Ways to Stay Productive

1. Make a daily work schedule and stick with it!
2. Take a 10 minute break every hour so your brain doesn't turn to mush.
3. Eat well. Junk food is not brain food.
4. Go to the gym. Staying healthy is a must for success
5. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. This will help you stay organized.
6. Leave some time for family and friends.

- Lark Miller

lmiller14: 2. Take a 10 minute break every hour so your brain doesn't turn to mush.
Lark,

This one is very important. Some people sit at their computer for hours with no break and I do not recommend that at all.

I also recommend a person get out of the city once every 3-5 months for at least 2 days without coming online to do any work. Even if it is a one hour drive to a hotel/spa and relaxing for 2 days, this will recharge your batteries.

Tal

Hi ,

It is useful to read other people insights and i would like to give you thanks for that. It refreshes one's mind on what one is already doing and confirm one owns actions towards working online.
Thank to you both for your ideas.

Cheers.

I read success books, watch spiritual videos and meditate.

When we move home to Colorado, a fresh walk within nature will be daily bliss!
Victoria

I usually check my goals and focus on it. That is how I keep myself productive.

I'm a numbers person so quantified goals are what keep me working.

For instance, if you commit for a month to writing two articles a day, ten forum posts a day, and ten blog posts a day...doing the math, that's 660 chances of someone/anyone/everyone seeing your content.

Victoria,
THANK you, how funny my husband and I live in Las Vegas and have just decided out of the blue to move to Colorado so we can enjoy the fresh air, ride our bikes in the afternoons and just LIVE!!
I feel like a revelation has been made....we're moving

Wow! It's inspiring to hear what motivates people. Thank you all for sharing your insights.

For me vibrant health, nature and insights shared by others (like ya'll) tend to be my favorite strategies for keeping myself motivated. There's something else though, that took awhile to develop in myself.

Belief.

It all starts with the belief that we can...

I mention this because for many years I used all kinds of strategies to motivate myself and they worked temporarily. The challenge I ran into was I didn't really believe in my own ability to become successful. At some point in my past I had conditioned my mind to believe that I wasn't good enough and no matter what I did to try to motivate myself, I kept falling back on old conditioning.

It took me years to discover the secret to breaking that old conditioning. It was a combination of everything all of you have stated above, plus one very crucial piece.

I couldn't find my belief until I discovered (ya'll have probably known this for years) PRESENCE.

It's a practice ofcourse, but now when I find myself projecting my past (old conditioning) into my future, I remember that my entire future is created right now. My future is a canvas that I can paint whatever color I want.

By starting my life anew in every moment I believe anything is possible!

I also set number goals. I read as much as possible to become more of an expert in my area of expertise and take short breaks throughout the day. My moring walks help alot also. Exercise is the best thing for the mind.

I'm really starting to focus on 3,4 and 5. Getting my body into it's peak condition I really think will help with my productivity. When your brain is running on very little sleep and poor nutrition, it's real hard to get much out of it.

ericsquest: When your brain is running on very little sleep and poor nutrition, it's real hard to get much out of it.
I agree! Staying productive and motivated requires a cooperative effort between mind, body and spirit.

Hermas

I like the tips being discussed. Keep your goals front and center or your bound to veer off course. It's easy to be productive when you know what you're producing.

The opposite of productivity is to be engaged in dreaded BW: Busy Work. You'll know when in BW as the tasks will feel drone and boring.

Thanks all for sharing your insight.

Erica, a walk in the beautiful outdoors of Colorado sounds awesome!

I too forget to take mini breaks throughout the day or at least I forget to take them as often as I should. When I do remember however I definitely feel better and am more productive for the rest of the day.

I try to use 3 methods to keep the balance between home and work life. Working at home makes it sooo much harder than having a separate office you drive to every day.

Here's what I do:
1. Make time for yourself
2. Prioritize your time daily
3. Have an evening recap of the day and set priorities for the next day.

Sleep is important. It is God's gift to us for rest. At least 6 hours a day is ideal.
Companionship and love too. Do not become a computer mole. Family, love and sex are all important in nourishing the body and the mind. A good laugh is really really important.

Food: As already stated, eat well and healthy.

Avoid drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. They tire the body.
Exercise. You need not go to the gym. Take a walk for half a mile to and fro or just cycle around. If there is a game that you can play with a group, even if it's only poker, it refreshes.

lmiller14
I like your list. Let's add one more think. Meditation helps me to focus better and be more productive

I like to use something I call 'A To-Do List with Attitude'.

Instead of just listing the things I need to get done during a particular day with the time by which the tasks needs to be completed, I also include a success/fail column.

The success column tells me what the benefit of completing this task is and the fail column tells me what the consequences of not completing the task will be.

The 'attitude' really comes into play in the fail column, as I tend to be quite harsh about the consequences of failure to my business.

Hope this helps.

Going to the gym and taking breaks are my top two. You have to take breaks from this or you want make it!

Hi Lark,

These are some very Helpful tips. I totally agree that you have to make a schedule or you can easily lose track of time. Going to the gym relaxes me and takes away all the stress from the day. I feel charged up after finishing working out. Rule #5 is a must if you are working from home. To stay organized, you need to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.

I agree with going to the gym or doing some sort of excercise although i find it hard to start again once i take a break my routine works for me and i get a lot done in a day:

7am walk or run with dog
8-9am breakfast with a paper
9-5 work with some healthy lunch whilst reading
5-7 gym
7 till 10 family time

lmiller14: 2. Take a 10 minute break every hour so your brain doesn't turn to mush.
Sometimes I'm "on a roll" while on the computer, and I don't always take the breaks I should, but I do often remind myself to look away into the distance (like out through a window) for a minute or so. It really seems to help the eyesight.

Thanks for sharing some great tips.