The Ultimate Productivity Challenge- 21 Days To Become More Productive

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If you spend too much time thinking about doing a task but never get it done. Productivity challenge is here to change that.

You want to be productive and check off your to-do list but you spend too much of your time thinking and planning. And hardly get anything done.

Sure, productivity is not about more and more; rather it is more to do with quality and focus on how much output you can generate in a minimum time.

You must come across some people in your school, college or even at work who always stay on top of the game while others take forever to complete the same task. i.e. people like me and you who either postpone their work, keep thinking about it and/or spend half of our time planning about it (or should I say over planning) then get stuck in this never ending loop.

They say that you get 80% of results come from 20% of your efforts. That being said, how you UTILIZE your time will ultimately get you close to what you want to achieve. And it is so very true.

Here’s how I define productivity-

Quality Work + Time Management = Productivity.

Before starting productivity challenge, it’s important for you to know that in order to be productive there are some clarity that I want you to have such as:

Why do you want to be productive?
What are your long term goals that you are struggling to achieve?
Do you find the subject interesting? For example if you have to write for your assignment but you hate writing. Is that the reason you are putting it off as you have no interest? (we’ll see what to do about it later in this post).

21 Days Productivity Challenge To Become More Productive

1) Create A Morning Routine That Is Easy To Follow

The truth is if you have never been a morning person, expecting yourself to wake up at 4,5,6 am is not realistic. (I am not saying you can NOT do it but it’s good to start with small, doable steps).

It’s okay to have your own time and what matters is how you use that time.

If you wake up at 7.00 am and give yourself 15-20 mins in the morning, that will do the job. I know many of us can not afford to spend 2 hours on ourselves and that is ok.

You can do stretching and meditation in those 15-20 mins and it’s SOO much better than nothing at all.

2) Journal About How You Are Feeling

Journaling about how you are feeling and how you want to feel throughout the day is a simple yet effective way to boost productivity.

Get a journal like this one and if you need an idea you can choose from below journal prompts.

3) Be Very Clear Of What Needs To Be Done Today

I know I have said this before but I will have to say it again especially if you are like me– working from home and you can waste your entire day if not planned out what needs to be done as we don’t have anyone to report to (it’s a good thing) but it is challenging at the same time.

4) Automate Your Tasks/Save Your Time

There are so many productivity tools out there to make your life easier.

For example-

1) If you want to post on Facebook and Instagram, you can schedule all of your weekly content in just one sitting using the Meta app.
2) Let software backup your files instead of you doing it manually.
3) Updating your contact book. (you can use something like Addapt to do it for you and not worry about it again)
4) If you travel a lot, you can use something like Tripit to have all your travel details in one place.

5) Exercise

Day 5 is all about exercise. If you have been avoiding it this is the time to get serious about it because you will automatically feel productive if you keep your body active.

6) Don’t Check Your Emails All The Time

On day 6, you are challenged to not check your email more than twice a day unless you have to. What I found to be effective is, I check my emails once in the morning and reply to them if needed and once in the evening when I am finishing my work. That’s It.

7) Focus On One Thing

Nowadays, this is the mantra I live by lol.

8) Distractions will be there

Can you relate to this- When you are doing the most important task you get a call from your friend and they ask you to go out? Or maybe if you are a mom your kid wants you to help him with the homework?

There will always be distractions, you just gotta be smart with your time.

9) Rest Is Important As Well

And it is a part of the productivity challenge.

10) Take Your Alone Time

If you had a very busy day and want to get productive and relaxed, I can not tell you enough about spending time with yourself to recharge and give you some quality time.

11) Learn Something New

There is so much to learn from others and understanding their perspective. And when we know better, we do better, right?

12) If something Is not aligning, say NO

Because if you are doing it just for the sake of doing it, it is not going to be working out anyway.

13) Don’t Torture Yourself

You don’t NEED to be a productive person 24/7. Allow yourself to make mistakes in the process.

14) Learn How To Plan When Feeling Low

It’s so easy to get things done or be productive when things are going smoothly but at times when they are not, it becomes crucial that we know what to do in those times.

15) Take Rest In Between

To help you both your mind and body.

16) Turn Off Your Phone Notification

They are certainly a major distraction. And if you check your texts and other notifications every 5 minutes, it’s better to turn that off until you finish what you are doing.

17) Be Mindful Of Your Eating

Sometimes you do everything right but still can not get anything done. It’s because you might be eating food that makes you sleepy, lazy, tired or stressed.

18) Organize Your Workspace

Messy desk can never help you become productive but rather make you annoyed. So take some time and organize your workspace.

19) Organize Your Phone

Take it like this- If your phone has tons of useless apps, files and images then it will not work well. At least not as it could when it is completely organized and has less things. Plus you will like it when things will become easier to find.

20) Go Outside

These are indeed small habits but over time you will see benefits yourself. You boost your mood when you spend time outdoors.

21) Get Dressed For Productivity

I learned this after I started working from home myself. Wearing my pajamas is so comfortable but unfortunately does not make me productive. Our unconscious mind knows these things.

Bonus Tip- I am a firm believer that you must reflect on what you did and how it turned out for you and I would recommend that you do it too so you can not only be productive but learn more about yourself.