Have you ever looked at the clock and thought, “What have I even accomplished today?”
You’ve been busy all day long, yet when you go back to your to-do list, you find that there are a bunch of items that still need to be ticked off. We’ve all been there! That’s why I’ve dedicated this post to helping you make your day successful with my top three tips to become a productive powerhouse.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed if we want to accomplish big things (and we should!), but it’s important to remember the big picture. Often times, we get caught up worrying about things that won’t matter in the long run.
My husband gave me some of the greatest advice when I was working my most stressful job: “just do your best and forget the rest.” Worrying does not get us closer to what we want in life, it only holds us back in a dark place.
I’ve put together a few of my favorite tips and tricks to being super productive while still staying sane!
1. Write down your goals on one piece of paper and then break them down into manageable mini-goals.
Sometimes we get so excited to write down our big-picture goals that we forget that we have to continually plan the process to which we can achieve them. This means that your goals should be broken down into smaller, more manageable goals. We can call them mini-goals.
These mini-goals, no matter how small, are going to help us achieve the big-picture goal that we’ve been dreaming of. Some of these goals may seem too easy, and that’s entirely okay! You’re going to gain momentum by ticking off these small goals and they are going to add up to major progress.
You’re always just one small victory away from achieving your biggest goals!
Ex. One of your goals is to get more traffic to your blog. This can be a daunting task with something this broad if you were to put it on your to-do list. Let’s break it down into manageable mini-goals!
Gain More Traffic to My Blog
Go through blog posts to be sure they are SEO-ready
Leave comments on other blogger’s websites (bloggers support bloggers!)
Create (or make it better) a Pinterest strategy
Join a Facebook Group for Bloggers
This breakdown makes it a lot easier to see what you need to do to gain traffic to your blog. This could definitely be broken down even further. Too much of our lives are complicated and out of control, let’s make achieving our goals as simple as possible.
2. Be super-specific on your to-do list.
Now that we’ve mentioned a little bit about mini-goals and making your big-picture goals more manageable, it’s time to take a look at your to-do list. What items do you see? Are these items too broad? Maybe they’re super specific?
Always, always, always go for being super specific! Be so specific that you know exactly what you’re doing and when you’re doing it.
This helps you to cut out any anxious thoughts, if you’re like me, and tend to get concerned when you don’t have a plan in place. For example, you might write down “Write a productivity blog post from 2-3 p.m.”
What if you broke that goal down into smaller, more manageable steps that would streamline the activities involved in creating the blog post?
(2-3 p.m.) Write a productivity blog post.
2:00 p.m. Create a catchy blog post title
2:10 p.m. Think of three items that you want to convey to your audience
2:20 p.m. Begin writing your blog post
2:40 p.m. Read over your post and edit as necessary
2:50 p.m. Add any images or links you’d like to add to the post
3:00 p.m. Take a break!
There’s so much more to actually writing a blog post, but this works for the sake of our example. Breaking your goal down into mini-goals helps you to utilize your time efficiently and get things done (a.k.a helps you become a productive powerhouse)!
3. Get rid of distractions.
This post would not be complete without mentioning to get rid of distractions! You cannot expect to become a productive powerhouse if you spend all of your time multitasking social media channels (I know, it’s hard!).
It’s so easy to get caught up in your Instagram feed or endless scrolling through Facebook, but is it helping you achieve your goals? Chances are, probably not.
It’s important to focus on your goals daily and your time is valuable – so put away your phone, close tabs of social media on your desktop, and start inching your way closer to your dreams.
This doesn’t mean that you don’t need to take a break though! I like to work for an hour straight on a particular item, and then take a five-to-ten minute break to reset before going to the next task.
I truly hope these three tips to become a productive powerhouse will help you on your journey to achieving your goals! Remember, you can do absolutely anything you set your mind to!
Let’s Chat!
What are some of your goals for this year?
Have you tried breaking them down into mini-goals?
What are some of your tips and tricks for accomplishing your goals?
frankie birdger says
I adore this post! So many good tips!
https://www.dxsired.co.uk
Make Life Marvelous says
Thanks so much, Frankie!! I’m so happy you dropped by! 🙂
These are great tips. I totally agree that it’s important to get specific… And distractions are the things that kill our productivity right?? That’s always what I come back to time and time again. Cut out those distractions.
Thanks so much, Julie! Yes, I totally agree. Sometimes they are the most difficult to cut out, but definitely well worth it to accomplish our goals and get things done. 🙂
I totally needed this, I’m such a procrastinator! I think being super specific is exactly what I need as I definitely forget what I was meant to be doing!
Rachel | Teacups & Tartan
I can relate, Rachel! You can do it! It makes things so much easier and really gives you momentum by checking off all of these small tasks that end up creating big results.
Love these tips girl! I’ve always been a stickler for writing down my goals, and being as specific as I can be. It really helps me focus!
Ashlee | https://www.maybeafterbrunch.com
I’m with you, Ashlee! It really helps a ton! 🙂
Yes! I love these tips! I follow something similar and they have made my days so productive!
http://www.rdsobsessions.com
Thanks, Rach! 🙂 That’s wonderful!
Busy and productive are two VERY different things which I don’t think everyone realises! I always make to-do lists and write EVERYTHING on them, even the super tiny things x
You are so right!! Sometimes we think they go hand in hand, but they are very different. I love that, Jenny! It sounds like you’re doing amazing! 🙂
Yes, yesss!! To all of these – these are such great tips and one’s I’ve started to add into my own work day and it’s truly made all the difference!! Hope you’re having a wonderful & productive week!! xo
http://www.veronikanovotny.com (life + style blog)
So happy to hear that, Veronica!! 🙂 I hope you have an amazing week!
I love these tips! I started working for myself and without these, I wouldn’t go anywhere!
Keep doing a great job!
xoxo
Kate | https://sparkleandthecity.com
Thanks so much, Kate! That means so much! 🙂 I’m so happy to hear that!!
It’s the distractions part that gets me! Heh. Great list.
It gets us all, Ros! We just have to hang in there and keep working to get better at eliminating them. 🙂
This has been a really wonderful post. Thank you for providing these details.
Nahid | https://bestclicknow.com
Thanks so much for reading! 🙂