7 Tips To Start The Most Productive Day Ever

Wondering how to have a productive day? Well, boy do I have some tips for you!

You have to start the day in a productive way so that you can sustain that productivity all day long.

Are you naturally an organized person? I’m not. I’m extremely scatterbrained.

In fact, there have been a number of times where I’ve been close to tears, googling “Adult ADHD doctor near me.”

I misplace things all of the time. I am either hyper-focused (on my art or things I actually want to do), or not focused at all. 

Even though I get overwhelmed with tasks pretty easily, I’ve always managed to handle my responsibilities head-on. I’ve been on my own since I was 18 and had a child at 21, so it’s always been up to me to make sure I got stuff done.

And let me tell ya- if I can set myself up for a productive day, ANYONE can do it.

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How to be more productive and motivated each day so that you can live your best life.

1. Make your bed and get ready for the day.

Making your bed is one, non-negotiable thing that you must do to start your day productively. You must do this every. single. day.

I can’t remember a day that I haven’t made my bed. It may seem like a small, insignificant task but it will start your day out with you accomplishing something and hopefully, start a chain reaction of accomplishments for the entire day. You can read more here about how a made bed = happiness. 

You must also get ready for the day, by doing whatever getting ready means to you. No need to waste a bunch of time here.

If you are a new mom, getting ready may simply mean putting on pants- and that’s okay. For some, it may mean curling your hair and putting on a full face of make-up. (I wish I fell into this category sometimes.)

For me (and the average person, I suppose) it means washing your face, brushing your teeth, and putting on clothes that are comfy enough to wear around the house, yet appropriate enough to wear to the grocery store.

I love athleisure wear, so I linked some of my favorite pieces from Adidas at the end of this post.

2. Drink coffee or eat breakfast. 

I am not a breakfast person, but I can’t make it through the day without coffee. If you know you will be hungry in the next hour, just go ahead and eat a bite before you start completing tasks for the day.

That way, there won’t be a need to stop what you are doing to eat, and you can stay on track.

 3. Meditate.

This section is important, so take time to really think about what I’m about to tell you. You ready?

Staying on task is mindfulness. 

Think about it.

In order to stay on task, it is critical that you stay in the present moment. You won’t be able to get anything done if you are thinking that you need to start dinner, or make a grocery list, or, “Did I take the ground beef out of the freezer to thaw out?”

You know exactly what I mean, which is why meditation has improved my life more than I ever thought possible. It is proven that meditation increases gray matter in the brain and helps improve overall health, so before you brush it off, just try it.

I think some people overthink meditation, so let me break down the 5-1-7 for you real quick.

Sit up straight in a chair with your palms on your lap.

Close your eyes.

Breathe deeply in through your nose for 5 seconds.

Hold for 1 second.

Exhale for 7 seconds.

That’s it.

The optimal time to meditate is about 12 minutes a day, but even 5 will get you right. Try to become an observer of your thoughts, but you don’t have to accept them as the truth. Try to push them out and say, “not right now.”

This is difficult to do though, which is why it’s called a “meditation practice.”

Just do the best you can. You’ll feel better afterward no matter what.

4. Exercise.

If you are someone who is used to working out, this will be easy for you. Starting out your day with exercise will clear your head and put you in the right mindset for the day. And you know what? Even if you don’t do anything else all day, you can still call it a productive day. 

I love walking, especially after meditation. I have been off work since March, so having a daily walk automatically adds some much-needed structure to my day. I try to take new routes around my neighborhood, and before I realize it, I’ve walked like 5 miles.

I can think of ideas that normally I would never think of because there’s nothing to do besides walk and think. Towards the end of the walk, I try to make a mental list of things I would like to accomplish that day.

My daughter also walks with me from time to time, and it’s one of my favorite ways to spend time with her.

 

5. Make a list.

This part is easy because I’ve already listed it out in my brain while walking.

Writing things down is not my thing; however, it DOES work for holding myself accountable and staying on track, so I do it. 

I have a paper calendar that I fill out weekly also so that I can see exactly what deadlines have to be met. The calendar on your iPhone probably ain’t gonna cut it.

Write down the entire week so you can actually see what’s going on, but don’t worry about tomorrow’s tasks yet. Just focus on doing the tasks you have listed today as efficiently as possible.

6. Do one thing at a time.

This is a hard one for me, but it does help if I complete tasks in chunks. For instance, if you’re cleaning your house, focus on one room at a time. Or, if it’s really bad, focus on one corner of a room at a time. 

This is where mindfulness really comes into play. You must only worry about one task at a time. This is key.

If I need to complete an autonomous task that requires little thought, such as folding clothes, I like to listen to an audiobook while I work.

In a weird way, doing this occupies my mind so I don’t wander off to another task in the middle of the one I’m doing. I like to listen to YouTube videos about blogging or anything I want to learn, and I also like to listen to self-help books on Audible.

To me, this is like overdrive productivity because I’m learning and working at the same time.

I’ve read this book over and over and recommend it to anyone who is interested in living their best life. Go ahead and download it here. It’ll change the way you think about things for the better.

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Related Post: Vitamins You Should Be Taking Daily

7. Know what time you are going to “clock out.”

You can do anything for a short period of time. 

For instance, if dread you cleaning out your garage, but you know that, no matter what, that you can stop at 3:00, then you’ll be more eager to do it.

Knowing that you can do whatever you want after 3:00- or whatever time you deem appropriate for “quitting time”- makes a light at the end of a (messy) tunnel.

You will never finish every single thing. And that is perfectly fine. Just do all that you can do, that day, and leave the rest until tomorrow. Don’t try to do tomorrow’s work today.

Before you know it, the productive days will turn into a productive life.

If you use these tips for starting a productive day over and over, you’ll form a habit. Break down each day into tasks and do each task as efficiently as possible. 

If you ever feel overwhelmed, sit down and practice gratitude. 

The things you have now are once what you only hoped for.

Let me know how you maintain a productive day in the comments below!

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