It’s the time of year where you look back on your New Year goals wondering what went wrong.
You had so many high hopes, but life got in the way. The time simply wasn’t available for you to succeed.
The question is: how do the world’s most successful people get so much done in the same 24 hours?
Time management is a huge factor that allows them to be insanely productive.
Want to be the jacked fitness instructor, who runs a successful business and promotes it to his huge social media audience?
There are plenty of dudes who are living that life, which means you could too.
Whatever you want to be, here are six proven productivity tips to help you smash all your goals in 2019.
#1 Discover your ‘why’
The desire to slack off will always be difficult to resist. Our brains are built to ensure we’re comfortable, not successful.
The best way to overcome this urge to procrastinate is to write down our goals – and why we want to achieve them.
“I want to launch a business that earns $X a month, because I hate my job.”
“I want to lose 50lbs, because my health and self-esteem will suffer otherwise.”
“I want to run a marathon and raise $X, because the charity really needs the money.”
As Les Brown says: “If your why is big enough, you’ll find your how.”
#2 Plan your day before you go to sleep
A packed schedule should motivate you to spring out of bed as soon as the alarm buzzes.
It’ll stop you wasting time wondering what needs to be done. It’ll motivate you to do more than you otherwise would have.
Highly productive people like to organise their day around their energy levels. Many schedule important tasks for the start of the day. This is commonly when people are at their most productive. It’s also when they’re least likely to face external distractions. There are tons of successful entrepreneurs who wake up before the crack of dawn for these reasons. Here are five additional reasons to work out early in the morning.
Getting a headstart on the day helps them to feel more in control of their lives and motivates them to keep winning throughout the afternoon. If you tend to be more productive late at night, adjust your schedule accordingly.
#3 Set deadlines
Ever written a 3,000-word essay in an evening, only to spend an entire day stressing over a blog post? Our productivity levels tend to only as intense as they need to be…
Deadline-setting is a useful activity to spur you into working quicker. Give yourself a time limit to complete each task you set yourself.
#4 Schedule breaks
Focus is finite. It’s important to schedule breaks to ensure we work at our best. This will save time in the long run.
It’s been suggested that scheduling 50 minutes of intense work followed by 10-minute breaks is the best way to encourage peak productivity.
Regular breaks will help you resist procrastinating during scheduled ‘work time’. For tasks that involve strenuous physical activity, adjust your rest time accordingly.
#5 Delegate, outsource or automate
Around 80% of your results will come from 20% of your work, according to The Pareto Principle.
The world’s most productive people are masters of delegation, outsourcing or automating unimportant tasks.
This frees up time for them to concentrate on making the decisions that will make a difference.
#6 Maintain a healthy body
There has been numerous studies linking exercise with improved mental health. This extends to improved focus.
A clean diet has also been shown to have profound effects on focus and general happiness levels.
