Shift Your Thinking and Enjoy Greater Productivity

Greater productivity is worth pursuing, but it is far more than happy hacks and habits! And it’s more than just hustling harder, working longer, and picking up your pace!

Productivity is not about being in motion, it’s about utilizing your time wisely so that you accomplish what’s most important with less effort.

The real key to being more productive is shifting the way you think because your mind powerfully influences everything! It works both for you or against you! You get to choose!

Here are some worthwhile questions to ponder as you think about your productivity:

• What do you currently think/feel about the many items on your to do list?
• What beliefs do you have around what needs to be done and the many projects you would really like to get to?
• What repeatedly gets squeezed out in your efforts to be more productive? Self-care, healthy habits, relationships, or ______?

What if you were able to adjust your thinking in ways that would ultimately lead to greater productivity? And an added bonus: a happier work/life balance. If that’s something you are game for, then here are some super sweet shifts in your thinking you will want to make:

1. My Time is Valuable

What’s limited is valuable. And there is no way around it – time is limited. Like everyone else, you only get 24 hours each day and eventually your days come to an end. That’s not fun to hear, but it is a reminder that life is short and your time is much too valuable to be wasted. Ask yourself:

• • • What’s worthy of my valuable time?
    • How does that match up to the reality of how I am using my days?

Unfortunately, when you don’t value your own time, it plays out in ways that impede your productivity. Ask yourself questions like…

• • • Do you find yourself giving your time away or saying yes to every opportunity that comes along?

      → If so, it’s time to create parameters for the opportunities that you will take on.

    • Are allowing yourself to be overly accessible? Are people are free to interrupt you whenever they want?

      → If so, it’s time to communicate clearly when you are available and then stick to it.

    • Do you frequently let meetings run late or schedule appointments back-to-back with little margin between them?

      → If so, it’s time to prioritize and narrow down what needs to be covered. Relentlessly stick to the time frame allotted and insist on margin between activities.

    • Are you placing greater importance on meetings with others over meetings with yourself to exercise or tend to personal needs?

      → If so, it time to consider what is causing you to under value you and your needs. After all, a better you will show up for others when you do!

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be under-valuing your time.

2. My Time is Abundant

While it’s true that you and I are limited to 24 hours a day, operating out of the belief that you never have enough time certainly doesn’t help you get more done! That kind of thinking tempts you to hurry, over commit, and skip necessary breaks and before you know it, you are spinning your wheels and getting nowhere fast!

Believing that you have all the time you need allows you to approach tasks with a very different mindset.  It encourages you to focus and get creative. Even better, it leaves space for God to work on your behalf. He knows exactly what’s ahead and how everything will come together.

I’ve experienced God’s reworking of my schedule on a frequent basis, including this week! My schedule was full and my to do list was long. It actually felt a little impossible. Yet I continued to trust that I had all the time I needed and trust that God would work out the details. And He did! Out of the blue, an entire afternoon was freed up in an instant allowing me to tackle some very important items that needed my attention!

Believing that you have all the time you need is not an excuse to doddle, but rather a way to relieve the pressure around what’s on your plate and free you up to focus, get creative, and approach what needs to be done in a stress-free way. After all, stress is what you feel when your expectations exceed what’s realistic to get done.

3. I Get To!

Some tasks you actually look forward to doing. And there are tasks that you feel like you “have to” get done but you aren’t excited or energized about doing them. Whatever those “have to” tasks are for you, start thinking about them as items on your to do list that you “get to” do. It sounds silly, but it’s a little like choosing to smile no matter how you feel. Before you know it, your attitude is drifting in a more positive direction! And when you choose to think “get to,” you discover those tasks aren’t nearly as dreaded as you had made them out to be.

Choosing to think “get to” is simply a way of taking control, while thinking “have to” feels like a loss of control.

Kids prove this point perfectly. When they are two or three and attempting to assert their independence, whatever you want them to do, even if it’s something they like to do, gets a quick “no!” It’s their way of attempting to feel more in control. Even though this stage is a temporary one, it’s just human nature to prefer to do tasks that you “get to” rather than “have to”.

4. Done is Better!

If you have a tendency to be a perfectionist, this way of thinking is for you!

Shooting for perfect is not only impossible, but may keep you from ever getting started! Accomplishing something less than perfect trumps never started every time!

If done is better, the real question is how will you do your best within the time frame allotted?

Remember, you are still learning and growing. You are continually improving. It’s a process! It doesn’t have to be perfect today.

5. Positive Habits Help!

Your positive habits, routines, and rhythms all invite greater productivity. When you truly believe this, you are motivated to develop the habits, routines, and rhythms that will enable you to accomplish your goals.

If you doubt the impact of positive habits have on your level of productivity, you will struggle to successfully incorporate them into your life.

Developing a new habit requires knowledge, desire, and skill. Which of these three is most challenging for you?

6. I Am LOVED!

When you don’t feel loved, that’s when fear sneaks in! Your Fear Monster is sly and sees that as an opportunity to get you doing all sorts of time consuming and crazy stuff all in an effort to feel more loved.

Rather than focusing on who doesn’t love or value you, focus on the One who gave His very life so that you are able to enjoy a relationship with Him. Did you catch that? A relationship with the very God of the universe! Forever! That’s beyond sweet!

When you are confident that you are loved, especially by God, the implications are wide reaching including making you more productive. Not productive busy, but smart productive because you don’t have anything to prove or to earn. You are free to simply focus on what you are doing minus all the inner turmoil that slows you down!

7. God Is Trustworthy

What you believe about God colors every facet of your life! If you believe He is for you, able to help you, and that He will help you, you are on solid ground!

On the flip side, when you doubt God’s love, care, provision, ability to help and more, you are essentially unanchored and prone to striving in ways that don’t lead to the results you are after.

Which mindset shift would enable you operate with greater productivity?

Originally posted on 4/3/18, this post has been updated and revised just for you!

© Can Stock Photo / PushnovaL