Are You Productive or Just Busy? + 5 Habits of Productive People.

How many times have you caught up with a friend or a colleague and you've asked them how they are... and their answer is... "i'm sooooooooo busy..."

Over and over again i hear this when i meet someone and ask them how they are....

and I've always wondered WHY this is....

Why do we all come up with "i'm so busy"

Is it because we think that maybe it's a sign of strength? It makes us look so important because we're so busy? I believe this to be one of the biggest lies that we've been taught maybe as we were growing up, or perhaps as a culture... that when we're in a mode of "go go go" and "i'm so busy" it marks us to be somewhat important, or that we're over achievers. But think about it... what does it really mean when we say we're busy?

Imagine if someone had asked you how you were... you wouldn't be starting with "i'm so busy" if you were doing all those things that excites you and that you love to do, because you'd be feeling productive and efficient.

When we say we're busy, it can only mean that we've been a little on the edge... we've been doing a bunch of things that really doesn't ignite our passions and working on things that we're

not inspired to do.

Doesn't it just mean that we have been doing so much?

Busy-ness doesn't make us happy. It also doesn't make us successful.

Sooooo....... instead on focusing on being busy, lets focus on how we can be more productive!

Being productive simply means you are doing something that will produce results. You are doing something that is worth investing your time in because you know that it will bring about positive change in your life and it will be fruitful.

Time to Bust that Busy-ness lifestyle & let productivity propel you towards your next greatest achievements!

Here's 5 habits you can implement in your life style as you focus on being productive:

1) Say YES strategically.

Busy people say yes to everything. Productive people say yes strategically.

One of the biggest things effective people do is learn to not take on more than they can handle. They know what is most important to them, have made an efficient plan to get it done and have a very tight time table.

You don't have to say yes to every single invite that you get. Learn to prioritise and look at what's most important to you. Say "no" and create boundaries.

2) Planning and organising your time.

Productive people identify what's important and necessary. They separate it from the things that can wait or have no deadline attached. They make a habit of identifying the critical tasks and work to get those things accomplished first.

Once they have identified the things that need to be accomplished, they make a plan to get it done and schedule their day or plan their trips accordingly.

3) Eliminate Distractions.

Planning, prioritising, eliminating distractions and focusing on one task are great, but at some point, you have to get things done. It is easy to procrastinate and there are plenty of reasons you can think of when trying to work.

The bottom line, though, is that productive, effective people get things done. They work their plan until they are satisfied with the result.

Turn off notifications on your phone and get rid of things that you know will distract you.

4) Productive people set their direction, and are clear on what they want to achieve.

What is your life direction? What do you want to do in your life? What is your ideal life like?

Busy people go through monotony of routine work each day without thinking about what they want. Because of that, they spend their whole lives rushing, racing, and spinning in their hamster wheels but not get to where they really want. Productive people, on the other hand, are clear about their direction.

Unsure and unclear of where you are heading in life? Get your FREE Discovery Session with me! Email me at fidelizcruz@gmail.com

5) Productive people evaluate their progress.

Productive people don’t stall their accomplishments by aimlessly tackling random tasks, they take the most strategic and direct path to achieving goals that are clearly defined and can therefore be tracked, measured and assessed with the help of detailed plans, deadlines and goals. They want to see the return of investment in their time.

So there you go! Which one are you? Busy or Productive?

Think about the past 3, 6, 9 months of your life. Have you been busy or productive? If you’re just been busy, how can you apply the habits above to turn your days into productive ones? How can you make the best out of days vs. being busy for busy’s sake?

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