4 Simple Steps to Having The Most Productive Day

Have you ever gotten to the end of a day and wondered what on earth it was you achieved? Have you taken a look at a recent 24-hour period and gotten shocked at how so many hours passed without you having anything to show for them?

I have seen worse.

When I was much younger, my father usually asked my sister and I to account for what we did at the end of each day. Knowing that I would have to give an account made me do things I wouldn’t have ordinarily done. It wasn’t because I wanted to really be productive, but because I didn’t want to give an empty report.

At the end of the day, I found out I accomplished a lot more simply because I set off with a result oriented mindset.

Many people go through their days without any focus and they wonder why they don’t achieve much. Others usually deceive themselves with the lie that they still have a lot of time to do all they would want to do.

These set of people have obviously forgotten that time is a non-recoverable asset. Once lost, it can never be gotten back. Knowing that you have just about 30,000 days to be alive is enough to make you aware of the value of each hour that fleets past.

In about 120 days for instance, the year will come to an end. This means you just have less than 120 shots to make all your 2015 dreams come to pass.
This means you don’t have all the time in the world. All you have is less than 2,880 hours left. One day lost can never be gotten back. Worse still, one hour lost is lost forever.

Having a very productive day means your day brings you closer to the place where your goals become accomplished. One day could be all you need to see the fulfillment of those dreams, so you should aspire to make each day your best.

Below are 4 easy ways you can approach your day so you can have a most productive day and draw closer to the fulfillment of your dreams.

1. Start each day with gratitude.

Being grateful is a very easy way to get yourself enthusiastic and motivated enough to take on each day. Make it a habit to recount what has happened recently which you are grateful for.

If possible, have a list of things you are grateful for. Be grateful for life. You have a family, a job, an apartment? Be grateful for them.

Things may not be the way you want them to be, but you can still be grateful that you have yet another shot to make things better.

Gratitude is a catalyst for enthusiasm. Thinking grateful thoughts is an easy way to get enthusiastic about your day.

Moreover, the morning is the best time to catch your day. Your attitude at the beginning of each day goes a long way to determine your attitude for the rest of the day.

Beginning the day with enthusiasm will give you the necessary drive to pursue your goals and have the most productive day.

2. Plan your day.

This point has been emphasized so much it seems to be an over-flogged topic in the school of success. It’s an old cliché yet a lot of people aren’t still doing it.

What do you want to do or have happen during the day?

What are those things that if they happen, you will feel as if you have had a most productive day?

Create a plan for their accomplishment.

Productivity and results don’t happen by chance; they are planned for and worked out.

Capture your plans on paper.

One of the easiest lies you can tell yourself is that you don’t need to write down your thoughts. Winners make plans on paper, losers say it doesn’t matter.
Writing down your plans increases the chances of you accomplishing them.

3. Prepare a To-do list with Most Valuable Things (MVTs) on top.

Remember the Pareto principle?
It states that twenty percent of our activities are what account for eighty percent of the results that we get in everything we do.

This means you should plan your to-do lists in such a way that the most valuable things for each day appear on top of the list.

These MVTs are those things that when accomplished, you will feel as if you have already had a great day.

Make it your priority to do these MVTs. It could be a meeting with a client, a call you need to make or a book you need to read. Start with them, focus on them and don’t get distracted until they are accomplished.

Resist the temptation to spend all your time doing the other stuff that make up the remaining twenty percent of your result. They could be enticing, but the MVTs must come first.

Focus solely on them each day.

4. Focus all your attention on a task per time.

It is very tempting to want to write an important report, and at the same time want to reply emails and maybe do a video call with your mom.

Resist that temptation vehemently, especially if it concerns your MVTs. They require absolute and undivided attention to be accomplished.

Multitasking could be a life saver, I know. But when it comes to your MVTs, don’t multi task. Tackle each item individually. Resist the urge to muddle them all up and do them together. If you do, you may end up having a lot of started but unfinished projects.

The less you multi task, the better your day will become. Stay focused on each task and you’ll surely have a productive day.

Your Turn.
Do you count your blessings, or you think your blessings don’t count?
If you do, how does having a grateful attitude affect your productivity?
Do you have anything you do personally to make your day more productive?