“Your mind is a temple”; not a phrase to be taken lightly.  Only you know what drives you to get up before the sun has risen or make the effort to look presentable for work, University or both. Personally, I’m always trying to improve. Whether thats working on household jobs, reading a book or learning a new language. I find that taking small steps everyday means that by next month I’ll be an improved person.

“Do what makes you happy and productivity will follow”

This doesn’t of course mean work flat-out 24/7 because that isn’t healthy for your physical or mental state. A healthy balance is key. Below are some tips to live life being the most productive version of yourself you can be.

Small Steps

If  like me you’re ambitious then you’ll always have an end goal in mind. These end goals might be realised in a year or ten so it can affect your productivity when you can only progress slowly. My advice would be to work on a series of small steps that will help you get to your end goal and recognise your accomplishments along the way. By recognising and rewarding yourself you’re positively reinforcing your behaviour which means you’ll continue to put in the hard work, working towards the small achievable steps bring you closer to your ultimate goal.

Domino Effect

The division of your life into work, social and lifestyle are not actually as clear categories as you may think. For example, if you’re eating healthily and looking after your body you will have more energy to put into your work and your social life. In the same way, if you do activities that you find relax you it will put you in a better mental space to complete your 9-5 the following day. Whilst keeping a balance between activities if you try and improve one area it will have a positive effect on others. Maybe you would feel more productive if you ate healthier, did that exercise you’ve been meaning to do or went to get a coffee with a friend. Improving one area will have a domino effect on your productivity levels.

Do What You Love

Doing what you love is important to your happiness. A colleague recently pointed out that doing a job from 18 to 65 is a long time to not wake up every morning and look forward to the day ahead. Maybe your productivity isn’t where it usually is because you don’t want to do it. So in the interest of self-care you could look into what you do love and think about taking that exciting opportunity you weren’t sure about. Do what makes you happy and productivity will follow!

Surround Yourself with Good People

They could be close family members, new friends or old friends if they’re supportive of you and your ambitions then they’re good people. I’ve spoke previously in a blog post about dealing with jealousy and the bottom line is some people haven’t matured past the level of being happy for others’ success so try to recognise that and gravitate towards those who you don’t need to worry about being happy of an accomplishment you’ve had.

If you have any suggestions for future blog posts feel free to leave a comment I would love to hear your thoughts