3 Radical Changes That’ll Increase Your Productivity

Even though we’ve never met each other, there’s something I know about you: You’d like to have more time to do things you love.

You’d love to spend more time with your loved ones, go on more vacations, take more time for your hobbies, and just avoid feeling busy and in a rush all the time.

In the 21st century, we’re all a little “time-starving.”

We have tools, devices, and technology to help us get certain jobs done quicker, yet, we still end up being busy, overworked, and overwhelmed most of the time — no matter how hard we try.

And to solve this problem, most people look for new ideas. They think of implementing new habits to be more productive, so they can get things done faster and have more time.

The problem is that most of these new habits feel overwhelming themselves.

If you’re busy anyway and add more things to your plate, the outcome won’t be ease but more overwhelm and confusion.

Instead, you should take a close look at how you’re currently living your life and ask yourself: What could I eliminate?

You might be giving yourself too much space

Most of us now have more flexibility in our work schedules than ever before in history.

More and more people start their own business and aim to be independent. Similarly, an increasing number of companies offer flexible work opportunities because they realize that’s what talents are looking for.

This is a massive advantage because it allows us to be in control of how we use our time.

Instead of entering the office at 9 and sharply leaving it at 5, we can now create work schedules that are aligned with our energy levels and needs.

The only problem is that most people are overwhelmed with that amount of flexibility.

I started my own business while studying and doing a full-time internship. My calendar was jam-packed: I was writing for my blog from 5 to 7 in the morning, going to the office at 8, leaving around 5, taking lectures at university, studying for my exams until 10, and hitting the gym afterward.

On weekends, I hosted full-day workshops, worked on my business, or studied.

At the beginning of 2019, I was finally done with my internship. And I quit my studies to focus on my business. I thought, “That’s it! Now I’ll have SO much time to finally get things done and make big moves!”

Wanna know what happened instead?

I ended up in a big slump.

I woke up each morning and had no idea what to do.

I could be doing anything, but I ended up doing nothing because I lacked structure and clarity.

In the past, I had a strict schedule and made an effort to make the most of each minute.

Now, I suddenly had 24 hours each day, yet, I didn’t know how to use them effectively.

Looking back, I should’ve created systems and schedules right away.

Instead of allowing myself to be too flexible, I should’ve signed up for a co-working space and gone there five times a week, at the same time every day.

I should’ve created an “ideal work schedule” to help me know when to work on which tasks.

I should’ve set specific monthly, weekly, and daily goals to help me stay on track to create my long-term vision.

But I didn’t because I didn’t know I should.

But you do.

So if you’ve ever found yourself struggling to make the most of your time, I recommend you exchange some of your freedom with rules that’ll help you avoid wasting your precious time.

…but you might also lack “white space”

The second common habit is trying to make the most of each minute of our days.

So many of us try to be productive all the time and wear busyness as a badge of honor.

Yet, research shows that the ideal daily working time is around 5–6 hours. If you’re completing mentally exhausting tasks, your level of focus and energy might already decline after 2–3 hours.

In fact, most of us can’t even concentrate for more than five hours in a day.

The 8-hour workday is based on factory work done in the 18th century. Back then, it did make sense to work more hours because more work hours equaled more productivity, which equaled a higher outcome, which meant more money.

Yet, that’s not true for today’s knowledge workers.

Most of us would perform better, be more creative, and even solve problems more quickly if we allowed ourselves to take more time off.

So here’s what you can do: Add more white space to your calendar.

Instead of filling each minute of your calendar with meetings, goals, and responsibilities, spend more time having zero obligations, so you can rest and breathe.

When planning your workday, leave some “white space” in your schedule. If you know you’ll have six hours to get things done, don’t expect to work for six hours. Expect a maximum of four.

Shit happens all the time — your internet connection might break down, you might spill your coffee, the tool you’re trying to use might not work,…

We all know how bad it feels to end a workday with an incomplete to-do list. Let’s try to avoid this miserable feeling by not expecting ourselves to give 100% all the time.

Add more white space. Expect distractions. If they don’t happen, you can still continue to get things done.

Take more intentional breaks throughout your day, so you can come back to your desk with a fresh mind.

Instead of stupidly scrolling through social media feeds, use your breaks for walks, breathing exercises, a short meditation, or some quality time.

Most of the time, those small breaks can help us regain our focus and energy.

And when planning your weeks and months, add white space too.

I use the following concept to do so: I schedule focus, buffer, and free days.

On focus days, I actually get things done. That’s when I work on money-making activities, write, create my educational programs, or when I serve my students.

Buffer days are for admin work and preparation. That’s when I get annoying tasks done and work on the business. Those tasks would be too distracting or time-consuming on a focus day, yet they’re crucial and need to be taken care of. Think of accounting or taxes, replying to emails, etc.

On my free days, I intentionally take a break from the business. I leave my laptop in the office for the day and don’t touch it.

For me, these are usually weekends, days when I travel, or special occasions with my loved ones, like birthdays or holidays.

In the past, I tried to get some work done every day. If I had a spare 30 minutes before I had the leave the house, I would try to get things done during those 30 minutes.

Most of the time, I felt as if I was being ultra-productive, but the reality is that I was only cheating on myself.

You can barely get anything meaningful done within 30 minutes. What happens instead is that you put your nervous system under pressure and overwhelm yourself. Plus, it gets harder to actually disconnect from work and enjoy the rest of the day.

Planning your free days in advance and being relentless about them will help you make the biggest moves because it’ll allow you to recharge and find new inspiration.

You’re not using technology as you should

Social media allows us to stay up to date, learn and connect, and even build audiences, brands, and entire businesses that we can run from the comfort of our homes. We now have more opportunities and options to be independent and create a life we truly enjoy living.

Yet, most people choose to use social media like a slot machine.

Each time you refresh your news feed or your notifications, you’re expecting a little rush of dopamine through likes and comments. Most of these notifications make you feel good, so you become eager to check the next one as soon as possible.

Or you’re hitting that refresh button to distract yourself from reality and the work you should be doing.

Instead of using technology to your advantage, you allow it to stand in your way.

The problem is, you’ll never be done checking social media, your emails, or the news. There’s always more to scroll through.

And that’s why you need to create your own set of rules to ensure these powerful tools don’t suck up your precious time but actually help you live a better life.

To add value, be creative, and produce something meaningful, you need undistracted periods for sustained effort. Ideally, you’ll also experience sprints of flow states, which are described as mental states in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.

You have no chance to ever experience a flow state or sustained productivity if you check your phone or emails every 10 minutes.

Most of us need to focus on a specific task for at least 10–15 minutes to even get into a flow state in the first place.

Your devices can be powerful companions, yet most of the time, they also end up being your biggest enemies.

If you truly want to get things done, turn all notifications off.

Ideally, you’ll never turn them again and only check certain pages and tools when you really need or want to.

The only app that’s allowed to send push notifications to my phone is Whatsapp because that’s how I communicate with friends and family.

I didn’t receive a single social media or email notification for the past five years, and I never missed anything.

If I want to check my emails, I open the email program. When I’m done, I close it and won’t see any emails until the next time I open it again.

Most people are living in a constant state of anxiety because they’re so afraid of missing out on news, notifications, and updates.

This state leads to brain fog and puts you in a vulnerable position because you’re always alert and nervous.

Allow yourself to ignore your devices and notifications sometimes.

Add “tech breaks” to your daily life to intentionally do things that are not related to the internet. This could be evenings, mornings, or certain parts of your weekends.

Use that time to read, draw, sing, listen to your favorite music, walk, eat your favorite meals, kiss, hug, or just be.

Want more? Download your collection of 40+ lessons from bestselling books.