The Secret To Greater Productivity

+ The Most 8 Helpful Tips To Achieve Your High Performing State

Productivity is the magic word of the modern age. But 100 years ago, increasing productivity was a completely different problem than today. Back then, the main focus was on faster, more powerful machines. The more modern and efficient machines, the more performance.

With humans, you (unfortunately) cannot use a stronger motor to see more results. In general, we must not think like mechanics. Instead, psychology provides us with valuable insights into how we can become more productive — without letting our cables blow in our heads.

How Can You Do More At The Same Time?

The biggest mistake is to push yourself to your limits with sheer self-discipline and simply want to do more, more, more. That might go well for a few days, maybe even a few weeks. But first of all, sooner or later exhaustion will catch up with you, and secondly, you will start working more inefficiently after a very short time.

The deception lies in the fact that you may think you can do more and with the same quality. But if you are overworked, you will notice your mistakes much less.

But then what is the better way to become more productive? Habits! Habits will slow you down a bit, but they will constantly make you more productive.

Why Habits Are So Good For Your Productivity

When we think of habits, we often tend to think of bad habits, such as watching TV, drinking coffee and beer, or even biting our nails. But habits are much more! Habits account for up to 95% of our actions. This makes our habits even more important than our conscious decisions.

Reason 1: Habits Cost Little Energy

The reason why our behavior is largely determined by habits is the following: The brain is an energy-saving computer. All tasks that can be automated are automated.

The good news is that we can intervene in the program and write some processes and commands into the program flow ourselves. You mustn’t try to fight against the set habits with pure self-discipline every day.

For example, don’t try to resist the donut pack in the office every day. Instead, try to rewrite the program: Whenever you see the donut pack, grab an apple or some nuts instead. Or hide the donuts and put a bowl of healthy snacks in the same place.

This approach allows you to take advantage of the energy-saving efficiency of your habits. If you rely solely on your self-discipline, you will quickly get out of breath.

Reason 2: Small Habits Are More Important Than Big Intentions

A tree seedling grows every day. You can hardly see the growth with the naked eye. Even if a seedling grows slowly, it grows steadily. And that consistency is what makes it grow into a magnificent tree.

So, instead of trying to become a tree, you might want to try to grow a little bit every day. Surely this slowness will frustrate you from time to time because you don’t see growth. But it is there! You just have to trust yourself and the process.

8 Habits That Make You Significantly More Productive

But how exactly do you become more productive now? With the help of productive habits. These habits will support you in your daily growth and will make you more productive in the long run without having to spend money in the short term. Because life is not a sprint, but a marathon.

1. Develop The Well Known Morning Routine

A good day begins with a good morning. There is no predetermined recipe. Rather, it’s about what you need so that you are relaxed, motivated, and receptive in the morning.

Nevertheless, it can be said that doing sports, meditation, journaling, and reading ensures a very good start to the day. Time spent on your cell phone or watching television is rather counterproductive. Because it makes you reactive, which means that you only react to the thoughts that other people put into your head and lose your ability to think independently.

2. Bundle Tasks

The fairy tale of multitasking tells us the story of the successful manager who does all things at once and therefore manages so much more than all the others. But that is total nonsense. We can’t multitask at all.

The brain can only switch back and forth between tasks very quickly. But every change of attention costs energy. So the fairy tale of multitasking does not end with a happy end but with a burn-out.

To become more productive without burning out, you can bundle your tasks and complete them in one go. A good example of this is e-mail. Set two or three-time windows for the day when you answer your e-mails. The rest of the time you can block notifications and pop-ups from your mail server so you’re not disturbed by incoming messages.

3. Say No

You probably know exactly what you would like to create. You know what is important. You know which steps you have to take to succeed. But you do not have the time. Because there are always other things to do and you are constantly distracted. You lack focus.

The magic word to be able to concentrate more on your tasks again is: “No”. If you say no to the unimportant things in your life, you automatically say “yes” to the important things and people!

4. Take Pauses

Breaks are often canceled to allegedly create more. But while the equation More time = More performance works for machines, the opposite is true for humans.

If you don’t take breaks, you slow down and make more mistakes, which you then have to iron out again afterward. Moreover, your creativity and your ability to think also suffers from uninterrupted work.

Ideally, you should take breaks before you even notice signs of exhaustion. Even if it feels unnecessary: Take breaks in between. If you think at the end of the day that you didn’t need the breaks because you’re not exhausted at all, then you’ve done your breaks just right!

5. Connect With Others

Networking with other people has two advantages: Firstly, it is a way to recharge your batteries. Take a coffee break together with colleagues and relax with a little everyday gossip. Second, other people can help you with your tasks.

Maybe you are biting your teeth at a task right now? Talk to colleagues about your problem. Maybe they can help you find new solutions or have already successfully solved the problem themselves. Become more productive by relying on swarm intelligence instead of limiting yourself to your head.

6. Self-Reflection

Habits have the disadvantage that they sometimes do not take the smartest route. When we have done something a thousand times before, it is hard to see another way. Therefore we sometimes miss solutions that are much more efficient.

That’s why it’s good to take a step back from time to time and ask yourself “How would I approach this problem if I had no experience?” Here you can also connect with others and maybe even put an actual newcomer to your problem to find new approaches.

7. Meditation

In meditation, you kill two flies with one slap. Firstly, you take a break and replenish your energy reserves. Second, you gain distance from your work and maybe you will come up with creative ideas or find better solutions.

8. Healthy Sleep

Every productive day begins the night before. Namely with a sufficient portion of sleep. It sounds like the most obvious tip in the world, but do you get good sleep and fall asleep without any problems?

Ideally, you will also sleep so early that you wake up the next day before your alarm — and get up too! Because the natural waking up process lets you start the day more relaxed. And your head is in optimal condition to start a new, productive day.

Conclusion: Find Your Ideal Work Routine

A good habit is good. Many good habits are better. And the best thing is to develop a work routine in which you internalize as many good habits as possible.

But don’t rush things! Start with a good habit and keep practicing it until it becomes second nature to you. Only then start to tackle the next habit. Otherwise, you run the risk of not making any of the habits into a real habit, but sending them to the land of good intentions forever.

One more tip: Once you have established a good habit, the best thing to do is to attach the next habit right away. This is called habit stacking. For example, if you have gotten into the habit of drinking a cup of tea in the afternoon instead of coffee, you can cut an apple while the water gets hot. Then you get into the habit of combining your tea with an apple. Even small deeds can make a big difference!

Use your potential!