Five Actionable Steps to Productivity

 By: Joseph Pujeh 

Productivity is a phrase we hear about from influential people, YouTubers, and hundreds of authors who have written books about how to stay focused, achieve our goals, and be consistent in recycling our productive lives. ‘Having done a lot of research, read a few productivity books and watched tons of YouTubers who gave their views about productivity, I gathered five (5) strategies pointing out how to start and stay productive. They will serve as a guide to enable students with the right mindset to start their productive journey.

Define clear goals: 

The first step to starting your productivity journey is to set clear goals that you wish to accomplish within a given timeframe. It serves as a guide to where you want to go and what destination you are aiming for. Productivity is about using our time intentionally and effectively to work towards the thing that matters (Ali Abdaal). We need to define and set clear goals for what we should prioritise among what matters to us and how we intend to use the appropriate time to achieve it. The entrepreneurs, scholars, investors and CEOs we admire always have their goals planned out before embarking on any journey. American author Zig Ziglar, author of “See You at the Top”, establishes that “A goal properly set is halfway reached”. Establish goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. 

Breaking them down into manageable tasks and sub-tasks:

Setting goals for what we want, can be simple yet confusing. Thus, it is important to break down those goals into:

• Long-term goals (what we want to be forever remembered for). 

• Middle-term goal (what we want to achieve within 3–5 years) 

• Short-term goals (within a year)

Be it in academics, work, health or relationships. Time blocking is a method that divides our day into blocks of time dedicated to specific tasks or groups of tasks (Cal Newport). Allocating dedicated time blocks will help steer our mindset of what we are working towards, and we can appropriately make each day, week or month count contributing to our goals. Task chunking turns our goals into a more understandable, manageable, and achievable process. It sheds light on our goals and objectives, ensuring they are clearly understood and specifies how they can be achieved within a given time frame.

Initiate Action and Maintain Concentration: 

Setting clear goals and breaking them down shows our level of acceptance of making a change, and becoming productive, but what triggers the feeling of being productive is initiating action. We set goals and define our objectives, but procrastination, fear of failure, and few available resources prevent us from initiating them. According to Mike Twain, the secret of getting ahead is getting started. Sometimes we beat all the odds and take our first step but a low concentration pops up as a barrier to continue taking action towards our goals. To fulfil our goals and stay productive, we should start taking the appropriate action and maintain a high concentration. 

Be Consistent: 

Consistency is the key to achieving any goal. Initiating our task is just the tip of the iceberg. We forget that there is more underneath. We can start the productivity journey. Yes!! Are we ready to be consistent in executing our daily routines and tasks? This is a question I always ask colleagues who reach out to me to embark on the journey of being productive. It’s not about starting, but keeping the zest to flow through until we accomplish our goals is one thing that should be part of the goals we define. The successful people we admire gain a high level of success because they maintain steadfastness in the path they choose to excel in. One cannot practice and reach the height of success without consistency.

Experience Satisfaction:

A productivity journey is not a smooth path. It takes dedication and time to overcome all odds. That’s why it is necessary to experience satisfaction whether you are progressing faster or slower. I gathered from Gretchen Rubin's book “The Happiness Project” that, “Satisfaction comes from knowing we are moving forward, step by step.” The feeling of satisfaction will help us keep on track and stay focused. Comparing our standard of living to others shows a sign of dissatisfaction which sometimes results in making us think we are not fit for purpose. A high level of dissatisfaction can disrupt our goals, posing a threat to us being productive. To persist in overcoming challenges, seize each moment, whether favourable or unfavourable and consistently find contentment in every stride you make. 

The above tips, if adopted, can serve as a gateway to embark on our productivity journey. I was able to decipher these steps from the ideas of scholars and YouTubers who preach about productivity. I believe implementing these steps will help students stay focused and achieve academic goals.