The First 6 Steps You Can Take To Become a Productive Person

Take the first step

Akshay Raveendran
3 min readJul 26, 2022

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Productivity is essential. Being more effective than typical in the same amount of time is known as productivity. You’re able to make the most of each day. Unfortunately, the majority of us don’t produce much. The good news is that increasing our productivity simply requires a few doable actions.

Remember that although productivity increases over time, there are strategies to jumpstart it right away. Here are 6 actions to take immediately:

1. Look at the Big Picture

The first step to do when you’re losing productivity is to take a step back and consider your long-term goals and the things that are most important to you. Next, consider the possible pursuits you might make in connection with that.

Your productivity will immediately rise as you’ll gain greater clarity and feel more driven to take action. Even if the tasks are challenging, keeping the big picture in mind will give you the confidence to complete them.

2. Anchor Yourself in the Present

Distractions are one of the major productivity destroyers. Distractions focus a lot of your attention in the wrong place and severely reduce productivity, whether it’s a background TV that often draws your attention or a stream of unrelated thoughts that race through your head.

Conquer distractions and keep your focus on the present. In certain cases, this entails removing outside distractions, such as turning off your TV. Sometimes it refers to living in the present. To become present, take a deep breath, and clear your mind of all distracting thoughts. Repeatedly performing this easy exercise will greatly increase your productivity.

3. Delay Gratification

Because the task is not as enjoyable as another activity, we frequently are not productive. It is tempting to switch from the less pleasurable work to the less important one.

Delaying pleasure in this situation is important. Wait until you have completed the activity in question with care before allowing yourself to perform what you enjoy doing the most. Prioritize work above leisure.

Your motivation to complete this other task will increase as soon as your mind learns that it must be completed before you can engage in the enjoyable activity, which will increase your productivity. This is how to turn satisfaction into an asset rather than a liability.

4. Eat a Healthy Meal

Even though it may seem little, what you eat affects your productivity. Unfortunately, many of us eat hastily and consume meals that are high in sugar, harmful carbs, and have little nutritious value.

Such a meal will make you feel full, but it will also drastically lower your energy levels. You’ll feel drained after eating, so you can bet that your productivity won’t be very high.

A healthy dinner that includes fruits, vegetables, and lean meats on the other hand will increase your energy and make you feel good, which will increase your productivity. So be mindful of what you eat and choose foods that will offer you energy rather than waste it.

5. Chunk Everything Down

We occasionally deal with projects that are enormous and will take months to complete. Large chores can feel daunting when we consider them, which demotivates us. To solve this problem, divide each large task into several smaller tasks, and give priority to the smaller tasks.

Let’s take the scenario where your major assignment is to write a book. You can break that down into creating several manageable chapters, and then while you work, focus on the chapter you need to write rather than the entire book. A short chapter can be written far more easily than the entire book, and before you realize it, you’ll have finished it.

6. Take Regular Breaks

Contrary to popular belief, taking regular breaks boosts productivity — as long as they aren’t excessively long or frequent. Breaks give your body and mind an opportunity to relax and heal so that you may return to work more effectively and productively.

On the other hand, individuals who rarely take breaks while working to become more productive simply succeed in depleting themselves. They may put in longer hours, but at a considerably lower rate of productivity, which is unhealthy for both them and the level of work they produce.

The best part of these six steps is that you may begin using them right away. As soon as you get started, your productivity will increase. The quantity and caliber of your work will both increase.

Over time, small daily productivity gains build up to significant adjustments in productivity. And significant long-term changes significantly improve your quality of life. Don’t most of us want that?

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Akshay Raveendran

Founder of @thoguhts | Writer | Substack | I talk about Self Improvement & Productive Living - taking you closer to your dream life.