HOW TO BOOST YOUR PRODUCTIVITY
The new year is well into way and there is no better time to make a start on working towards your goals and dream life than now! Which I know can seem pretty scary and overwhelming, the biggest cause of stress in my life is having too much to do and not finding time and balance for it all. That I why I created a list of some of my favourite tips and tricks on how I keep on task, work towards my goals and boost my productivity levels.
TO DO LISTS
This one seems pretty basic But I promise you to do lists are life changing!
I am a crazy to do list writer, there is honestly nothing better than writing out a huge list of tasks to do for the day and putting a line through them once you have completed them! My top tip, is BE SPECIFIC! , nothing is too insignificant for the list, everything from make the bed to cook breakfast, that way your whole brains contents is spilled out onto the list leading to less stress, not to mention more crossing out!!
GOAL SETTING
I know it is so easy, to get lost in an abundance of work and tasks that have deadline and due dates feeling overwhelmed and wondering when it will ever stop.
I absolutely love setting realistic and achievable goals for myself, they make me feel as If I am working towards something, keeping me on track and positive. How I like to set my goals is simply grab a diary, notebook or sheet of paper, get your favourite pens, fine liners or highlighters and set up categories for goals you want to achieve in different areas of your life these may include School/Work, Business, Financial, Personal, Travel ect.. With this simply write in list format a one sentence goal, when you want to achieve it by and why you want to achieve it. An example may be “To stock Shining Mia products in stores across Australia, by the end of 2020 so I am able to grow my business and share my passion and products with as many people as possible’ There doesn’t need to be many, think quality over quantity. Place this list of goals up somewhere where you can see them everyday, they will serve as motivation as to what you are working towards.
JUST STARTING
This one may sound very basic, but just hear me out. It is so easy to feel over whelmed by everything you have to get done, so instead you procrastinate by scrolling through Instagram for hours on end, and worse for it afterwards Trust me I know.
There is no better time than NOW! Quit making excuses for why you cant do it, and just begin. There is no magic trick to boost your motivation to start, I may seem harsh but you just need to do it. I suggest telling yourself to just do 25 minutes have a 5 minute break, then reassess and decide you want to continue or not. Most of the time you will be in the frame of mind to keep going on to repeat this cycle a couple more times which is great! But if not than that’s okay, it is 25 minutes more than you would have done anyways have a break, get some fresh air and try again later.
KEEPING A POSITIVE MINDSET
The power of the mind is so underestimated!
If we have a negative frame of mind we can’t see the bigger picture and working towards a goal or motivating yourself to get stuff done is so much harder as things can seem ‘pointless’ or ‘too hard’. Whereas having a growth mindset and keeping positive about situations increases the likelihood of actually getting the task done. What I like to do when I feel overwhelmed and stressed is reflect on the past, all the times that I have been stressed and worried are now less significant. Look back on everything tricky you have overcame so far in your life, congratulate yourself for making it through that and just think that soon what you are going through will join those things in the past. Being negative doesn’t help anybody, yourself or the people around you, so try to keep positive and optimistic where you can. You will make it make it through this, I promise!
TAKING TIME FOR YOU
Something that I have struggled with in the past and defiantly haven’t mastered yet is taking time out and allowing myself to relax and escape work, which can be really tricky especially when you love what you do. But it is so important!
You need to schedule time for yourself to do what you love, indulge in some self care, what ever that may be for you. This may sound contradictory however we can get caught up in always feeling like we need to be productive, and get burnt out. It is so important to take time off every now and then whether that be book yourself in for a spa day, read that book you have always wanted to, sleep in an extra hour or have a movie day with friends. This allows you to be fresh, motivated and ready to be productive again when you get back into the swing of things.
USING CRYSTALS & ESSENTIAL OILS
As I am sure you know, I absolute love my crystals and essential oils and truly believe that they help me achieve my goals and keep on track.
When I am wanting to focus and work on my to do list, essential oils such as rosemary, citrus, peppermint and Spearmint are perfect! Also having a specific crystal that you keep on you when being productive allows you to keep on task and get stuff done, I suggest a Citrine or Tigers Eye both known to help you achieve your goals. I do also have two crystal infused essential oil blends which I love for productivity and incorporate both the benefits of crystals and essential oils into one product. They are the Joy uplifting blend and the Study focus blend
GET INSPIRED
Finding inspiration and motivation to keep on pushing is so important to helping you achieve your goals! My favourite sources of inspiration is from the people around me, quotes and podcasts.
I am a lover of Quotes and Affirmations, If you follow my Instagram @shining.xo.mia & @shining.mia.shop you would defiantly know this. They are a tool to help you switch your frame of mind and way of thinking about certain situations boosting productivity. If you ever hear a quote you resonate with write it down in your notes on your phone so you don’t forget it, then write it down and place it somewhere you can see it so you can constantly be inspired by it. Podcasts are also super inspiring, I absolutely love the seize the yay podcast, listening to other peoples stories and learning that things don’t come easy and work is a prerequisite for success. Makes me want to be so much more productive in order to achieve my goals. Find you favourite forms of inspiration!
I hope that one of these tips can help you keep productive and help you work towards achieving your goals this year (and every year!) Let me know in the comments your favourite tip or if you have an extras you want to share, I would love to hear them!
What are you waiting for, time to get productive!