Staying productive versus staying busy is oftentimes walking a fine line. Productivity is the act of accomplishing tasks, while being busy is the act of doing as much as you can in a given time frame (without giving your full attention to the task at hand). The two are often confused, but they’re not the same by any means. We are all guilty of engaging in unproductive behaviors from time to time – which is normal. We are not robots. But when we really want to move up in life, change for the better, or just get things done, productivity is a key ingredient to our accomplishment.

We need to take a step back and look at our lives, our habits, and our goals. Look at your day, and figure out what you can do to change it, in order to become more productive. Tell me, what is the first thing you think about when you wake up? Better yet – what’s the first thing you do? If it’s getting on social media, please, recognize that you’re putting yourself in a reactive state of mind instead of a proactive state. Productivity is meant to be helpful, not a nuisance. 

Schedule Your Success

First, take a look at your schedule and see if there are any times you can do a different activity. For example, if you have free time in the morning, you can meditate or exercise instead of checking your phone. If you have free time at night, you can read a book or take a walk instead of watching TV. In this way, you are staying productive and also improving your health!

Overwhelmed With Options

Second, try not to take on too much at once. This is a common pitfall for people who struggle with being productive. They are so overwhelmed with the to-do list that they don’t even know where to start. According to a Forbes research study  – multitasking can hurt your productivity by 40%? Instead of taking on the entire world at once, break it down into manageable chunks. Ask yourself, “What’s the first thing I can do? What’s the next thing? And so on.” When you accomplish these smaller goals, you will feel like you’ve accomplished something, and that will give you the motivation to continue.

Distractions are Dangerous

Third, get rid of distractions! This applies especially to social media. One of the biggest productivity killers is social media. It has become so ingrained into our culture that it’s hard to get away from it. You need to give yourself time to be unplugged. Keeping our attention on something for all hours of the day is draining (and that’s an understatement). Our lens into the world is tinted by what we’re consuming, whether that be media, our beliefs, our environment, our experiences, the list goes on! So take a break from the media and give yourself some time to reflect.

My Final Thoughts For You

There are many other ways you can stay productive, but it all starts with stopping to look at your life and see what needs to change. I recently wrote a post explaining 4 genius tips to having a mindset geared for productivity. If you want to accomplish your goals, then it’s time for you to take action and get productive! Obviously, I’m not only talking about your professional life – in fact, I’m more so focused on what you do outside of that. Those actions are the most important for your present and future self.