Welcome to the opening article in this productivity series where we will cover creative ways to be productive while having fun. It’s about business growth and development, getting things done and yes, there is always work involved, but work does not have to be this thing we loathe.

The satisfaction we get from our accomplishments should be a driving force which provides energy to continue the journey toward success. It makes you want for more because being productive builds your brand.

No matter what your goals are, you simply cannot arrive there without taking action and being productive.

If you’ve been struggling to get things done you are not alone, we’ve all been there at some point. But eventually we find ourselves out of time and out of excuses. I know the excuses are gone because I used most of them myself years ago.

Excuses are nothing more than our own creative way of justifying why we are not going to do something. They are convenient as hell, until you look back upon the long trail of them left in your wake.

The fact is, we cannot do a damned thing about yesterday and whatever poor habits that may have existed in our lives, but we can do everything about tomorrow… but it starts today.

The time to build your digital world is right now.

To get things done a change in mindset must occur. Adopt a productivity mindset where the focus is always on creating accomplishments. It’s a way of thinking that guides our every thought.

You have to be on a mission.

First Things First

As part of the new you, an understanding of the problem from within has to occur. Just why is it that you’ve not gotten more things done?

The answer may be a very simple one, like not making a higher priority of the things you want to accomplish in life. This is often tied to time management and our inability to fit this into the current lifestyle. If we don’t have time today, we are unlikely to find it tomorrow either without a reallocation of how we spend our time.

So first, identify how you are currently spending your time.

Perform a time and motion study so you can have a clear picture of just how you are spending that precious commodity. Write everything down for a few days to a week, then analyze your notes, identifying where time could have been better utilized.

This will likely mean less (fill in the blank) time and more project management time. To manage any project and reach your goal you’ll have to break things down into smaller tasks so you can clearly understand the things you need to accomplish to advance your ideas and turn them into reality.

Don’t wait until next week to get started, take action now. The biggest hurdle to getting things done is often the simple act of getting started.

Get Rid of Procrastination

When we procrastinate it often means that we would rather be doing something else, or that we really don’t have the desire to do the tasks associated with the goal.

There is not enough fire and passion involved for us to make the tasks a higher priority, so we put things off as long as possible. This is when we must find a way to beat procrastination and become consistently productive.

It’s not a habit easily broken but with continual focus on being a more productive person the mindset changes and we become driven to succeed.

With procrastination gone, we can turn our attention to ways of being more productive, finding tools and techniques that make life easier.

Get Organized

Develop a Routine – Our bodies and minds get used to doing things at certain times, so identifying your best times for being productive, then making that a part of your routine work week will have you looking forward to that time and space.

Schedule Productivity Time – If you work from home, let your family know that you are in production mode and should not be disturbed. You can do this in blocks of time or whatever seems to work best for your situation.

Take Notes – One thing that I found to help with overall productivity was to write down just about everything. Keep a notepad nearby at all times and use it to capture your ideas and things to do. Better yet, an electronic tool like Evernote is also extremely helpful.

Set Reminders – We cannot remember everything, life’s just too busy these days, so set reminders on your SmartPhone or Evernote to keep you on track.

Make the Commitment

As I mentioned earlier, it all starts with your commitment to change and adopt a productivity mindset. This will mean some degree of a lifestyle change for you but it is the only way to break from the old and find your groove on being someone who gets things done, consistently.

The first step is up to you and the sooner the better. Get more out of life and be all that you can be.