Understanding time management allows you to develop a clear understanding of what needs to be done. Personal productivity is necessary for you to make sure that what needs to be done gets done. If you are not achieving the results you want from your days, there is usually a problem in one of these areas. Either you do not have a clear understanding of what needs to get done, or you do not have an effective system for making sure that it is getting done. This article focuses on the personal productivity mindset.
Why a personal producitivity mindset?
Most people want to be as productive as they can be. They try to do as much as they can in the time they have available. People try various different strategies to get more done. It’s not just individual people who want to increase productivity; businesses are desperate to do so too. There is an entire industry built up around time management and productivity with apps, productivity tools etc. The entire industry is worth billions but before you can use apps and tools to improve your productivity, you need to have the right mindset – a personal productivity mindset.
As a coach within this industry, I accept that there are many great productivity tools. But, I also know that unless you can draw/write your productivity system with pen and paper first; there is not a lot that these tools can really do for you. You must know what you are trying to achieve and how you are trying to achieve it. Like all great things, a highly productive lifestyle begins in the mind. When you have an effective personal productivity mindset, you can then ensure that your most productive time is spent on your most important work, each and every day. This repetition is what excellence is all about. When you do the right things, to the best of your ability, on a daily basis, there is no limit to what you can achieve.
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The personal productivity mindset infographic
So, before you go spending a fortune on productivity tools, you must first spend time developing a powerful personal productivity mindset which will allow you to understand what you are trying to achieve and the best way to go about it.
The following infographic will introduce you to 7 essential characteristics of a personal productivity mindset.
Characteristics of a personal productivity mindset
The following list covers the most important elements of a personal productivity mindset. If you are struggling in any of these areas, you need to revisit your productivity system to ensure you have all of your bases covered.
1. Clear vision
With a personal productivity mindset, you have a clear vision of what needs to be done and when it needs to be done by. You know what the end result looks like and you are clear on the next action required to move things forward. You do not need to know what every step along the road is going to be.
With a personal productivity mindset, you have a clear vision of what needs to be done and when it needs to be done by. You know what the end result looks like and you are clear on the next action required to move things forward. You do not need to know what every step along the road is going to be.
Productivity requires you to make the right decisions at the right time; to ensure that you are always doing the most important thing you could be doing, at that moment in time. To put it more simply, you always want to choose the best option from your tasks.
In order to determine which task is the best option, you need to know what you are trying to achieve. It is not enough to have some vague idea; you need to be very clear and specific. You know what the end result looks like because you have a crystal clear vision for your work and for your life. When you know what the end result looks like; it is easy to work backwards and determine what you need to be doing now.
That’s how you chase down any goal; you begin with the end in mind and plan it all out from there. That is why the architect creates plans for the building long before the foundation is ever poured.
Once you know what you are trying to achieve, choosing the right task is a simple two-step process. You just need two questions:
- What is the end goal?
- What is the most important action I can take, right now, with the time and resources available to me, to bring me closer to that goal?
A clear vision is a foundation stone of a personal productivity mindset.
Related
A personal productivity mindset requires you to know what you want upfront. Read more on Why you must know what you want.
2. Unhurried
When you are properly organised, with an effective personal productivity system in place, you know what your next steps are for each project. When a new task arrives, you are able to process that information and determine the appropriate action in just a few seconds. Your system is set up to remind you of what you need to do, when you need to do it. When you are this well organised, why would you ever need to hurry?
When it comes to productivity; there is only one reason to hurry – you are lacking organisational skills. With a personal productivity mindset, you know the importance of having your own organisational system. You know what needs to be done and when it needs to be done by. Just as importantly; you know what does not need to be done and; what may need to be done but does not need to be done by you.
You understand that your time is precious and, rather than fill up your time with tasks which do not add a lot of value; you focus your time on getting your most important work done. You know that it is ok to do less because you are doing more of the stuff which really matters.
Related
Read ‘Why you need an effective organisational system’ for more on being properly organised.
3. Active, not busy
Busyness is a sign of somebody who is rushed off of their feet. Generally, if you are rushed of your feet, you are not properly organised and you lack an effective system for managing your productivity. With a personal productivity mindset, you are calm and clear on what you are doing. Either you know what action you need to take next, or your system allows you to quickly determine what action to take next. You can be active, and effective, without ever being busy.
When I first entered the working world, I admired the busy people. They were getting more work done as they rushed from one task to another. They never seemed to take a break. Everybody was always looking for them and their workspace was always a hive of activity.
Eventually, I learned the truth – busyness is not a good thing. These people were always rushing from one task to another; struggling to get any of those tasks finished. People weren’t looking for them; they were chasing them, trying to get work completed. The reason that their workspace was always a hive of activity was that if you wanted to get them to do something; you had to pin them down at their desk and get them to do it there and then.
Being constantly busy is not a sign of productivity. It is a sign of poor planning and poor organisational skills. When you are properly organised and you plan your work properly; you focus only on what is important. You rarely have to rush or hurry because you keep on top of your work and commitments. When you have a personal productivity mindset; you’re not busy; you’re measured and in control.
Related
If you want to develop your personal productivity mindset while improving your organisation and focus, check out The Modern Professional’s Guide to Organisation and Focus.
4. Living on purpose
When talking about a personal productivity mindset, the word personal is often overlooked. Anybody can be productive but if your productivity is not allowing you to fulfil your needs and goals, what is the point? If this is the case, you are not being personally productive; you are simply a cog in somebody else’s machine. With a personal productivity mindset, you are clear on your identity, your values, and your priorities. You automatically question any activities that conflict with these.
Most people perform a wide range of activities, hoping that they will somehow stumble upon the things which make them really happy. A personal productivity mindset requires you to do the opposite i.e. find your purpose first and then spend your time on activities which allow you to live your purpose.
Whether you are religious or not doesn’t matter; you weren’t put on this Earth just to kill time. You were put here to make a contribution and to help to make the world a little bit better than it was when you arrived.
The greatest sense of passion, motivation and commitment comes when you are inspired by your purpose and, when you are taking actions which help you to live your purpose.
Related
Read 16 gigns that you are living purposefully for more purpose driven ideas.
5. Living in the present
When you do not have an effective personal productivity system, you fail to capture and process all of the commitments that you make. This leaves your mind desperately trying to remind you of your commitments; even at inappropriate times e.g. you may be in a business meeting when you remember that you have forgotten to do something at home. With a personal productivity mindset, this rarely happens. You have a clear mind, and you are fully present in the moment. You know that you are on top of your work. If such a thought does occur, you know that you can capture it quickly and then you are back in the moment.
Remember that vision which I said is a foundation stone of the personal productivity mindset; well as wonderful as it is; you will never bring it to fruition if you only ever think about it. It is great to have plans for the future but plans are meant to be put into action.
You can’t live that vision today but you can take action to help bring it closer. Remember those two questions from earlier:
- What is the end goal?
- What is the most important action I can take, right now, with the time and resources available to me, to bring me closer to that goal?
Once you have identified that most important action, you need to live in the present and take that action. The vision reminds you of where you are trying to get to and how wonderful it is going to be when you get there but the only way you are going to get there is to live in the present, keep taking the most important actions you can take and keep taking steps closer to the end goal.
Related
Read the ‘Be focused and productive for a rewarding life’ for more ideas about living in the present.
6. Self centred
When I was growing up, being self centred was talked about as if it was a bad thing. It took me some time to realise that people were confusing being self-centred with being selfish. When you are selfish, you are only concerned with your own needs and wants. You do not care if you upset others in the process of achieving them. On the opposite end of the scale, you have selfless behaviour, whereby you constantly seek to help others fulfil their needs with little regard for your own. While both of these behaviours are necessary, from time to time, neither is an effective long term approach to life. The appropriate approach is to be self-centred where you are happy to help others achieve their goals as long as you do not have to sacrifice your own ambitions to do so.
There are those in this world who would argue that you should never put yourself first. They think that is selfish and mean. They also think that being self-centred is a bad thing. They pretend to be martyrs and argue that you should be selfless. Of course, they are usually saying these things to draw attention to themselves which is as selfish as it gets.
Self-cantered is neither selfish nor selfless. You put yourself at the centre of your life and you understand that if you are to be able to help others, you need to help yourself first. Just like with the emergency announcement, on the airplane where they advise you to put your own oxygen mask on first before attempting to help others. There is an obvious reason for this, by putting your own mask on first, you ensure that you are strong enough to help others.
When you have a personal productivity mindset, you understand that a strong you is in fact a powerful you and; when you are powerful, you are better able to help others. This is done by making sure that your own needs are met; by being self-centred.
Related
People who are afraid to be self-centred are often motivated by a need for approval. Read ’13 Approval seeking behaviours you need to stop’ for more information.
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7. Focused
With a personal productivity mindset, you know what needs to get done in any given moment and you remain focused on getting it done. There is a tendency in the modern day to try to multi-task. Multi-tasking is a myth. You are not really performing two tasks at once. You are repeatedly switching from one task to another with neither task getting your full, uninterrupted attention. When you try to do this, both tasks take longer to complete than they would if you do them separately. It is highly likely that neither task is completed to as high a standard as would be the case if done separately.
A highly productive person knows that it is best to focus on one task at time and perform that task to the best of their ability. Then they can move onto to the next task and give it their full focus.
You mustn’t believe in all this multi-tasking nonsense. The personal productivity mindset understands that it is far more productive to focus completely on one task at a time, your most important task, and finish that task before moving on to the next one.
Results are achieved one step at a time by completing one task at a time. You must understand how important it is to stay focused.
Related
If you want to develop your personal productivity mindset while improving your organisation and focus, check out The Modern Professional’s Guide to Organisation and Focus.
Bounus characteristic
The following point will not be relevant to everybody but where it is; it is is critically important for maintaining a personal productivity mindset.
8. You don’t hold grudges
When you hold a grudge, you are leaving an incident or issue unresolved. This takes precious time and energy from you, as you mull over it in your mind. If you want to be productive, you need to be assertive. Assertive people deal with incidents, in an appropriate manner, when they arise. Letting go of your grudges, and grievances, will work wonders for your productivity.
Conclusion
A time management mindset is essential for determining what you want to achieve, deciding on your priorities, and understanding which activities bring the best rewards. Simply put, it lets you determine what needs to get done. A personal productivity mindset, allows you to make sure that this stuff gets done. It is all about setting up a system which captures each commitment, decides the best course of action, and ensures that the relevant action is carried out at the appropriate time. A time management mindset takes care of the bigger picture, and then the personal productivity mindset takes charge of the little details. Together, they will ensure that you do everything you need to do to achieve your goals, and you will be happier and healthier in the process. It can take quite a lot of effort to create this level of organisation but once you do, the rewards are amazing.