Take the Productivity Challenge

Take the productivity challenge (and get things done)Ever have those days (or weeks, *cough*) where you get in slacker mode and never seem to get the right stuff done?

You know, the things that will actually help you make progress in achieving the things that matter to you?

Maybe you spend too much time vegging, or an awful lot of time doing busywork. You know, stuff like vacuuming or reorganizing your filing system. Stuff that feels like work and progress but isn’t — at least not on what really matters to you.

That’s been the story of my life recently, so it’s time for a one-week productivity challenge. If you’re up for it too, please join in!

After all, success is 99% productivity. Wouldn’t you like to get the important things done?

Here’s how it will work.

Pick a target

Choose something you’ve been putting off as your target for the challenge. Probably this will be something you truly want to do deep down, but have been avoiding out of fear or a misguided sense of self-sacrifice. For example, maybe you’ve been wanting to learn to be a better photographer, improve your speaking abilities, or learn to invest.

It doesn’t matter what your target is, as long as it’s important to you in some way or will help you achieve a larger goal.

It doesn’t even need to be something you can fully accomplish in a week. This challenge is to get you moving in the right direction, and establish a new habit of productivity. Getting started is often half the battle.

Write your target down

Now, write your target down. You can write it here in the comments if you like, or anywhere you’ll see it daily. Maybe make it the background of your computer, or post it on the fridge.

My target for this challenge will be implementing many of the suggestions I received at Fincon. (Thank you again to those who made them.)

Take daily action

Now do something productive every day that’s directly related to reaching your target. That’s the critical part.

I don’t care how small that something is, as long as it brings you closer to your goal and is NOT busywork. In other words, making a list of specific things you want to do isn’t productive Doing something on that list is. Just start. And then finish a task — no matter how small — that takes you in the right direction. Feel good about what you’ve done.

Be accountable

If you have an accountability partner already that you can check in with daily to report your progress, great. If not, bookmark this post and leave a comment on it every day for 7 days. Let us know what you’re aiming for.

After that, your comment should say “yes” if you’ve done something productive that is directly related to your target, and “no” if you haven’t. Feel free to add what you did if you like, but that’s not necessary. A quick yes or no is great!

That’s it. After 7 days, I bet you’ll be feeling a whole lot better and moving in the right direction.

2 comments

  • I feel like I need to follow what you just listed here. I have a huge list of everything that I need to do, priorities, personal plans, career plans, etc., but haven’t started doing and making a move for it. This is an eye opener for me and this will really help me up. :)

  • I am so with you on this. I fell into the slacker role over the holidays and really needed to pump myself up. I started making my to-do lists again and only allow myself to do “slacker” stuff after I finish my necessary to-do list items. So far it’s working like a charm. :-)