Are you looking for just the right hacks to be more productive tips to inspire you to get you moving forward? Tips that aren’t overwhelming, but that are actually easy and doable to start today?
First things first, how many times have you said to yourself, “I’ll do that (insert important thing), tomorrow”?
When we say that this is a no-nonsense hack list, we truly mean kick in the pants, no-nonsense. So, if you are the type of person who needs a personal trainer to be tough on you in the gym, you are likely someone who needs a “kick in the pants” in your personal life too. That is okay. That is most of us actually.
We know people are extra sensitive now…
We live in a society where we are really afraid to step on people’s toes nowadays. And while that hasn’t been all bad, productivity has really suffered in so many people’s lives due to trying to make everything so “sweet and easy” for everyone.
So, why are hacks to be more productive tips so important? Well, we only have one life to live right? This is our ONE shot! If we spend all of our time off work just scrolling on our phones, or watching TV, it feels like life is just passing us by. And really fast!
It’s no secret that depression, anxiety, and feelings of worthlessness are on the rise. There are many potential factors, but spending too much time on our phones, for example, may be a major factor.
So how important is it to take our productivity seriously? I think we can all agree that living a productive and enriching life is very important. These tips should help you get on the path to living a fuller, and more meaningful life.
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No-Nonsense Hacks To Be More Productive:
1. Stay Off The Couch!
I mean it. Couchs are both the most wonderful and most terrible pieces of furniture in people’s homes. If your “spot” isn’t on the couch, but in a comfy chair, or lying on your bed, I am still talking to you.
Not only does too much sitting adversely affect our health but what productive things can you get done from the couch? Truly.
If it’s your day off, avoid your “comfy spot” like the plague until you have completed all the things you need to get done during the day. This may seem like an obvious first step to some, but for others, this is going to be a real “aha moment”.
Don’t start your day from your “comfy” spot:
If you start your day with a cup of coffee, drink it elsewhere. Don’t drink it in your comfy spot, and scroll your phone. Take this opportunity to look at your calendar and your to-do list for the day instead.
If you find yourself spending too much of your day sitting at your desk, switch to a stand-up desk like so many people are doing now. When you are standing, not only will you burn more calories in your day, but it is easier to walk to do something rather than have to “get up” from the sitting position.
Here is the stand-up desk we recommend starting with:
2. Do The Tasks You Dislike The Most, First!
Humans absolutely love the path of least resistance. We are literally hard-wired this way. This is why productivity takes so much effort. Nothing is wrong with you. You are just an average human being in this way.
You can read here in this article where they state that it is literally scientific fact that, “anything challenging, is found to be less appealing“. This was such refreshing information for me when I learned this.
Some successful people who are famous for beating “laziness”:
Thankfully we have so many human examples of people who have managed to stay off the path of least resistance. Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, The Kardashians, the sharks on Shark Tank… The list goes on…
Whether you “like” or are fans of these people or not, there is no debate about it. They execute. They have a vision for what they want out of this life, and they make it happen. So, you can too.
Therefore, if you have a really annoying errand you need to run that you just keep putting off day, after day, after day. Grab your keys, get out the door, and do it now! Or if it’s past business hours right now, do it first thing tomorrow, but do it for real! Why?
Completing tasks gives the brain a dopamine hit:
When you finally cross, (insert annoying thing here), off your list, you are going to get a dopamine rush from it. It is going to feel SO good. Once you cross off those stagnant, over-due tasks, you get to create NEW tasks. Tasks that you actually want to do.
Also, completing annoying tasks gets easier the faster and more consistently you do them. You learn to not overthink these things so much. But like with everything, practice and experience are necessary.
3. Have a Calendar That You Look at Daily!
Are you someone who says “yes” to doing things, but then doesn’t write it down? Do you make appointments with doctors, dentists, etc, and think to yourself “no worries, ill remember”? Then comes that 24 hour confirmation call and you realize, that not only did you completely forget, but you can’t go to that appointment now due to not being available for it?
You need a calendar, my friend. But don’t beat yourself up. I haven’t ever known a single person who can store random appointments in their brain, wake up on that day, and just go.
Personally, I am a huge fan of the Google Calendar. I have it on my phone, and on my computer. The benefit of having it on your phone is for when you are checking out at the dentist, and they schedule your next 6 month appointment, you can just write it in your calendar right there and then. No keeping track of that little card that gets lost from the dentist’s office to your car.
If you are someone who prefers a hands-on calendar, this is the one we recommend. The pages are large, and you can write to-do lists, meal plans, etc.
4. Have a Big and Exciting Goal at All Times!
What are you living for? What are you working toward? This is possibly, single-handedly, the most important tip on our hacks to be more productive list.
Why? Because this goes back to the fact that this is your only life here on Earth. It’s never going to be a “perfect” life, but it can still be fun and exciting!
The importance of understanding “duality”:
I want you to think of the yin and the yang, or the black and white checkerboard. This is all symbolism pointing to the duality of this reality. There is darkness, and there is light. There is a perfect balance, and that balance is important for growth and progress.
You can’t have a great-looking body without the pain of exercise and pushing yourself to the limits. You can’t have a lot of money without putting in the time, effort, and value.
So, establish what your life mission is. Is it to start a business you can hand down to your family for generations? Or a specific career you have always dreamed about having? Is it to be able to travel the world, and work from your computer?
Create, print out, and hang up your road map to your goal(s):
Some people also call this a “vision board”.
So basically, establish what you would like to see your life look like, and create the list of steps you need to accomplish in reaching that goal. As an example, my goal is to get my RN and to be a licensed nurse. So once I decided that was what I wanted, I opened a word doc and mapped out every single college class I had to take. I organized it by years, and semesters, and I looked at it every day.
Here is a bulletin board to create your life goals road map that you look at every single day.
Cross off the milestones you complete
It was always SO motivating when I completed a semester and crossed that semester off the list. Now here I am, just two semesters away from graduating with my BSN. Excitingly, I also just landed a paid internship on the unit I want to work on when I graduate. Having goals works!
When you have a BIG goal, the smaller goals to reach that big goal are going to be the small wins along the way. It is actually those small wins that make life so fun and worth living. This is why this is the most important tip in our hacks to be more productive list.
5. Listen to Motivating Content While Accomplishing Tasks!
Get addicted to the things that interest you. We are so lucky to live in an age where just about everyone has a smartphone with access to YouTube and podcasts.
Cleaning, folding laundry, exercising, organizing, traveling to work, etc. Use those opportunities to “kill two birds”. Everyone needs to complete these ordinary tasks, but you can also use that time to catch up on learning the things that interest you or inspire you.
Take a course on Udemy
I was recently introduced to Udemy, and I have been seriously wondering where this has been all my adult life. They have so many affordable courses to choose from, but also many FREE ones as well. For example, I have purchased writing courses, life coaching, and blogging courses through Udemy.
So, are you wanting to learn the steps on how to open a business? How to write a book? Photography tips? It has everything and anything someone would want to learn about. If you love to learn, you may actually look forward to your “chore time” so you can catch up and listen to your courses.
Listen to a little bit of inspiring content every day
What inspires you? Do you like income reports? Celebrity success stories? Exercise and weight loss motivation? Whatever it is for you, make sure you listen to a little bit of inspiring content every single day.
One of my favorite quotes is by Zig Ziggler and he said, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily”.
Enough said.
6. Remember that “Perfection Is The Enemy of Good”!
This is a famous quote by French writer and philosopher, Voltaire. Essentially it means, that sometimes we literally don’t do things at all, just because it’s not going to be “perfect”.
For example. So many people want to upload videos to YouTube, Tik Tok, Instagram, etc. But they don’t do it AT ALL because it won’t be “perfect”. So let’s say that this example person is interested in things that a large handful of other people are interested in too. They could have not only possibly made some extra income, but have positively impacted and enriched those other people’s lives in the process. But the money doesn’t happen, and the positive impact doesn’t happen, why? Because they never even tried.
To be good at anything, you have to fail forward
Even when we are passionate about something, or naturally talented in areas, we are never great at it when we first start. Whenever we compare our “first try” against our 100th try, there is going to be a massive improvement. There is always room for improvement in everything, forever.
Let’s use successful YouTubers as an example again. When you look at their oldest videos, there is a HUGE contrast in quality. But guess what? They still created and developed a following, even with those old and “cruddy” videos. They get better, continuously. Their following doesn’t really care that much about the quality, so long as they are interested in what they talk about.
So don’t, NOT, do something just because it’s not going to immediately look “perfect”. People like authenticity above everything else. So if you are passionately curious about something, just do it! Just go for it. Really, what do you have to lose?
Regret is far worse than failure
Regret is so much worse than failure because you literally can’t go back in time. Once time is gone, it’s gone. So regret is essentially stagnant, unfinished business.
However, with failure, you ALWAYS learn. Failure IS productive. It pushes us further than where we were before. So, don’t be afraid of failure. You will be better because you experienced it. Also, “failure” is truly subjective. It is what you consider to be a failure.
7. Prioritize Your Health!
Without your health, you really have nothing. As a nursing student and soon-to-be RN, I know this all too well from having a front-row seat to the worst scenarios in people’s lives.
When I was in CNA school, my 80+ year old instructor told me something that has stuck with me so vividly since 2016. He said, “whatever you do, do NOT get diabetes”. Twice, he said this. He was a pretty cheerful man, but when he said this to me he was so stern and serious.
I didn’t understand the seriousness of this advice until I started working in dialysis. The number one cause of kidney failure is diabetes. For most of my patients, their uncontrolled diabetes lead to having to go to dialysis 3-4 times a week. Many had limb amputations, blindness, and never felt physically well again.
Prevention of disease is key to a productive life
You don’t want to be slowed down by lifestyle diseases. They can hit you as young as in your twenties! You want to live a long, healthy, and strong life. We all do. But wanting is so different from taking action. Every hacks to be more productive list should include some mention of health preservation.
Having more energy and a healthy body weight is essential to productivity. Thankfully it is actually pretty easy. I know there are so many diets and plans out there, but if you do the following basic things, you should be well on your way:
- Prioritize getting enough sleep
- Eating whole and unprocessed foods MOST of the time
- Get in 3-4 days of exercise (that you enjoy)
- Drink lots of water every day
Of course there are no guarantees, and I am not a doctor, so take what I say with a grain of salt. But having worked in healthcare for over six years now, and being in nursing school, these are the main takeaways that I have taken with me.
WHY We Need Easy, No-Nonsense Hacks To Be More Productive:
A lot of the “hacks to be more productive” lists out there are filled with a lot of common sense and pretty fluffy obvious tips. The problem for most people isn’t not knowing WHAT to do to be more productive necessarily, but HOW to do it.
We need more no-nonsense hacks to be more productive lists because not knowing how to be productive and execute our goals is one of the leading causes of hopelessness and feelings of worthlessness in people’s lives
I have personally experienced many periods of stagnation and loss of direction in my own life. Therefore, I feel it is my DUTY to share the tips that worked to finally help me live the life I am living today.
Hacks To Be More Productive Conclusion:
Taking a no-nonsense approach to productivity means having to be your own “personal trainer” in your life. We need to learn to push ourselves, but in a loving and supportive way. Be your own cheerleader. Nobody else is going to do it for you, or at least not 24/7, 365.
So, use this list to create a baseline for your more productive lifestyle. Because truthfully, productivity needs to become a lifestyle. It is not in and of itself, a checklist you just mark off.
Our no-nonsense hacks to be more productive roundup:
- Stay off the couch
- Finish tasks you dislike the most, FIRST
- Look at a calendar every single day
- Always have a big and exciting mission or goal
- Listen to motivating and/or interesting content when doing chores
- Don’t wait to be “perfect” to start something, or you will never, ever start
- Prioritize your health, without it, you have nothing
Do you agree with our no-nonsense hacks to be more productive tips? What has worked for you to be more productive in your own life? Share with us below, and thanks for stopping by.
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