It can be challenging to stay motivated, but if you follow these 7 productivity hacks you will feel more inspired even on your laziest of days.
In today’s fast-paced world, it is nearly impossible to not think about productivity. We hear it at our jobs, in our homes, and all over social media. What if there was a way to maximize productivity and minimize stress? You need to try these 7 productivity hacks.
If you are anything like me, I’m sure you are sick of having your motivation to be productive sky rocket one day and plummet the next. We hear it all the time: consistency is key. Yet, why it is so hard to be consistent?! Motivational YouTube channels, TikTok videos, and Spotify podcasts weren’t cutting it anymore. I needed to create my own productivity system to follow!
You are going to be a pro in productivity by the time you finish reading this. From the planners to the habit trackers, I am sharing all of my tools with you.
This post is all about the 7 productivity hacks that every person should try.
Realistic Productivity Hacks
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1. Move Your Body
Have you ever heard of the saying, a body in motion will stay in motion? One of Isaac Newton’s laws of motion scientifically proves this to be true. And I think we can apply this to our productivity levels.
Think about those days when you are sluggish getting out of bed. Maybe you went out the night before or you were up late cramming for a test. You spend the day watching Netflix on the couch and before you know it you’ve wasted the entire day watching movies. Your body is in resting mode making it so much harder to get up and be productive.
Now, think about those days when you start your morning with yoga, throwing in a load of laundry, or simply journaling. You are starting the day with action. It is easier for you to continue knocking things off your to-do list when you are already moving.
You don’t have to do anything strenuous. Just get up and move to kickstart a productive day!
2. Track Your Progress
Here at The Positive Journey it is all about progress over perfection. Celebrating the little wins is a great way to stay motivated and productive even on the hard days!
I’ve seen adorable habit/progress trackers that you can color in as you go. If you are a pen and paper girl like me then this is definitely the route for you. The Positive Journey will be releasing a free habit tracker printable very soon. Send us an email if you would like a copy!
Another great way to track your progress on the go is the Habit Tracker app right on your iPhone. This app is user friendly and aesthetically pleasing. You can add several different habits to your chart and check your stats along the way.
The Habit Tracker has kept me motivated to complete workouts, finish books, and stay consistent on my sober curious journey.
3. Calendar Block – Divide Your Time
One of the best ways to hold yourself accountable and stay on track is to invest in a good planner. Not only will a planner allow you to keep track of important dates and upcoming deadlines, but it will also allow you to physically see what your days look like.
Today, there are many options for digital planners, but I am definitely a pen and paper kind of girl. There is something so satisfying about writing down a list of tasks and being able to cross them off one by one. It seriously brings me so much joy!
This hardcover 2022-2023 planner is great for all of your typical needs – monthly calendar view, sticky notes, planner stickers, a bookmark, and pocket folders. One of my favorite features is the weekly calendar view. It allows me to chunk my week and days into smaller time slots.
I find that breaking my day into 1-3 hour chunks allows my tasks to seem more manageable and it alleviates that overwhelming feeling when I have a large to-do list.
4. Declutter & Organize Your Working Spaces
This is something that I love to do on Sundays. The weekends can be hectic. You may be in and out of your home so frequently that your belongings are pretty much everywhere. I love to start my week off with a clean apartment. When things are all over the place my brain can’t focus. I need an organized home in order to be my most productive self.
Choose one day each week to reset your home. Put your shoes away. Hang up your jackets and bags. Read your mail. Do the dishes. Sweep the floors. Wipe down the counters.
I promise you, do not underestimate the power of a clean home.
5. Plan Your Meals
Take some time to plan your meals for the week. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a meal prepper. However, I am a meal planner. I like to know what I’m eating each day, what groceries I’ll need, and how much time it will take to prepare. I am all about saving money and time.
Take a look at your upcoming schedule. Figure out which nights you’ll be home for dinner and how much time you’ll have each night to prepare a meal.
This 3 piece white board set is amazing. It includes a board for a daily calendar, a weekly planner, and a monthly overview. It’s magnetic so it can attach right to your fridge.
I try to aim for 4 home cooked dinners a week.I know that once Friday rolls around the last thing I’ll want to do is cook. And honestly, most weekend nights I’m out with friends or ordering pizza delivery. But committing to eating at home Monday-Thursday is completely doable.
So, take some inventory of your fridge and cabinets. Choose 4 meals you feel comfortable making and write them down on your calendar.
Time is valuable. You’ll feel more productive during the week when you have a plan and you don’t have to waste time deciding what’s for dinner.
6. Complete Harder Tasks First
Ya girl struggles with this hack right here. It is so easy to do the complete opposite and avoid the hardest tasks because, well, they’re hard. I avoid these tasks and then spend the entire day, sometimes week, dreading the moment I have to actually do it.
The hardest tasks are the ones we tend to put on the back burner and pray they’ll magically complete themselves. Yet, imagine a day when you can bang out your most challenging aspects of your to-do list early and not even have to think about them again.
This would allow you to spend the remainder of your day stress free and working on the more enjoyable aspects of your business, education, or home.
This one won’t be easy, but it is definitely worth it!
7. Let Go Of Perfectionism
Scream it louder for the people in the back! Progress over perfection. Always.
Speaking from experience, I tend to go zero to one hundred on all of the projects I start. My motivation is sky high for the first week and then slowly dwindles each day.
This leaves me feeling discouraged and with a lot of unfinished goals. When I adopted the mindset of progress over perfection it was as if I was suddenly free from that feeling of disappointment.
If there are things on my to-do list I can’t get to then so be it.
All each of us can do is try our best and work hard to accomplish all we set out to do. If you are putting in your maximum effort then all the rest will come with time. Nobody is perfect. Keep pushing towards those goals.
This post was all about productivity hacks.
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