Productive Day - A Guide On How To Accomplish Daily Goals

April 18, 2024

What can I do to have a more productive day? How do I manage my time to be more effective? What does a productive day look like? Is it okay to be unproductive sometimes? If you have these and more questions, this article is for you.

Hi, my name is Katie Lister. I am a Registered Nurse and the founder of Growth Gals. Here at Growth Gals, we provide resources to help you live intentionally, improve your mental wellbeing, navigate relationships, and create healthy habits. In this article, I will give you all the information you need to know about how to have a productive day.

Katie Lister

Written by Katie Lister, RN, BScN. An experienced Registered Nurse, Group Facilitator, Life Coach, and Community Leader. Read Katie's Full Author Bio

What is a Productive Day?

A productive day is normally a day where one efficiently achieves all the tasks they had planned for the day, from performing their morning ritual to signing off from work. This can involve finishing work assignments, spending quality time with family, exercising, and completing projects. Although productivity is subjective and differs from person to person, it requires proactivity, focus, and time management.

Ideally, you feel organized and efficiently move from one task to another. Studies show that being happy increases productivity, and you will be more effective with a positive mindset. You can balance your days by including challenging tasks that fire up your adrenaline as well as relaxing tasks that help you unwind and reduce stress levels.

Part of having a productive day also includes planning for your downtime. Remember, downtime is equally as important as your to-dos. You can spend it doing what you want depending on your personality and lifestyle.

What Makes A Day Productive?

A productive day varies depending on your responsibilities at home and work. However, for most people, it involves:

Creating value in the workplace
Managing personal and work tasks
Being helpful to others
Maintaining good physical and mental health

How to Have a Day That is Productive

Careful planning is necessary for productivity, and the most successful people carefully plan their day. Productive days leave you with a deep sense of satisfaction. The difference between a productive and unproductive day is not your skills but being intentional in your planning. Here are some hacks on how to have a productive day.

Manage your time

Managing time is challenging, but it is essential for prioritizing important tasks while still finding time for activities you enjoy. To be able to manage your time, you must first understand how you currently spend your time. You can do this by tracking how you spend your time for one week. Manually record your entire days, or use an online time tracker, then analyze the data at the end of the week.

This exercise will help you identify areas for improvement, such as how much time you spend watching TV or on social media. You will also understand how procrastination affects your daily routine and productivity. With this information, you can create a daily schedule and assign time frames for each task, including breaks between them.

To stay focused, you can use the Pomodoro technique, a popular time-management hack. It involves breaking your day into several 25-minute focus sessions with five-minute breaks in between. After four successful 25-minute rounds, take a 15- to 30-minute break and repeat the process.

Sleep earlier

Getting enough sleep is crucial for productivity. Prepare for the next day in the evening, and make sure you sleep early enough to get the recommended hours of sleep. Lack of sleep leads to decreased performance, lethargy, and increased risk of making mistakes. Work toward getting at least seven to eight hours of sleep every night for three months and feel the difference in your health and productivity.

When is the best time to wake up? This article has all the answers.

Have a morning routine

A good morning routine starts with preparing the night before by getting enough sleep, setting your alarm, and choosing your outfit. Once you wake up, focus on the immediate and small morning tasks in your morning routine checklist like showering, getting dressed, and having breakfast.

These tasks signal your brain that your day has begun, improving your energy and motivation levels. A healthy breakfast gives you the energy needed for a productive day. Starting with a morning ritual such as running, yoga, or listening to your favorite playlist can set a positive tone for the work day. However, while having a morning routine is important, it may take some time to master the self-discipline and time management skills necessary for the habit. A habit takes approximately 18 to 254 days to develop, but takes an average of 66 days of daily repetition to incorporate it into your routine.

Are you struggling with creating an effective morning routine? Here are some morning routine ideas to get you started.

Prioritize tasks

Prioritizing your daily tasks is crucial to having a productive day. Write a to-do list and schedule the most important tasks using time blocking. Allocate the less critical tasks around the necessary ones or after work hours.

Consider your time and energy levels during the day and work around these factors. For instance, if your productivity levels deplete by 1 p.m., complete the critical tasks for the day before that time. Prioritizing your tasks early in the day helps you stay on track with your goals and guides you on where to start each day.

Avoid distractions

Numerous distractions prevent us from focusing on our work from the moment we wake up until we go to bed. For instance, social media has become a significant obstacle to productivity. It is essential to learn how to manage such distractions to achieve success.

One way to do this is switching your cellphone to “do not disturb” mode to enable you to concentrate and get into a flow state. This flow state allows you to accomplish deep work without getting distracted. Research shows that multitasking causes forgetfulness and attention lapses, so focus on task management and tackle one thing at a time.

Relax and unwind

Burnout is a condition of extreme work-related exhaustion that can significantly impact your productivity. The more stressed you are, the more susceptible you become to burnout. Dedicate time to enjoyable hobbies you enjoy, whether it is going out in nature or reading a good novel. Yoga or meditation are also ideal when you want to relax and unwind. These practices are about self-care, which is crucial for achieving consistent productivity.

It’s easy to become engrossed in one task after another without taking a break. However, experts recommend short breaks after every hour or primary task. During these breaks, you can take a walk away from your workspace or do anything to refresh your mind and body. You can even check your social media accounts, such as LinkedIn notifications, as long as you do so with intention, rather than doom-scrolling.

Consider practicing mindfulness techniques during these breaks to help you relax and deal with anxiety throughout the day. Avoid taking too much time off during the break and return to your desk in time to finish the next task. Trying to do all your tasks at once and then taking one long break can lead to mental fatigue and decrease productivity.

Taking breaks gives you more energy and lets you focus on the tasks ahead. Remember that breaks are essential for maintaining mental and physical well-being and can significantly enhance productivity.

Eliminate bad habits

Identify and quit your bad habits by setting limits to reduce the time spent on them. Start with a minor adjustment, reducing time by a small percentage every week or two until you eliminate the habit. Work on one habit at a time. Cut back on activities that don’t add value to your life by replacing them with new healthy habits instead. Reduce social media time to 30 minutes per day to improve mental health and free up time.

Don’t beat yourself up for unproductive days

Some unproductive days are not only expected but necessary, so don’t beat yourself up about them. Especially as a woman, your energy levels fluctuate throughout your cycle, so you won’t always feel as motivated or get as much done during certain times of the month. Stressing over this raises your anxiety levels, and you become more inefficient. For those unproductive days, remember you are human, and it’s normal. Even when your colleagues at work look like they are getting things done, they sometimes have unproductive days too. If these days become a problem for you, try small steps to change your work practices, and you will soon see some changes. And remember, rest is also productive!

How Growth Gals Can Help You Have a Productive Day

Our aim at Growth Gals is to inspire women to reach their full potential. We also strive to create positive change by giving women the resources to discover their true selves and expand their knowledge base on various issues, such as navigating relationships, finding purpose, developing healthy habits, and improving mental health.

Growth Gals helps women overcome obstacles and live their best lives. We also create an environment where they can connect with others with similar values and experiences. Subscribe to the Growth Gals newsletter to access more helpful guides and resources for women and learn more about how we can support you having a more productive day. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or simply want to connect.

Conclusion

Productivity varies from person to person. A productive day involves efficiently achieving the tasks that need to get down and moving towards your goals, including work assignments, family time, and exercise. Productivity requires proactivity, focus, and time management.

Careful planning is essential for productivity. Successful people plan their day intentionally, which leads to a deep sense of satisfaction. Productivity is not necessarily related to motivation or skills but rather by being intentional. It is also important to remember to give yourself enough time to rest and have a healthy work-life balance too. You got this!