Ever since Mariëlle and I hosted our webinar turned masterclass on Creating Happy Habits for Self-Care and Creativity, I’ve been thinking a lot about productivity. I also got a new agenda from ban.do and am really loving staying organized right now, plus an Uncustomary Babe requested a list of 50 ways to be more productive so things aligned pretty well! Nothing works for everyone, just like everything else in life, but these might be some good jumping off points for you to work with if you’re struggling with procrastinating, getting started, keeping going, or just generally getting enough done. Let me know what your secrets are in the comments! We can never have enough advice, especially on self-help topics!

50 Ways To Be More Productive | Uncustomary

50 Ways To Be More Productive

1. Keep your schedule in one place – I once worked with a girl who had three separate agendas and she said it was good for her to separate client appointments with work tasks and personal/life stuff, but that didn’t really show when she missed every appointment I ever made with her because she wrote it in her “other” agenda!
2. Check in with yourself about not just what you need to do, but what you want to do because it’s important to stay focused on your goals, desire, and motivation
3. Make a list of what gets you excited in general and figure out ways to apply that to starting projects and even more importantly, keeping those projects going!
4. Gather all of your supplies before you begin a task – I’m really guilty of just jumping into something unprepared and although we’ll never be fully “ready” for anything ever, there’s something to be said for being totally unprepared and hasty
5. Eliminate potential distractions so it makes it easier for you stay focused; yeah, put your phone like, over there
6. Set up multiple inboxes in Gmail and utilize the crap out of labels – I have two main ones: “Needs Response” and “To Do”, so I can easily see what area of my life needs more attention; Melyssa Griffin talks about this in her e-course, but you can probably figure it out if you go to settings and check out “Labs”
7. Practice self-care, especially when it comes to relaxation techniques so you can be prepared for all that bad ass shit you gotta do!
8. Create habits so your productivity isn’t done in drop-in-the-bucket spurts; check out Mariëlle’s and my masterclass on creating happy habits
9. Make time for education; it’ll definitely benefit you to learn more in the field you’re interested in, whether that’s reading books or blog articles, listening to podcasts, whatever… even 20 minutes every day or three times a week makes a world of difference!
10. Make your to do lists varied and manageable; if you’re constantly put “save the world” on there you’re going to get discouraged
11. Organize your to do lists into a few overarching categories that fit into your life; I have “Hustle”, “Create”, and “Self” for mine
12. Wake up earlier; I suck at this, but whenever I do it I get SO much more done and feel so much better about myself and my day
13. Created automated things that will save you time; for example if you have a blog and are constantly getting asked the same questions about something, you can create “canned responses” with Gmail, or an FAQ page for your site, or even an e-course online that people can purchase and create you passive income that also answers your reader’s question in detail – do work one time and reap the rewards an infinite amount of times
14. Outsource stuff: delegate tasks to people you know can do them and hire someone if you can to do tasks that you’re willing to relinquish control of
15. Keep a tidy, organized workspace (and that includes the digital world, too!)
16. Don’t try to keep a schedule, to do list, system, etc. that doesn’t work for you just because that’s the one someone you admire uses; we’re all different and work differently, so lean into that
17. Download apps and widgets that don’t allow you to use social media or specific sites at certain times of the day or more than a certain number of times a day

50 Ways To Be More Productive | Uncustomary

18. Get dressed at the beginning of the day; put on jewelry, make-up, nice clothes, whatever makes you feel beautiful — a boost in confidence can actually increase your productivity
19. Try scheduling one type/category of tasks each day instead of doing a little bit of everything each day; you might find you get more done
20. Reward yourself for accomplishing tasks
21. Create a goal tracker to record progress tangibly (sticker charts aren’t childish)
22. Give deadlines for yourself
23. Ask someone you trust to be your accountability partner and set up guidelines
24. Join a productivity support group or take Caylee’s amazing Level Up e-course
25. Leave the house; take a break/get inspired… you can’t be productive if you’re constantly burning the candle at both ends
26. Create motivating/pump-up playlists to listen to when you’re working on stuff
27.

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28. Google Life Hacks and try ones that seem helpful and applicable to your life
29. Add your favorite people as “close friends” on Facebook so you get notified when they update and you don’t have to worry/waste time scrolling through your newsfeed to find their posts
30. Have a way to record ideas on the go whether that’s a notepad in your phone or a real life one in your purse
31. Take time to declutter your thoughts and “dump” everything on paper or in a document on the computer; don’t let your brain become a metaphorical web browser with a hundred tabs open!
32. Read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
33. Only check your e-mail two or three times a day
34. Get as much sleep as you can and stay healthy
35. Plan your major tasks, meals, outfits, etc. the night before




50 Ways To Be More Productive | Uncustomary

36. Write positive affirmations about how productive you are and say them out loud/write them down
37. Close the door of your workspace/get a cute “Do Not Disturb” sign
38. Try out Miracle Mornings: a one hour jumpstart to your day
39. Make a list of your accomplishments every night in your Happy Journal
40. Stay positive and optimistic
41. Change your vocabulary from saying “I think” and “I should” to “I WILL”
42. Say no to something you know you’ll have ass; be like Ron Swanson and “whole ass” things
43. Decide on a (short) time frame window for you to make decisions in
44. Eat brain foods like blueberries, oatmeal, and avocados
45. Don’t put off small tasks you can do in under like, three minutes
46. Don’t power through those super tired times; you’ll end up wasting the next day and much more time than you gain from the all-nighter
47. Plan your driving, errands, etc. at non-peak hours
48. Schedule time for being social and self-care to make sure you’re taking care of yourself
49. Declare that working from home is a REAL job and make your friends believe it, too
50. Ask questions. A lot of them. To learn from others, but also from yourself.

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How do you stay productive?

Photos: Maura Housley