Boost Your Productivity in 8 Easy Steps

Max Zaharenkov
6 min readDec 10, 2020

Time is money. Everyone knows this statement but not each of us understands the true value of every minute. Sometimes we feel bored and exhausted without any desire to be active and do necessary things. What next? The list of essential tasks increases, and we do not know where to start. That is why most students prepare for their exams last night before tests. That is why most workers miss deadlines.

Remember that proactiveness allows people to avoid an extremely big overload before very necessary meetings, exams, negotiations. If you are productive every day, you will not waste your time on social media in the office when your boss is waiting for your papers.

Let’s become productive together with me and my BorrowPort team? The main purpose of this article is to provide extra knowledge for each willing one. Find the most helpful tips and become really productive right tomorrow. It is real!

#1 Be Busy — Not “Busy”

Everything starts with proper priorities. If you think that you have much time to complete your tasks, you are wrong. From the very beginning, you cannot plan your everyday load. It means that you automatically agree to sleepless nights and stress. Stop being “busy” with numerous things to do but without well-thought priorities.

Do not clean your house instead of writing a report. Do not chat with friends instead of webinars. Do not lurk on the forums instead of learning new material for exams. There are many examples of such an “INSTEAD”. Your number one priority to achieve your aims. For this purpose, the best option is to create a to-do list:

● Put the most necessary things at the top of your list.

● Write down other points according to their priority.

● Look at your to-do list and see the hot-topic chores to accomplish.

Most probably you would not find in your list “Surf the net”, “Check Direct”, and so on. This kind of top-priority task identification will be very helpful for everyone. Maybe you are a student, or a founder, or a successful entrepreneur. Even a housewife with her own chores to do. You will see that proper priorities will simplify your life significantly.

#2 Play the Right Tune

Your concentration is also an essential thing for proactiveness. If you would like to be productive, understand that all things can be divided on the time-critical and no-hurry ones. It means that if you render a report today, this is an urgent task to complete firsthand. To have a shower in the evening after work — this is a no-hurry routine chore without deadlines.

But you need to plan your time well to understand this line between time-urgent and current missions. Think about how many hours you need to prepare for necessary negotiations? Several hours? No, keep reserve time for coffee breaks, telephone calls, a search of information. Let it be 5 hours. If your meeting with partners starts at 6 P.M., it is high time to start your preparation in the morning.

The same story if you have almost unlimited deadlines but a big scope of work. For example, a diploma work that should be written for a month. This is a time-urgent task because there are many things to do like visits to libraries, meeting with teachers, consulting time, etc. It is time to complete this mission right today as well.

#3 Say “No” to Useless Things If You Are in Hurry

Be ready to say “No” to messages in Whatsapp and in social media when your deadlines are burning. Train yourself to avoid waste of time when it is extremely important to hurry up. Every punctual and self-organized person understands the necessity of each minute to be up in time with all the tasks.

To sum up, you should forget about Instagram stories, YouTube videos, and other useless things during working hours. Be ready to refuse to chat and talk by phone until all the missions are completed.

#4 Train your memory but do not forget to make notes

It is a good idea to initiate brainstorming sessions but not when you need to remember all the details of your future meeting with potential investors. It is better to purchase a couple of planners and notebooks not to miss a thing. This way you will write down essential things, contact phones, addresses, critical points of upcoming negotiations.

#5 Start mono-tasking right today

Not to feel exhausted by numerous tasks at once, it is better to concentrate at only one mission. This technique is called mono-tasking. Try to arrange everything necessary for only one task accomplishment. You will see that you do not spend much time and energy on supplementary steps that are required for dozens of other tasks.

If you are an entrepreneur and your workday is full of plans, it is difficult to switch to mono-tasking. Nevertheless, highlight the most necessary thing from your to-do list. This way you will be self-motivated and achieve more goals together with the main purpose you make an emphasis on.

Some special literature can come in handy when you start planning your routine properly. By the way, this technique of mono-tasking is also mentioned in the formula of 80–20 efficiency. Having focused on the most useful things, 80% of the effect appears from 20% of causes. If you are interested, we can discuss time management theories and day planning tips more detailed in other articles.

#6 Find the Source of Your Motivation

Usually, your success is the best source of energy and motivation for new achievements. That is why many incomplete tasks cause the annoying feeling of apathy and misfortune. People decide that they can achieve nothing and are overwhelmed. Not to become disengaged with urgent tasks and fail deadlines, make yourself to finish at least one small mission a day. It can be a small report on one section of accomplishments or a telephone call to standing clients with bulk special offers. Be motivated with your own actions and constant productivity!

By the way, the BorrowPort company helps people find inspiration and become self-motivated with professional tools. Follow our Instagram account @borrowport to plunge in the world of aesthetics and beauty.

#7 Absolute Perfection in Everything Wastes Your Time

Stop idealizing each letter in your planner and each figure on your reports. Perfectionists are not proactive people, and this is not a surprise. If you are going to reread dozens of times the same documentation you have already prepared for your partners, other critical tasks can stay without attention. Find a golden line between normal and perfect to deliver excellent results. Do not waste your time for each coma check not to miss your chance to be exceptionally proactive.

#8 Only You Are a Master of Your Time

It is worth noting that each person (a student or a worker, a businessman or an intern) owns the same number of hours, minutes, and seconds a day. It means that if one finds capabilities to be productive, another one tries to demonstrate his “busy” lifestyle or put away things of the highest importance for later.

We are masters of our time, so only our decision is to choose proactivity and successful life or failed deadlines and outrage of the boss, teacher, parents, and so on. Remember that the more passive your lifestyle is, the more bored you are. Follow the rule of three “self”

● Be self-motivated;

● Be self-organized;

● Be self-assured.

This way productivity will not be the illusion or something unreal for you but the normal attitude to your everyday life.

Do you agree? What else would you like to add to this list? Comment and stay tuned.

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Max Zaharenkov

Entrepreneur, Filmmaker and World Traveler living in London 🇬🇧 Sharing experiences for first-time founders💡🛠🚀 ig: maxzaharenkov