2024 : A new chapter

What I want to achieve this year..

Happy new year everyone!! May this new year bring happiness, prosperity, and health to you and your loved ones! A bit late but a sincere one nonetheless. Looking back into 2023,I have accomplished a few professional goals and fewer personal achievements. Most of the time, I procrastinated, lazed around all day long doing nothing, the only reason ever to get me out of the house was when my mother needed some groceries… Bad, right?? So this year, I plan to do everything I possibly can, to invest in myself more to make myself better.

And that is why, I plan to start working on my self development. Self development goals are very important for everyone because they are a stark remainder of not only what you are but also what you can be. If you have read my first post in medium, you will find that this blog is to help people and spread positivity. What better way to help people than boost their productivity?

Let’s start with the basics. These days, we hear the term “productivity” a lot, particularly in relation to work and business. What does really mean, though? Productivity, as defined by Britannica, is the result of what is produced divided by the amount of input needed to produce it. In other words, it assesses how we use resources like time, energy, and money in the best way to achieve our goals.

How I became more productive — a step by step look into simple change

1. I started planning my day the night before — self explanatory - when I have a weekend or holiday without anything planned, which is for most days, I would start planning out what to do on my day off before going to sleep the earlier day. This does not AND should not(in my opinion) be detailed. Why? Because we do not want to disrupt our sleep unnecessarily thinking about what minor details we have missed. Keep it brief and if you think you have so many things you can do/achieve, add them all. Might look intense, but hey, better start somewhere than circle around reaching nowhere.
2. Once you are wide awake and freshened up all ready to tackle the challenge that is ahead : accomplishing the goals you have set up, start with the first one….Wait! It’s that simple?? Honestly?? NO. This would have taken a few hours for you to start (say 2–3) after you wake up, how many times would you have looked at your mobile? if you ask me, quite a few times.. Scrolling through social media immediately after you wake up, or when you are brushing with one hand, you have a phone in another watching something amusing, or your mind might have abruptly stopped looking at some entertainment related content when you suddenly realized you are wasting time the previous day. All these thoughts start accumulating in your brain and take up the space which you could have utilized for fresh start. So, my suggestion is “take a deep breath and close your eyes and let your mind wander..” This will allow you to understand how and what your mind is craving for at that moment .If the first thought is the goals that you want to achieve for today and you are very excited to begin, then go on by all means. But there is nothing wrong if your first thought does not navigate there. Like I said in my previous post : “Baby steps, people, lead to bigger results. Instead of feeling bad, let your thoughts win. Go where it takes you, but being aware that you have an exciting and challenging day planned ahead will help you get your sidetracked mind back on track.

Photo by LUM3N on Unsplash

3. Now you can start with your goals. This I call the UFO method : “Urgent, Focus, Outcomes”. Focus on your priorities and results. What are the most important and urgent things that you need to do? if the clock is ticking, finish them first. What are the outcomes that you want to see?

4. Then comes the REPs : “ Realistic, Effort, Patience”. Whichever goals you set for yourself, make sure they are realistic and achievable. Ask yourself this, is this possible??And if your immediate answer is - of course it is! without any hesitation, start with those. When you are starting from scratch, if you see positive results at the beginning, no matter how small, they serve as a motivator for you to continue.

5. Irrespective of the difficulty of the goal, everything requires effort. So work towards it diligently and consistently.

6. And all things considered, this is one of the most important things to remember : You will not achieve perfect results in your first trial. Patience. Good things take time, and that’s a good thing too : a learning experience. Enjoy the process and you will slowly but surely see the progress you have made within few months.

Until next time, PEACE!!

P.S : Don’t forget to take a break periodically so as to let your brain process more efficiently and also have sufficient rest to continue forward.

I thought of stopping at five, and then i remembered sixth, so five is smaller :)

Do comment and let me know what are the specific subtopics or anything you would like to read and learn more about related to productivity and self development.

karthikxlucky.