How to be effortlessly productive?

What does it mean to be Productive? Is there a difference between being productive vs. being busy and could we ever effortlessly achieve productivity? The Era in which we live pushes us to create more, to produce more, and we live tired lives trying to overachieve.

Today I will touch on different points of view over productivity and ultimately provide an insight to creating a life where we are higher producers with less effort and more meaningful lives.

Busy vs. Productive

Busy vs. Productive

It is crucial to explain the difference between a busy person and a productive person. We can have hectic schedules with 20 things to do in a day with a long list of To Do’s, but does that mean being productive? Busy doesn’t always mean productive, you can be busy all day, yet get nowhere.

The main difference is that busy people have goals, while productive people have priorities. While a busy person is trying to achieve multiple goals at the same time, a productive person only has one priority at a time. Do ONE thing only, which also means, no multitasking.

If that’s the case, then what is the real definition of a productive person? The actual definition of Human productivity is the amount of output a worker generates in a given period.

Our system pushes people to be busy, to produce paramount work each day in our lives. Nonetheless, in a real productive individual, there is no multitasking. Why? can you read 5 books at the same time and say you know them all? When you multitask you do not give complete focus to a specific task, in the end, the product produced will be deficient. This goes to job performance, personal life tasks, etc.

Another factor is Busy people will always say yes to everything, while productive people will almost always say no, as it has to first measure the priorities suited for that day. In other terms, they don’t go out of balance.

80-20% Law

80%-20% LAW

The 80-20% Law also known as the Pareto Principle states that 80% of outcomes (output) come from 20% of causes( inputs). In other words, the best assets, do not come from the 80%, but rather the 20% input.

How can we apply this to productivity?

We have to focus our attention, on that 20% asset. Each day we have to only prioritize the things that will help us achieve the Day. One way of accomplishing this is by having only 3 priorities per day on your “To-do list”. If we give too much of our energy and attention to too many things at once, we will not know the value of our 20% effort and not reach our top productivity potential.

I will give you a few blueprints to be more productive, without being busy, and better yet, do it effortlessly.

Effortless Productivity Blue Print

Doing Less and Achieving More

“Having less in your life will give you, Clarity, Creation and Production”.

If we reduce the amount of things “to do” we will have more time to have clarity on what is important to us and what we want to achieve. This can even be broken down into 24 hours a day. If I were to ask you, what would make you satisfied in one day, write down your list. When it’s done, so is your day. You’ve achieved clarity created and produced your satisfaction for the day. This can be replicated for your entire life.

“Look at the pace we are going at”.

People tend to push their limits and burn out quickly, this is known as the Boom Bust approach. It doesn’t allow the individual to ever reach their goals. When pacing at the same level, whether good or bad.. you do not burn out. You achieve your “progress every day without particular effort”.

The way to create this effortless productivity is by having a minimum -maximum bound. You set yourself for what would be the minimum bound for a particular task. What is the minimum acceptance? Say you are trying to meditate, and your minimum bound is 1 minute, while your maximum bound is 5 minutes. Done like this, helps you stay on course without the burnout of pushing yourself beyond the limits.

To achieve this the following:

Time Management

How to Create Time Management

So many things imply time management. To create management in our time, we have to first have habits and discipline when scheduling our days, weeks, months or years. We have to create a habit, where we do it consistently. The discipline helps in knowing the importance of repetition.

Create a Deadline

Having a deadline will keep you focused on when your task needs to be done, it will help you prioritize appropriately and help you achieve your maximum goal without burnout. You understand what is due and when.

Create an Accountability Chart

This specifies what does when. If we leave things to be done whenever, but there is no accountability, chances are, we will not get it done, or get it done later than it should have. By having an accountability chart, will help us see clearly what we did with our time, how it was used, and what was achieved. This will be an asset to evaluating our work consistently.

Stop Multi-tasking

It’s been stressed out in the article over and over the need to stop doing multiple things at a time. We go further than that, break down into tiny bites of tasks per day and achieve one at a time. Breaking it down into time sessions will help you achieve more, with less effort and more efficiency. If possible, prepare your tasks the night before. This will allow you to thoroughly think of the things you can and will do, and remove the nonsense tasks that are not a priority.

It is helpful to understand the difference between busy and proactive and even more effortless proactivity. Who doesn’t want to achieve more in less time or effort? It is crucial to look at the pace we are going, are we rushing, running, pushing and burning out quickly? or are we moving at a sustainable pace in the long run? It is important to also remember that more doesn’t mean better. Creating a strategic schedule with 3 top priorities is better than a list of 20 items that will not get done. Be intentional to have less in your life, to focus on the right things, that will help you achieve your ultimate goals in life.