Goals…they are scary not just around the New Year when we all resolve to get healthier and better manage our finances. They are scary year round because we often fail at achieving them. Lack of willpower gets most of the blame, but maybe we just need to work on organizing our day better.

Higher productivity, which means achieving more in a certain amount of time, is hard to accomplish, and it’s not instantaneous. Just like forming bad habits, forming good ones takes time and commitment. The road to a more productive version of yourself begins with small steps.

24/7 Tempo talked to several life and career coaches to find out exactly what people can do to become more productive. Many people need help getting things done. Finishing a project or accomplishing a difficult task can be very stressful. (This is what Americans are most stressed-out about.)




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1. Focus on the process, rather than the goal

Being overly focused on the goal rather than the process is right at the top, along with giving up too soon, as one of the biggest personal obstacles people face when it comes to achieving their goals, according to Sara Oliveri, life coach and speaker based in Washington, D.C. Otherwise, you’re like the tennis champion who hates playing tennis. This is not a sustainable way to keep getting results. You should do whatever it is you do because you want to.




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2. Choose a motivating goal

A common problem people have with respect to accomplishing goals, Oliveri says, is choosing a goal that they think they “should” choose rather than a goal that is personally and intrinsically motivating to them. These are goals that “you would still care about even when no one else does.” Motivation is what will keep you going when things, inevitably, get tough. Examine the reasons behind your goal and make sure they are the right ones. Otherwise you won’t stick with your goal for long.

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3. Don’t focus on the fear of failure

A major issue for many people is the fear of failure. Most people who are scared of failing focus on how terrible that would feel and that prevents them from staying on track with actually working on their project, Catherine Wood, a career coach, said. “That fear is never going to go away; it’ll always be there; but you can bury it by getting more clear on what you really want accomplished,” she noted.




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4. Talk nicely to yourself

“We fall into a false belief that if we are mean and critical of ourselves we will perform better and we won’t repeat mistakes,” Oliveri said. In fact, the opposite is true. “When we are mean to ourselves we attribute our failures exclusively to our own ‘incorrectness’ and we subconsciously begin to believe that [we] are the problem and things will not work out for us in general.” This makes people feel demotivated, pessimistic, and paralyzed, Oliveri noted.




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5. And say it out loud

“When you hear yourself talking down on yourself, you actually start to realize the ludacrisy of your statements,” Wood said. This is when the relationship between you and your self-esteem will start to shift, she noted. “You start getting responsible about the way you talk to yourself and it becomes harder to lie to yourself.” Quit the self-bullying so you can get back to finishing what you started.




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6. Take credit for what you did well

Instead of blaming yourself for everything, it’s more productive to take stock of what you can do better, Oliveri said. But don’t stop there. “We must also notice factors outside our control that contributed to missing a goal, and also notice and credit ourselves for all that we did do well.” It’s important to find things that you are proud of, and cultivate the awareness that you are capable of influencing positive outcomes in your own life, she noted.

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7. Reward yourself for a job well-done

Instead of doing a million things at a time — which is just avoiding the one big task you need to focus on — take one activity until its completion and then reward yourself for a job well done, Wood said. Multitasking rarely makes you feel better because it seems like you are always working and nothing gets done, which is discouraging and counter-productive.




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8. Pick up the phone

Group emails are very common. You get inundated with messages. So now you have to step away from working on your task to answer emails. This is a huge distraction. “I think that four or more emails in short succession is a good clue to pick up the phone!” Oliveri said. Have a conversation about the matter at hand, solve it quickly, and move on. The reward can be 10 minutes of social media, walking, having a coffee break — anything not very time-consuming that pleases you.

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9. Keep a time diary

This is a good strategy to identify bad habits that are distracting you, according to Wood. “Track everything you do on [a] daily basis for two weeks. This includes when and how much time you spend talking on the phone, having lunch, and watching videos on YouTube. It will be very clear after those two weeks what you actually do that sets you back and kills your productivity.




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10. Identify negative thought patterns





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11. Don’t compare yourself to others

“Comparisonitis” is a curse, Wood said. She is averse to telling people how long a task should take before it’s completed because there are too many variable factors and the time it takes for one person to achieve a goal is not necessarily the same time it takes another person. But this is not a bad thing, she noted. You don’t become more productive overnight. “Change is an ongoing conversation and patterns — good or bad — develop over time.”




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12. Look at the bright side

This is a simple way of saying you should learn the science of optimism, according to Oliveri. This is one trick she thinks people should remember to do in order to be more productive. Several studies have shown a link between optimism and happiness. Feeling positive about yourself is likely to result in overall well-being, too. Other research suggests that lack of hope is linked to higher rates of despair in some people.

ALSO READ: The Most Productive Countries in the World




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13. Plan tomorrow today

It’s a good practice to take some time at the end of the day to get clear on your activities for tomorrow, Wood noted. This will help keep you organized and you will save time figuring out what to prioritize, which is time you could spend working on your goal.




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14. Keep a to-do list

Whether that list is short or long depends on the person. What’s right for you may not be right for someone else. “Everyone’s life and demands on their time and energy are so, so different,” Oliveri said. But she does recommend keeping a list. “Because if it’s not written down, it will be stored in your mind and cause you anxiety.” Thinking about all the things you have to do instead of working towards completing the task is very distracting.

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15. Focus on important, not urgent

Spend the majority of your time on important actions that move your goals forward as opposed to the urgent ones, Wood said. “The so-called urgent actions are things like phone calls, texts, alerts — and they are often things people need of you as opposed to what you need, she noted. Therefore, they are a distraction that should be eliminated.




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16. Get clear on the reason for your goal

“Before determining the goal, get clear on the why,” Oliveri said. Otherwise goals are completely arbitrary. Once you are clear on the why, then you can set the goal in order to have a pathway forward, she added. But keep in mind that the goal becomes secondary to the purpose. “If you miss the goal by two points it will no longer be the end of the world so long as you have progressed toward your stated purpose.”




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17. About multi-tasking…

There was a time multitasking was a required skill in every kind of job post. But things have changed — it doesn’t get mentioned as often. It can get in the way of productivity. “Multitasking is only good for very low focus tasks,” Oliveri said. “Like calling your bank while you [clean up] your house or pondering your dinner while you wash your hair.”




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18. Pay attention to your morning

Your morning routine is key to having a successful day, Wood said. “It’s you taking care of you.” This can be anything from physical care such as exercising or doing yoga to mental care such as reading or listening to a fun podcast. It’s a good practice to do something that fuels your curiosity and interest, she noted. That just improves your mood and sets you up for a good day.

ALSO READ: The Most Productive Countries in the World




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19/19 SLIDES