Three of my favorite productivity hacks (from a life coach)
Not all productivity tips and hacks are created equal.
It's crucial to first understand where you're getting stuck so that you know where to focus your energy creating momentum.
Otherwise you're just throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something works, and you're just continuing to waste energy instead of moving forward.
There are three kinds of 'stuck' I see my clients in when they are ambitious and wanting to move forward but something is getting in their way. They look like:
Having too many projects and things on your to do list so you're overwhelmed keeping up with everything
Having clear goals but are overwhelmed with all the next steps and decisions to make so you have trouble taking any action
Having so many ideas that you don't even know where to start to convert them to goals or reality
And each one requires different next steps to create that forward momentum. Let's break down each one a bit further to understand it better and understand the productivity techniques for each.
When you have so many goals and priorities that you can't keep up with everything
This typically looks like:
having lots of ambitious goals
long to do lists, always keeping yourself busy
overwhelmed by how much you have to do
When you're stuck here, what you really need is a way to prioritize all of your tasks and goals. Likely, you're committing to more than you need to and aren't taking care of yourself. This happens when you treat everything as urgent when in reality, most things on your to do list aren't urgent (especially email!).
Here, I recommend using the Eisenhower Prioritization Matrix.
The Eisenhower Prioritization Matrix is a simple tool I learned from the book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People that allows you to categorize your tasks into four categories:
image via thetinylife.com
Urgent - important
Fires to put out and time-sensitive projects and deadlines
Not urgent - important
Things that will support long-term growth
Urgent - not important
Things that distract us in the moment (email, phone calls, etc.)
Not urgent - not important
Where we waste time and energy (social media, some email)
The core ideas here are that the majority of your time should be spent in quadrant one, and about 10-30% of your time in quadrant two. Then we need to limit quadrant three and eliminate quadrant four as much as possible.
2. When you have clear goals but feel stuck in the next steps and making decisions to move forward
This typically looks like:
analysis paralysis - researching the hell out of your options
doing everything BUT moving forward
overwhelmed with too many options
When you're stuck here you usually don't have the confidence and clarity to make decisions quickly. You get hung up in researching your options and not actually taking real action that will move you forward.
Here, I recommend getting really clear about your core values. Then use these as a filter for making decisions.
Next time you're feeling stuck making a decision about what to do next, ask yourself - ‘which of these aligns options most with my core values?’
Not sure what your values even are? Use this simple worksheet I made to help you nail them down.
Then you can confidently move forward knowing that you're aligned with what’s most important to you and moving in the best direction for your goals.
3. When you have so many ideas that you don't even know where to start to convert them to goals or reality
This typically looks like:
always coming up with new ideas
really good at starting projects, not so much finishing them
overwhelmed with how to narrow down ideas or set goals
When you're stuck here, you typically have so many amazing ideas bouncing around in your head that it's hard to focus on just one. You get all excited and like to start projects or talk about them a lot, but don't actually make real progress or finish them.
Here, I recommend mind mapping.
image via mindtools.com
Mind mapping is a simple way to get your ideas out of your head and onto paper or a whiteboard. Typically you start by setting a timer for five minutes then just begin mapping out your ideas and connecting related ideas (like a spider web, see image).
It'll allow you to see everything all at once and begin to prioritize next steps. It's loose but supportive structure for people who don't like structure.
Once the timer goes off, you can go back through your image to prioritize what’s most important by color coordinating or eliminating things that don’t really matter.
Looking for more tips to help you achieve your goals quicker?
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Brittany is a life & leadership coach, trainer, and the founder of Hello Velocity where she helps ambitious individuals and corporate teams enhance their performance by working smarter, not harder. When she isn't building her business, you can find her planning her next travel adventure, taking a yoga or kickboxing class, or checking out a local brewery. She was recently acknowledged as one of the top coaches in Charlotte, NC.
