A productive person has things going for him/her, has more time for himself/herself, and the rewards are disproportionate to the efforts put in. Life becomes easier and smoother, and everything falls into place.

Focus on what is essential; cut out the trivial stuff.

Keep the essential tasks for the time slot when you are full of energy.

Identify the 3 to 5 most important “to get done tasks for the day,” arrange them by priority, and tick them off when you do them. Even if you get two tasks done, you are on your way to progress. Please avoid more than five tasks to get done. You would end up doing nothing. When you put things down on paper, you would have the clarity as to what you need to do. “Think on paper.” Mornings immediately after waking up are ideal for high energy output.

Use the Do – Delegate – Defer – Dump method- “the formula” for everything you do.

If you can do something which doesn’t take time, but is essential, do it immediately (as it is crucial, you may still have to do it soon). Something is not vital, still needs to get done, and you have someone to help out – delegate it. If it is important, and you have the time to do it, defer it; set a reminder. If it is not essential and doesn’t make any difference to your productivity, dump it. Be careful; categorize correctly. Do not discard the crucial things which can come back and bite you later.

So, to become more productive, a few simple steps you could take would be to focus on what is important, and work in time slots (ideally a one-hour slot with 15 minutes rest afterward).

The benefits of being more productive are:

1. You would streamline your life.

2. You would be stress-free.

3. You would have more free time for yourself and your family.

4. You would earn more.

5. You would have peace of mind.

If the above benefits don’t motivate you to take action in a relaxed manner, what else would?

The baby steps you take today would lead to a bigger, better you, tomorrow.

Article By: Sandeep Gopinath Menon