The Secret to Productivity

One of the most popular issues my clients bring up, besides how to make more money, is how to get more done during the day. Unfortunately, even the best time management tools won’t create more hours in a day. This forces you to create a different relationship with time and get off the ‘not enough’ train of thought.

My approach to time is a combination of practical tools, structures, spirituality and emotional wellness. If you want to get more done, you’ve got to begin with your inner game.

When you wake up the morning, decide what kind of day you’re going to have. Will it be good, grumpy, fun, rushed, peaceful, productive or an adventure? It’s your choice from the get-go. Morning is the best time to push the reset button on your attitude.

Disregard the urge to plow into your day full force. Create one or more morning practices to get grounded and focused.

Here are some practices that I’ve seen work wonders:

* Go for a walk, run, workout, row, yoga or another form of mind-body connection

* Journaling, automatic writing or morning pages where you just dump what’s in your head onto paper

* Meditation or doing a guided visualization

* Look at your vision board or bucket list

* Connect to your yearly, monthly, and weekly goals

* Sip a cup of joe or tea while reading something pleasant or enjoying the view

* Write about what an awesome day you’ll have, as if it’s already happened

Once you feel like you can powerfully move forward in a calm manner, it’s time to set your intentions for the day. This is how you leverage the power of attraction. If you start your day without doing this, you are asking for a day you look back on and say, “Where did my day go?” or “This day went from bad to worse.”

It is important to only choose a maximum of five actions you want to complete each day. Less is better. Decide which actions will feel the most fulfilling to complete and that you’ll enjoy doing. If there is something you must complete because of a deadline, decide that doing so will be easy.

Focus is the name of the game. Give yourself completely to whatever you are doing in any given moment. You’ll experience more peace and you’ll actually get more done than if you multi-tasked all day long.

You can experience the feeling of time expanding when you stay present in the moment. It takes a bit of trust that what needs to get done, will be done. Whatever doesn’t get done is fine.

If you beat yourself up over what didn’t get done then you are asking for misery. This life is meant to be enjoyed, not to become a productivity master. But if you are clear about your intentions and find flow in your day, you can experience joy and complete many goals.

Peace, joy and fun are the biggest factors in profit attraction, not how many tasks you can get done in a day.

I always ask myself if what I’ve chosen to do for the day will move me toward what I want and if it will make me happy. Whatever you choose to do for the day, align yourself 100% behind it. No regrets. You’ll have another clean slate tomorrow.