As our month-long productivity series draws to a close, I wanted to leave you with some expert advice other than my own. I turned to some of the most productive people I know and asked…
“Only write down 3 tasks per day to accomplish. Keep them on the small-medium size. Then, by the end of the week, look at the progress you’ve made! (versus writing “finish course” + wanting to run away screaming by the week’s end!)” — Michelle Lewis, Visibility Vixen
“To be productive, focus on one thing at a time. Do not multi-task. To learn to focus deeper and longer, I have worked with an Interactive Metronome, Neuro Feedback, and daily meditation. I did the Metronome under the guidance of a licensed Speech Pathologist and Neuro Feedback through a neuropsychologist trained at Stanford. Both processes took roughly twenty hour-long sessions. In each case, I saw a dramatic jump in focus and productivity, but especially with Neuro Feedback. I went from writing a novel in roughly eighteen months to sometimes writing three a year. At that pace, I have found that daily meditation helps to quiet the chatter I don’t want in my noggin when I’m writing full out.” — Mark Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author
“My number one tip for increasing productivity is to set time aside for deep work. We all have 25,000 things going on, not to mention the distractions of email, social media, Slack, colleagues, the phone, meetings, and more. It’s impossible to get real work done when we’re that distracted. With the exception of Mondays (when I try to do most of my meetings), I set aside at least one two or three hour block every day to focus on deep work that requires my devoted attention. It’s what’s afforded me to build and grow two businesses and still have time to race my bicycle and raise a small child.” — Gini Dietrich, CEO of Arment Dietrich and founder and author of Spin Sucks
“I use a paper planner, sync a digital planner across various devices, automate as much of my workflow as is possible, but my #1 productivity hack is much less obvious:
Find a good house cleaning service. Pay them well so they treat you right. You can be 1000x more productive on the job when you’re not worried that your house is going to hell. It’s easier for me to decompress in a tidy home, and when I’m done with work, I feel okay about going to the gym, spending time in my garden, or taking my kids out for ice cream. All of this makes it easier to hit it hard during my 9-5 (and squeeze in a few extra hours on my side hustle each week).” — Melissa Jo Hill, Digital Strategist
Have your own productivity trick to share? Feel free to share it in the comments! And don’t forget to download your free productivity kit:
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