Your Mindset Impacts Your Productivity: 6 Strategies for Changing Your Mindset to Increase Your Productivity

Many people are great at figuring out what they want to achieve and mapping out their days, weeks, or months so that they can get done what they want to. The problem comes when the days, weeks, or months go by and there has not been much movement towards what they wanted to get done. They tell themselves something is important and that they want to get something done, however, they end up feeling unproductive and like they are not making progress.

Can you relate to this, at least on some level? You said you were going to make ten calls to potential customers at work, and you only made five. You said you were going to workout 5 days this week, and you only worked out twice. You said you were going to finish your project a day ahead of its due date, and you didn’t get it done until the last minute. You said you were going to organize your closet, but it is a month later and it is not done. You said you were going to make a budget and get on track with your finances, however, another year passed without this happening. There are so many different versions of this, so you can fill in the blank about an area of your life where you are not feeling as productive as you want to.

The reason for this occurring is because the thing you are trying to do is not easy, is uncomfortable, and/or there are always other options of things you can do that feel better. Without being intentional about managing your brain, it will keep you stuck, or move you away from what you actually want. For example, instead of making the ten calls, which may end up in rejections or challenging conversations, your brain will have you go check your email, start working on something that is not a priority (but that is easier than making the calls), overthink and over plan your strategy for making the calls, or will have you “quickly” check your social media, which wastes an hour of your time.

Instead of just doing the task at hand, your brain creates a lot of drama about it and does what it can to keep you as comfortable as possible in the moment, even if later on you are upset that you did not accomplish what you wanted or needed to accomplish. Although it is human nature that your brain works this way, there are strategies you can use so that you take the action you want to, even if it feels uncomfortable, boring, or even scary.

6 strategies for changing your mindset to increase your productivity.

• Be clear about why you want to accomplish a certain task. Whether it is a one and done task or something you need to do repeatedly over time to get the results you want, get really clear about why you want to accomplish this task.

• See the negative consequences of not doing it. Take time to visualize the worst things that could happen if you don’t complete your task. Be as clear and as specific as possible. 

• See the positives results of doing it: Take time to visualize the best things that could happen if you do complete your task. Be as clear and as specific as possible.

• Remind yourself that your brain will try to talk you out of doing it. This awareness makes a big difference because you will be able to see it happening and you can then label it. You can talk back to yourself and remind yourself why you want to accomplish the task, what it will look like and feel like if you don’t, and what it will look like and feel like if you do. You will recognize that you are avoiding something because it feels uncomfortable, but then do it anyway because you will see the drama that your brain is creating to make it feel worse than it likely is.

• If it is still feeling overwhelming, break it down. There is nothing wrong with chunking a goal down into very small steps that in and of themselves don’t feel like much, however, when stacked together over time, get you to your end result. It’s always better to take some action, than to take no action. For example, instead of focusing on making 10 calls, focus on making 2 calls per hour. Instead of focusing on organizing the whole closet, focus on working on it for fifteen minutes and see what you can get done during that time.

• Enjoy the process. I know…you are tired of hearing this, however, it matters. If you are doing something challenging, you are changing as a person each time you take action. Give yourself credit, notice how you are changing, celebrate the small wins, and keep going. Instead of focusing on the calls you did not make, the workouts you did not do, the money you did not save, or the chores that did not get done, focus on the things that did get done. This shift in mindset will increase your motivation and therefore your productivity. 

None of these steps take a long time, however, they can get you into action when you are feeling stuck or unmotivated. There will always be things that you don’t feel like doing or that feel overwhelming. The next time you are feeling like you are not being as productive as you would like, try using these strategies to get into action. You’ve got this!

Live your best boss lady life!

~ Karen

Karen Vincent Solutions

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