Have you ever had the feeling of wanting to make the most of your day but not sure where to start? Most of our lives we might encounter stress, anxiety, and chaos which causes us to struggle to be productive. Since we have faced COVID-19 made many people start to burn out and lack being productive. This blog will share some tips and tricks to stay productive and motivated in a day. 

What is productive?

Productive is the management of priorities in life whether it’s planning work habits or doing business or in easy to say is working hard and getting good results. Each day those who are productive should be able to do something successfully in what they are scheduled to do. Many people who are able to manage their productivity can all be successful in life. For me, when it comes to living a productive life, I mean living a happy life where people have time to develop themselves and work efficiently. It’s not all about working too hard that you don’t have time to do anything else.

Characteristics of productive person

1. Has a strong work ethic — these people take their work seriously and are willing to complete tasks quickly with the best of their ability.
2. Able to follow a daily routine — Most productive people set their daily goals and follow what they had planned.
3. Set boundaries — they set boundaries between themselves and others that these boundaries could separate work and personal life.
4. Know their limits — these people get enough rest for the body, brain and mind to make them become more active. Also, do something that makes them happy in their free time.
5. Strengthen your mind on a hard day — Mental health is very important. No matter how challenging or difficult the task they have a strong mind, and can get beyond any challenge.

Why is being productive important?

Being productive is important to many aspects of life. The first thing that has a clear effect is that our stress levels will be reduced because we will be able to complete many tasks in a day without having time to rest. More than that, we will work more efficiently because we are organized to set goals to achieve and are able to perform time-consuming tasks with good results. Lastly, being productive is the key factor to success because those who are productive could improve their work-life balance and it increases free time for their priorities, such as family and personal interests.

What is toxic productivity?

Being productive can benefit people in many ways, but when they have various tasks and want to always achieve more tasks which results in having no time to rest or people who want to work all the time, which is a symptom called “workaholic”, it causes negative effects on the body and mental health. What’s worse, this is called toxic productivity, is that these people are constantly putting pressure on themselves, causing constant stress at work and not having time to bond with those close to them.

Workaholic is a term that is frequently used to describe people who have the habit of being overachievers or addicted to work, which has the behaviour of working continuously without a break and always thinking about work, even when it is not working time. This habit could be the result of a desire to succeed at work. Part of it could be due to a desire to get away from personal problems. Are you a workaholic person???u

Tips for improving productivity

1)Set up an everyday wake-up and sleep schedule and have enough rest.

The first step is to create a schedule for our wake-up times, as sleep is perhaps the most essential component of our lives. Famous people around the world or researchers, Motivation Speakers, including psychologists or experts In terms of self-improvement, they all cite this as the most important thing. That means managing your sleep and waking hours well. It must also be enough per day as well. Because good sleep is a solid foundation and helps our bodies respond better to our needs.

2) Set a goal

Improving yourself is like relighting the fire that burns within you. To be like driving fuel per day, “Set Goal” or aiming to do at least one thing per day, not necessarily a job but it could be about food or your own health. However, the goal that must be accomplished and completed must be followed until we complete our mission

Creating a To Do List ahead of time, similar to cooking. You should plan your meals before going to the market. so that raw materials can be purchased precisely and adequately. Compared to when we study or work isn’t all that different. Set aside 20-30 minutes on Friday to create a to-do list of tasks or projects for the following week. You’ll know what to do first once you’ve made a list and set a deadline.

According to Timo Kinder of Lifehack, a good To Do List should include the following items: 

Balance – There is a good mix of small and large jobs. 

Sufficient flexibility – If you plan on doing this project but don’t. Is there a support system in plan?

Transition period – It takes time to switch from one task to another. Allow some time 

You don’t have to do everything in one day – set your priorities correctly. 

Build a shield – the more projects The more work there is Investigate our limits for yourself. (Another simple method is to highlight the day’s final task. After that, you are no longer required to add tasks for yourself.)

3) Use social networks when necessary.

Some people may be studying or working and a notification will pop up on their phone and make that person check and when checking from one app it will go on and on. Knowing again, it’s already been an hour. Resulting in regret that the time wasted instead of completing the work quickly as scheduled, causing the work to be completed later than before

If we can reduce our use of social networks, our life will be more productive, and there are many ways to help us. For example, use the app lock to prevent us from accessing social networks for a certain time, limit the time of mobile use, turn off all notifications except really important apps. Look at your weekly smartphone usage data to see if you can really reduce your social media addiction. 

Example of productive activities in the free time:

1.Do some spring cleaning – you might get bored when you think that you have to do some task at home but I recommend you to start organizing your home in your own style that makes you feel happy. Especially in your working space, this might help you to be able to be in a positive and productive space that makes you want to work more.

2.Learn a new skill – use the time to develop more skills! You might learn something that will boost your résumé or pick up a hobby you’ve always wanted to try. For example, you love to watch Korean series where there are foods and sweets in the series that makes you savoury and want to try that dish. These little sparks that you like could be a hobby for you to learn how to cook a new dish.

3.Try a variety of exercises – Exercise creates concentration, and it also reduces stress as well. You might think getting out of bed and going to the gym is so boring but try out a variety of exercises that make you feel fun. For example, try flying yoga instead of normal yoga. Or try getting a dancing lesson that might help you have fun on exercise and also motivate you to go to workout.

Tips: If you are another person who doesn’t like exercising alone, try inviting your friends to move your body together. Nowadays, there are tons of great Workout clips available to watch for free. Exercising via Zoom or Google Hangouts is just as fun as going to class!

In conclusion, when we wish to change ourselves into a productive person we first need to do it from the heart. Mental toughness is one of the most important qualities of successful and productive people. The challenges that life provides are not a reason for worry or discouragement. Includes being forceful and genuinely dedicated to the objective

“Changing yourself isn’t difficult, If our hearts are ready to fight with it”

—Me, Pizhamon Watanasirichaikul

Now I’d love to hear from you guys!! From the quiz, how productive are you? or which strategy from today’s article will you use first? Let me know in the comments!