30 Things I’ve Learned About Having A Productive Day

24 hours…that’s all you have. No matter how many times you hear someone wishing they had more time in the day, it’s simply impossible. In fact, it’s a waste of time to wish you had more time. Each day consists of 1,440 minutes but only some people intentionally look for the best way to spend them. They want to be able to maximize their efforts…be more productive.

A simple google search on the word productivity will bring up more than 191 million results. One reason we continue to create productivity methods is the proliferation of technology. More apps and products continue to be developed to help us focus, automate, and create.

How do we create productive days? Learn to look at the most successful, choose things from their habits that work for you, then continue to tweak until you find what works best for you.

Here are some of the ones working for me right now:

1. Sleep as much as is healthy but sacrifice if you need to achieve something
2. Plan your day the night before. Maybe not in detail, but at least do a brain dump about what you need to accomplish.
3. Wake up 2–3 hours before everyone else. You’ll get much more done without the distractions.
4. Don’t read news until at least 10 o’clock.
5. Forgive quickly. Don’t wake up with the anger from yesterday.
6. Always ask the question, “Can someone else do this, can I automate it or do I need to do it?”
7. Create a personal social media schedule. Determine when you will be on social media, why and for how long.
8. Don’t engage in useless debates or conversations. You’ve got nothing to prove.
9. Eat a great meal in the morning. Don’t wait until the end of the day.
10. Read or listen to something healthy in the morning.
11. Get rid of the clutter on your desk and in your personal space.
12. Keep work out of your bedroom, except for…well, you know.
13. Decide ONE thing you will personally improve on today.
14. Write down what went well at the end of the day.
15. Write down any breakdowns experienced.
16. Get up, stretch, and take 100 steps every 30 minutes
17. Spending 15 minutes writing down 10 ideas every day.
18. Keep it simple. Things are not as complicated as we tend to make them.
19. Choose your attitude. Don’t give anyone else permission to rule your day.
20. Intentionally connect with 5 people via email or social media.
21. Intentionally connect with 1 person on the phone for 15 minutes.
22. Check email only 3 times a day for a total of 1 hour. Try two 15 minute blocks and one 30 minute block.
23. Don’t obsess over what went wrong.
24. Be timely. Start when you say you’re going to start. Quit when you say you’re going to quit.
25. Leave some time in your day for daydreaming without punishing yourself for it. Free thinking time is healthy.
26. Recognize there isn’t a right way to do it…just a way that’s right for you.
27. Eliminate distractions…this might include some people.
28. Embrace discomfort.
29. Remember WHY you are doing this.
30. Rinse and repeat.

This list isn’t exhaustive. There are many more ideas you could try. But, remember you only have 24 hours.

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I’m Robert and I speak about leadership & communication. If you enjoyed this article, hang out with me to get more over at robertkennedy3.com. Sign up here to hang out.