Top Productivity Habits

Hello everybody and welcome back to the blog. This week, I’d like to share some of my top tips for maintaining an organized and productive life. This post falls at a good time for me as I am currently in the middle of a move to a new country (will be in Brussels, Belgium from August!) and for those of you making plans to go back to school/ starting work up again in the Fall. Most of these tips are habits that I’ve had for years though some are more recent additions that have made my life days much more streamlined. I find that we often have to adjust our habits and routines as life throws new challenges at us. Therefore, I hope to update these habits as things change, and welcome you all to share any habits below that have helped you stay organized. 

Some of these tips may look familiar as I have mentioned them before here on the blog in the healthy morning habits and 7 healthy habits posts, though I’ve also included some that are work and fitness related. 

So, without further ado, let’s get organized and productive:

1. Have a morning routine. This is a key factor in starting your day off on the right foot though is unique to each individual. I’ve written a blog post and made a YouTube video on morning habits that you are welcome to look to for some inspiration in creating your own :) Morning Routine blog post and YouTube video.

2. Get dressed and ready each day- even if you work from home. If you work in an office or away from your home this tip may seem a bit strange but bear with me as it’s not only applicable to the workweek. If you’re really looking to make the most out of your time, utilize your weekends to the fullest and have a plan of action ready. Waking up on the earlier side and getting dressed will put you in a headspace to get things done. It can be as simple as doing some household errands, going to the gym, or grocery shopping, but start your day by getting dressed. 

3. Schedule your day and the top 3 things that you’d like to accomplish that day in the morning. As I mentioned in the Morning Habits Youtube video, journaling is a great way to plan out the most urgent tasks that need to be done in the day. One important thing to remember here is to not pile your plate too high and to write down things that are able to be done in the span of one day. Organizing your day ahead of time and checking off items as you go will make you feel good and train your mind to enjoy being productive. 

4. Make short term and longer term goals to stay on track. Goal setting is a wonderful practice that allows you to check in with yourself and the habits/ skills/ practices you’d like to adopt. I’d recommend dividing your goals into three categories: short term (1-3 weeks), mid term (4-12 weeks) and long term (1-2 years). The categories should snowball, meaning that the short term goals play into the mid term goals and eventually they all lead to getting you to your long term goals. You can also categorize your goals by section (i.e. personal life, professional life, skills to learn, fitness routine, etc). 

I find it helpful to keep a journal as reference and like to check in with how I’m doing every 3 weeks or so. You’ll also need to make modifications as you begin to check things off. It’s quite surprising what writing something down can do. In my experience just writing down what I wanted to accomplish has shifted my actions somewhat subconsciously to lead me in the direction of that goal. 

5. Continue learning. This is perhaps the most important tip on this list of productivity habits as learning is one of the best ways to optimize your time and efficiency. There are many ways to acquire new information, and many of them are thanks to technology (here’s looking at you 21st century ;)), so pick up a book, listen to a podcast, watch a youtube video or attend a seminar. It’s less important what the medium is but rather the fact that you make learning a part of your daily routine. 

If you are already an avid reader, try expanding your scope to include non-fiction and books on topics that will serve your adult life (i.e. book on finance, new language, how to cook, doing your taxes, video editing, etc). By exposing yourself to new ideas and skills, you’ll continue to grow and evolve as a person, and this evolution could lead to you achieving some of the goals you set (refer to number 4 of this list ;)). 

6. Move your body every single day. I’ve already spoken about movement and fitness ad nauseam here on the blog so I won’t belabor the point. If you’d like some workout inspiration, I have many workouts and yoga flows on my channel. I’ve also written a blog post about training, listing some of its benefits and how to switch things up every few months to keep things interesting, which you can read here. 

7. Find some time to be alone every day. This last one is quite simple, but it’s nice to stress the importance of enjoying your own company. Whether it’s during a workout, cooking, walking, or reading, find some time to be introspective.

What are some of the ways you all stay productive? Do you find it easier to be productive in different places/ different times of the year? Leave a comment down below because I’d be curious to know :)

Thank you all for stopping by this week for another blog and if there’s anything specific you’d like to see on here in the realm of health, fitness, yoga, or nutrition, just let me know and I’ll see what I can do :)

Until next week!

xoxo,

Alexandra