If your life is super busy and you feel overwhelmed with everything you need to do, you’ve probably looked into ways to be more productive. Many books, podcasts, and courses tell you how to increase your productivity with new hacks and techniques.

However, the problem is not implementing more and more productivity hacks to complete all your tasks… it’s about creating a plan to increase the effectiveness of the productivity techniques you already use!

Let’s be real… if you are finding yourself too busy to fold all the laundry, you are probably too busy to sit down and read a whole book on productivity. A better use of your very limited time would be sitting down to create a productivity plan that takes what you already do but makes it better and more useful!

Keep reading if you need some help getting your life back on track so you can actually get all those things done that you NEED to do and have more time for all those other things you WANT to do.

Related Reads:

• Digital Entrepreneur: How to Become More Present at Work
• How To Detach Your Self-Worth From Productivity
• How To Stop Procrastination And Start Achieving Your Goals
• How to Improve Self-Confidence as a Digital Entrepreneur
• How to Create a Balanced Life

What Is A Productivity Plan?

Simply put, a productivity plan is a unique plan that is meant to boost the effectiveness of your productivity. It focuses on doing things in an optimal way for you! You want to be able to do more in less time.

This term is often used in business settings. Workplaces and managers will set goals and targets to be met by staff. Sometimes they will even go as far as creating productivity plans for the workers or the entire workplace to make sure work is being completed in the most effective manner.

However, productivity plans are not only for work environments. They can be created for your daily tasks, life admin days, or your side hustles!

How Do You Know If You Need A Productivity Plan?

So, you know what a productivity plan is now but do you actually need one?
The answer is pretty simple. If you find you are falling behind in your daily tasks or feel overwhelmed when it comes to getting everything done, then yes, you should create a productivity plan!

If your life is so busy that nothing is getting done, it’s time to look at how optimal your schedule is and why your productivity is so low.

Ultimately, the plan is to help you become more productive by boosting your effectiveness (aka actually producing the results you want). This could be for completing your daily chores or getting more done on the weekends for your side hustle. It can be tailored to whatever you need!

Some signs that you may need a productivity plan:

• You are constantly working but not getting everything done
• You find yourself easily distracted
• Important tasks are not being completed on time or done well
• It feels like you’ve tried getting organized many times before but nothing works

5 Steps For Creating A Productivity Plan

The way you go about creating the plan will be dependent on you. Everyone is different and everyone works in different ways. The best part about creating your own plan is that you can make it fit you and your schedule!

Here are some steps to follow when creating your own productivity plan:

1) Figure Out What Way You Like To Work

As I mentioned prior, everyone works in different ways and finds different productivity
techniques helpful.

Determine the ways you like to work and figure out when you are most productive.

For example, I find myself most productive in the morning when doing physical tasks. However, I find I’m most productive in the late afternoon/ evening when writing. So I don’t try to force myself to write in the morning because I know I won’t be working at my optimal level.

I also know that list-making is useful to me and if I don’t have a list, I won’t get anything done. So that means I know I NEED to utilize lists in my productivity plan.

You might find yourself more productive at different times of day, in different locations, and using different techniques. It is not a one size fits all plan.

2) Determine What Motivates You

Everyone is motivated by something! You may have heard about the two main types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic.

Intrinsic motivation is when you do something because you find it rewarding. This would be someone who cleans their room because they enjoy cleaning.

Extrinsic motivation is when you do something because you want a reward. This would be someone who plays a sport to win awards.

It is good to know what motivates you so you can then plan accordingly. There is nothing wrong with you if you find yourself being more extrinsically motivated. You aren’t a bad person because you like rewards!

However, if you know that you are more likely to work hard and get everything done when there is some type of reward waiting at the finish line, then use that to your advantage and reward yourself!

For example, as much as I love writing and blogging, some days I just don’t want to. I find myself getting distracted easily and no work is being done. I know that I like rewards so when I am having those days I tell myself “once I finish this blog post I will take a break and go get ice cream” or something along those lines.

If you are intrinsically motivated you probably don’t have as much of a struggle to get tasks done. If you truly feel the task is rewarding enough, however, I’m sure you still have those days where you need a little extra push and there is nothing wrong with that.

3) Take Note Of Your Time Thieves

I bet you can list at least 5 things that steal your precious time away! Things like social media, being disorganized, answering emails, binge-watching the latest reality tv show, etc.

There is nothing wrong with time thieves on their own. You are allowed to binge-watch your favorite tv show. However, there is a time and place for leisure and another time and place for productivity.

If you can take note of all those time thieves then you can actively avoid them while you are working.

I personally know that Instagram is my kryptonite. So, when I need to get some things done around the house, I leave my phone in a different room. I do take breaks now and then so I can do a little scrolling but overall, the phone is out of sight!

4) Set Your Most Optimal Schedule

This part should be pretty easy with all the other information you have gathered so far!

Determine what exactly you need to do (housework, errands, side hustle stuff, work, etc.) and make a little list so you don’t forget anything.

From there, create a schedule for your day. This could be broad and something you use every day (like scheduling time every morning) or it could be for a specific day where you plan to get a lot of things done.

Try to optimize your schedule for peak productivity. This is where you go back and see when and where you work best. Get as specific as you can! You could even put locations for certain tasks. If you work best at a coffee shop and you need to write 5 blog posts then schedule that into the plan!

5) Create Deadlines

As for any type of goal or plan, deadlines are a must to stay on track and measure your productivity.

Be as loose or strict as you want (remember, this plan is all about you) but do try to stick to them!

Having deadlines can actually boost your productivity without changing anything else. The idea is that having a set deadline makes the goal or task “more real” and prompt you to take action.

However, having deadlines that are set too far in the future can have the opposite result and cause procrastination.

So, the easy solution is to set shorter deadlines with as much detail as possible. For example, having the grocery order done by 5 pm on Friday is better than having the grocery order done by the end of the week.

Conclusion

Anyone can make a productivity plan for their personal or professional life. There is no one size fits all way to increase your productivity. It really is all about what works best for you.

Identifying your best ways to work, what keeps you motivated, and how you waste your time is going to help you create the best possible plan. If you don’t know what already works for you and what could be improved, nothing will change.

In the end, you want to figure out a way to work smarter, not harder whether that is in regards to your work or your home life. There is always a way to optimize things to work in a better, more effective way!

Related Reads:

• Digital Entrepreneur: How to Become More Present at Work
• How To Detach Your Self-Worth From Productivity
• How To Stop Procrastination And Start Achieving Your Goals
• How to Improve Self-Confidence as a Digital Entrepreneur
• How to Create a Balanced Life

Are there any ways you could improve your productivity? Would you try to create your own productivity plan?