When you’re feeling stressed out or unmotivated it’s hard to be productive and get things done. To get back on track you need to know how to improve your mental state and stay positive. In this post, we take a look at some key tips for creating a mental attitude that helps your be productive.
Practice These Habits to Be Productive and Efficient All the Time
1. Plan out your day
Getting into a good routine can really help you to manage your mood and create a positive mental attitude.
Go to bed and wake up in the mornings at the same time each day so that your body can adjust to your routine. It’ll help you to feel rested and alert for the day. Allow yourself plenty of time in the mornings to get up and take a few minutes for yourself — just to sit and have a coffee, step outside for some fresh air, or even fit in a workout.
During the working day, plan out your daily schedule by putting together a to-do list that’s prioritized by importance. Assign yourself a set amount of time for different tasks so that you can stay focused, and try to tackle anything difficult as soon as you can instead of putting it off. This way you can make the most of your peak productivity hours.
You also need to take regular breaks and step away from your work so that you don’t lose motivation throughout the day.
Planning out your day, sticking to a schedule and ticking off tasks as you complete them will make you feel like you’re making progress and achieving something.
2. Focus on the present
It’s easy to get caught up thinking about long term concerns and things that may never happen and losing sight of your present situation. Worrying about things in the future can have a huge impact on your productivity though.
To be productive every day, you need to learn how to focus on the present moment. If you struggle to keep your mind in the present though then you try practicing meditation to help you control your thoughts.
There are a number of different resources that will help you to practice meditation and mindfulness – you could follow guided meditations from Tara Brach or you could use an app like Headspace. Either way, getting a little help with focusing on the present will help alleviate stress, improve your mood and be more efficient with your time.
3. Make time for self-improvement
As well as focusing on positive habits and getting into a good routine, it’s also important to take some time for yourself.
Your mental attitude isn’t just impacted by how well you’re doing in your professional life. You should also look at self-improvement and ways to make changes in your personal life as well.
Podcasts are also a great way to fit in self-improvement – you can listen to them while you do other errands or exercise. For example, if you’re looking for a new relationship then you could listen to tips from Orion Talmay in her dating podcast, to boost your confidence and help you to get in the right mindset.
Or you could start a new hobby or learn a new skill through an evening or online classes. For example, you can learn anything from photography to project management with an online course from Skillshare. It doesn’t necessarily need to be work-related as it’s good to focus on things outside of work so that you’re more motivated and focused when you are working.
4. Set yourself realistic goals
Setting goals is a useful way of motivating yourself to work towards something. But if those goals are wildly unrealistic or will take years to achieve then you’re probably going to give up a long time before you reach them.
Come up with a few short-term goals that you can see yourself working towards over six months or a year. Nothing life-changing, but just small things that you can achieve by putting in a bit of work each day and you’ll be able to see yourself making progress.
You might have an overarching five-year plan but by breaking these down into smaller stages and setting goals that you can actually achieve you’ll be motivated to complete them. And then when you do you’ll be able to set yourself a new goal to achieve even more.
5. Look after your body
Your physical health can have a significant impact on your productivity, mental health and attitude, so it’s important that you’re looking after your body as well.
Firstly, look at your diet – when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed it’s all too easy to turn to comfort foods and treat yourself to a few too many takeouts. But a poor diet isn’t giving your body what it needs to stay healthy and positive. Instead, you’ll end up feeling unmotivated and sluggish, which has a big impact on your mental attitude and productivity.
You need a balanced diet, which includes lots of fruit, vegetable, fiber, and protein so that you’re getting all the vitamins and minerals your body requires. Try to monitor your intake of salt and sugar, which can have long-term effects on your health.
Cut down on caffeine and alcohol. You might think you need four cups of coffee during the day to give you a boost, or a glass of wine to unwind in the evenings, but too much will make your mental health worse. The short-term energy from caffeine may make you focus for a brief time, but it can increase anxiety and stress levels, and you’ll feel worse once the effect wears off.
By following these five tips you’ll be able to stay motivated and focused. You will create a mental attitude that helps you be productive every day of your life.
