HABITS OF A HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE PERSON! PART 3

We have talked about Habit 1: Ruthlessly cut away the unimportant (and Focus on the important) & Habit 2: Allocate breaks strategically. Continue to read Habit 3 & 4.

Habit 3: Remove productivity stoppers (i.e. distractions)

The third habit of productive people is to remove productivity stoppers.

Productivity stoppers are things that limit your productivity. They can be the music you listen to when you work, your slow computer, unwanted phone calls, alerts from your inbox on incoming mail, the internet, You Tube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. These things trap you and prevent you from getting things done.

What should you do then? Well, remove these stoppers! Or go to a place where they're no longer an issue. For example, a big productivity stopper for me is the internet. When I write my articles while online, I have the tendency to click to other sites. I'd check my mail, after which I become distracted by the new mail. The mail would lead to follow-up work and replies, which take time. By the time I'm done, a good 15-20 minutes have passed. Then within minutes of working, the same cycle repeats. So instead, when I'm writing, I unplug the LAN cable from my laptop and move my laptop to my bed (which is what I'm doing now as I'm writing this article). It's a lot faster!

Go about your daily routine and observe when your output slows down. What's distracting you? How can you remove it? Experiment and try working in different places. Adjust your environment. Make tweaks here and there. The more productivity stoppers you find and remove, the more productive you'll be.

Habit 4: Tap into your inspiration

The fourth habit of productive people is to tap into inspiration.

I can't stress how important this is to maximizing your output. No matter what field you're in, your inspiration is the key to your output. For example, an inspired programmer creates programs that changes people's lives for the better. An inspired structural engineer designs effective building structures. An inspired marketer creates breakthrough marketing plans that touches people's hearts. An inspired writer writes continuously. A highly inspired musician writes one song after another.

What do you tap into your inspiration then? Do you just idle, waiting for inspiration to strike before you do any work? That's allocating your control to your external world, which really isn't what this blog is about. I often hear people say they're not planning to write because they're not inspired. I think it's not about waiting for inspiration to strike but about learning to channel into your inspiration.How do you do that? It's simple -- think about what inspires you in life. Is it helping others grow? Connecting with people? Being recognized for your work? Working with the poverty? Helping the unfortunate? Being #1 in your field? How can you achieve them? Find out your motivators, then use them to drive you.

My biggest inspiration is to see others achieving their highest potential and living their best lives. I love seeing everyone living to their highest being, and if there are ever anything blocking them I'll feel all ready to rip it away, so I use this to drive me in everything I create. When I'm writing a blog entry, I'll start by thinking what is an area people are facing blockages in, then I channel into that energy.

30DLBL was created because I noticed while many people pursue self-help, not many know how to translate what they read into practice. I got inspired to create a personal development program which would encapsulate my best strategies and lessons on how to live our best life. This program would consist of a series of tasks, at a manageable pace of one task a day, which would both trigger immediate action and create tangible results. And hence, 30DLBL was born.

Continue to read PART 4

By Celestine Chua