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram because we want to see what others are doing in their lives.
People tend to overuse social media because it’s become so easy and accessible that people don’t realize how much time they waste!
Social media is good in moderation. This is why limiting yourself to fewer than a couple of minutes per site every few hours is essential.
You should limit yourself to no more than 5 minutes per side because the time will quickly pass by, and you’ll be unable to focus.
I recommend limiting yourself to 5 minutes per side before bed. Limiting yourself to no more than 20 sites is also good, so you’re not constantly on your phone throughout the day.
I hope these simple steps will help you become more productive throughout your day! It would help if you tried any of the strategies that help maximize time and focus. It’s also essential that you try any of the systems at least once. A lot of people try and fail but never attempt to succeed!
It’s challenging to change your habits, but it’s doable! You have to start and don’t stop until you get the desired results! I hope these tips will help you live a more productive life and have more time for yourself.
—
This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
***
You may also like these posts on The Good Men Project:
White Fragility: Talking to White People About Racism | Escape the “Act Like a Man” Box | The Lack of Gentle Platonic Touch in Men’s Lives is a Killer | What We Talk About When We Talk About Men |
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: Shutterstock