How many times have you eagerly attempted new productivity hacks or tools and failed to obtain the desired result? Most people live chaotic lives even though there is a wealth of information readily available to them providing all the information necessary to increase their productivity. Why is it that so many people still find it difficult to manage their time effectively, and consequently fail to achieve their goals? What is the missing component?
As a productivity coach for the last 10 years, the answer started to become quite obvious. Everybody faces the same challenges, no matter what they are trying to achieve.
Here is what usually happens
You want to become more productive, and you want to complete more tasks during the day, but you feel unorganized, and you’re not in control. After reading a few articles, and watching some videos, you decide that you will begin by hacking your calendar. As you know, you do not plan your time well during the day, and you are very reactive throughout the day so this is an excellent first step in the right direction.
Using your calendar, you organize certain tasks into batches, such as scheduling time for emails and phone calls three times a day, placing tasks that take less than five minutes together for the afternoon, and taking breaks and planning travel time. During the morning when your focus is at its greatest, you block off time to tackle your most demanding tasks. Your excitement about using it already makes you feel more in control and confident that everything will work out.
After a long night of sleep, you wake up the next morning and open your calendar on the screen. It was planned that you would start with a deeply focused task, and then check your email after you had completed the report you had been putting off for days. But now you feel a great desire to check your email, browse social networking sites, and see what is going on. The thought of starting to write this report is quite intimidating and you feel immediate resistance.
The feeling of disappointment is almost dual because you expected this might happen and at the same time are disappointed by yourself. You try to justify rescheduling the report to tomorrow in your mind, and you go back and forth, justifying why you can start the report later. You think to yourself that tomorrow you will feel better.
A few hours later, you receive a reminder to begin another task that you have set up for the afternoon. The energy and focus are lacking, and you feel tired and distracted. The other thing that you notice is that you are frustrated about not following your new calendar. You wonder why this is so difficult.
Your resolution is to start tomorrow again and to proceed with a project that you believe is essential to complete now. There is just so much more pressing and important work to be done than what you had planned. Days pass, and then the same thing repeats itself. Despite your best efforts, you are unable to stick with your planned schedule, and you feel frustrated again. You realize this is not for you, and that you are not a planner.
Perhaps you are finding yourself saying such things as, “I’ll never be organized”, or “I actually work better when I’m stressed and under pressure”. Without knowing it, you are justifying your actions with limiting beliefs about yourself or how to achieve success.
You may decide to try one or more simple techniques, or you may completely give up, regardless, you are not obtaining the desired results.
What’s the recurring pattern?
It is probable that you have tried to change behavior through strategy alone, which is why you have struggled with productivity hacks or tools. Trying this will only make you frustrated and angry. It doesn’t matter how well-crafted your strategies are, you will not get the results you want if you are not in the right mindset and doing the wrong thing. If you are tired, or feeling lazy, or overwhelmed, you will not execute effectively.
Your mindset and emotion impact your productivity directly! Organizing your days and setting up your appointments in such a way that they are more productive is an example of strategy, but if you are not in the right mindset, you will not execute effectively on your strategy. And this is what is happening for most people wanting to increase their productivity.
You want to shift the way you are thinking, you might need to even realign your values and beliefs. Consider, how does your current value system and beliefs align with the changes you want to make? If you don’t plan, you clearly don’t currently value planning. If you don’t see the ‘value’ in what you are doing, you won’t change either, or you will feel a lot of resistance with the change that you choose.
In order to shift your belief that planning is crucial to success, for example, and value it more, you need to strengthen the belief that planning improves your chances of success with as many new references, etc and break down your current belief. Only then, does action become easier. You can learn how to do this here if you need support in how to identify and shift your beliefs to align with your outcomes.
On top of shifting your perspective and beliefs on time, you want to shift your emotions to take action too. Again, you can’t act when you are feeling frustrated or overwhelmed or demotivated. It is your job to master your emotions and align them to what you want to do. If you are letting your emotions lead or dictate your day and influence your calendar, you are not winning. Your emotions are the only thing that is really in your control. If you are not feeling ‘good’, you want
Productivity Hacks Will Work When You Do This
When you shift your mindset, your energy follows, and you will receive the results you desire. I guarantee you that you will get immediate and effortless results from the hacks and tools you use if you become a master of emotions and mindset. Learn how to master your emotions and get in the drivers seat of your life. If you continue to allow excuses and stories to control your day, you will never achieve the results and productivity you desire.
Don’t forget, if you don’t manage your emotions, you can’t manage your time either!
Check out my productivity masterclass to learn everything you need to know to successfully 10x your productivity and get results now.
To your success!
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