Productivity
Productivity is how you organize your responsibilities, goals, and routines to efficiently and consistently complete the tasks that matter most.
Understanding it
Productivity does not mean always being serious, extremely motivated, or disciplined. It's not about getting more things done, it's mostly about learning to enjoy the journey. If you love what you are doing then productivity takes care of itself.
Think about playing a video game or watching Netflix, do you worry about being productive? We don't need motivation for such things but unknowingly we are being productive when performing such tasks, that is we have a high level of focus and are not considering it as work but rather enjoying it.
Then why do we worry?
We only worry or need motivation, to undergo short-term pain for long-term gains. We are terrible at motivating ourselves because we always want instant benefits.
How do we motivate ourselves to be productive?
There are two ways to look at the question
1. The Muhammad Ali way
"I hated every minute of training but I said I don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion"- Muhammad Ali
We do not need to be the best in the world, instead, we can be the best version of ourselves.
2. Enjoying the process
There is a saying, "Find your passion and do it". But it doesn't work for everyone. Instead of trying to find the things you enjoy, learn to enjoy the things you are doing. It takes a different and tough mindset. If you learn to enjoy the things you are doing, then productivity takes care of itself.
Now we will dive deep into the second method and see some tips to start enjoying the things you do.
1. UNLOCK A GROWTH MINDSET
Your mindset is a set of beliefs that shape how you make sense of the world and yourself. It influences how you think, feel, and behave in any given situation. It means that what you believe about yourself impacts your success or failure.
Mindset is of two types, Growth mindset and fixed mindset.
People with fixed mindsets say things like:
Failure is the limit of my abilities.
I don't like to be challenged
When I'm frustrated, I give up
Feedback and criticism are personal
I stick to what I know
If you succeed, I feel threatened
People with Growth Mindset say things like:
Failure is an opportunity to grow
Challenges help me to grow
When I'm frustrated, I persevere
Feedback is constructive
I like to try new things
I am inspired by the success of others
By now you would have figured out what mindset you have. If you have a Growth mindset then you are on the right track if not, this is your wake-up call. No matter how hard you work, having a fixed mindset will never lead you near success.
2. GAMIFY YOUR TASKS
Gamification increases your participation and makes the whole process fun, leading to increased productivity. There are no rules to this, the limit is your creativity. Some examples are:
Race the clock. I see if I can solve a coding question in less than 20 minutes, if I do, I add 30 points to my points table. If I earn 300 points by the end of the week I reward myself. Race yourselves. I try to beat my record every time and +100 points if I did.
There are many other ways to gamify your tasks. Explore, be creative and enjoy!
3. BRING OTHERS ON BOARD
Bring your friends together whenever you can. Sometimes it might not be a good idea, but remember work progresses when you are having fun. When you are doing a task, think about how you can do it with other people.
4. ENVIRONMENT AND TOOLS
Design your environment according to your personal aesthetic sense. It need not be an expensive multi-monitor setup, it can be as simple as having a small fake plant on your desk, at the end of the day make sure your environment does not interrupt your focus.
Listen to music when you are working. Yes, researchers say that it decreases focus but music is fun. Having fun increases productivity.
Try using tools like Notion. It helps you to manage your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals.
That's the end folks. Thanks for reading till the end ✌️. I hope you learned some values and enjoyed reading it. For more blogs like this follow me on Hashnode.
Have a great day!