Author L.K. Hill's Musings on Fantasia: The Three Best Things You Can Do for Your Productivity This Year!!!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

The Three Best Things You Can Do for Your Productivity This Year!!!

So back in December, as the new year approached, I sat down and wrote out a business plan. It included a plan for everything I wanted to get done this year--whole nine yards of resolutions--as well as marketing, writing, and plans for other aspects of my life.

Problem is, I'll be doing more working-at-the-day-job kind of stuff this year, which means I'll have less time, not more, than I used to, and yet I have more things to get done. (Isn't that always the case?) So, how can I keep up my writing momentum and get done everything I want to without being a 24/7 hermit?

The answer is PRODUCTIVITY!

Of course, saying you're going to be productive and actually doing it are two different things, aren't they? So how do you enforce your own productivity, as opposed to making all kinds of plans that are doomed to fall by the wayside?

The biggest answer is in planning.

The three best things you can do for your productivity are as follows:

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1) Make two lists, differentiating "real" work from "busy" work. Most of us have days where we get caught up, thinking we're getting work done, when really we're doing busy work that takes away from what's really important.

Case in point: As a writer, the most important work I can do is, you guessed it, the writing. Other things, like being on social networks, going to classes and conferences, networking with other authors, even blogging, all take away from my writing time. Now, don't get me wrong: all of these things are important, but none of them will get my book written for me.

So, make separate lists of things that are the real work vs. the busy work. You'll probably be surprised how much time you spend doing stuff that doesn't actually get the real work done.

2) Schedule your time. Make out detailed schedules of your days, so that you know exactly when you'll have time to do the most important work (in my case, writing) and how much of it you'll have.

3) Commit to always doing the most important work first. Once you've set aside the time to work, make a private commitment to always start with the thing that will help you move forward. In my case, that means always doing my writing (or perhaps editing, unfortunately) before I spend time on Pinterest or do anything else. That way, no matter what happens, I'll always be getting more words onto the page.

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If you want to be super organized, schedule your other, less important tasks as well, always making sure to do the most important things first in a descending order.

Of course this can be tailored to any aspect of your life, and any major task you're trying to get done this year. Do these three things and you'll already be light years ahead of most other authors struggling to finish their projects this year. Most people find that by following just these simple steps, they increase their productivity by as much as 500% in the first week alone!

My source for these ideas is a book entitled, Becoming the 1% by Dennis Crosby. If you want a much more detailed guide to productivity and becoming one of the most productive (top 1%) in the world, check it out. The ebook is extremely affordable.

What are you doing to keep up your productivity this year?